Biography

• Research Interests
  • Diversity
  • Policy development
  • Health system quality
  • Rural & remote health & nursing education
  • Leadership
• Methodology
  • Qualitative

Educational Background

• PhD, Department of Educational Administration, University of Saskatchewan Dissertation title: making a diversity difference: Stories of leadership creating a more inclusive nursing profession.
• MCEd (1986). Department of Continuing Education, University of Saskatchewan. Thesis title: Adult students in Diploma Nursing education: An analysis of their characteristics and problems experienced in comparison with younger students.
• BN (1975) School of Nursing, University of Manitoba.

Professional interests

• My professional interests can be summed up in the following tag line: "Quality and equality through leadership and policy"
• I am interested in quality improvement in the health care system, especially as it relates to nurses work life issues.
• I am interested in quality improvement in nursing and health professional education from both curricular and policy perspectives.
• I am interested in leadership in nursing and nursing education from a critical theoretical perspective.
• I am interested in equity and social justice issues in health care and health professional education, especially as they relate to inclusive and exclusionary practices of the professions which impact the participation of marginalized groups in the health professions.

Current teaching

• NEPS 417.3 Issues in Nursing: this course explores professional, ethical, and systems issues in nursing and health care.
• NEPS 428.3 Partnerships with Community: For the past two years I have taken a group of senior undergraduate students to northern Saskatchewan for a three week community based practicum with the people of the Lac La Ronge Indian Band and their Health Services staff.
• I have supervised senior nursing students in their preceptored integrating practicum for the past four years. These students are generally placed in rural and remote health settings.

Current professional practice and scholarship

• I have served on the Canadian Association of schools of Nursing national Accreditation team for the last 5 years.
• I am a member of the Board of Directors of the Saskatoon Convalescent Home.
• I am a member of two teams participating in the Quality as a Business Strategy initiative of the Saskatchewan Health Quality Council. This initiative looks at continuous improvement through ongoing examination of internal processes, and through development of multiple mechanisms to hear the voice of the consumer. I am on the Saskatoon Convalescent Home QBS, and the College of Nursing QBS team.
• Member of the Executive of the Western Region, Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing
• Member of the Coordinating Committee of the Nursing Education Program of Saskatchewan Data Base. The data base surveys NEPS students at program exit, at 2 years following exit, and 5 years following exit. This process provides important information for policy decision making in health care and health professional education
• Abstract, Publication, Project & Awards reviewer for Western Region Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing, Saskatchewan Association of Health Organizations, Canadian Society for Studies in Education, International Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences, Patient Centered Interprofessional Tam Experiences

Recent Publications

Berry, Lois E. (2008). Aboriginal student success in health professional education: Culture and beyond. The International Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences, 2(4), 169-178. (Presented virtually at the Second Annual International Interdisciplinary Social Sciences Conference, Granada, Spain, July 10 -13, 2007).

Berry, L.E. (2007). Criminal record checks in health professional education. International Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences, 1(6), 11-20.  (Presented virtually at the First Annual International Interdisciplinary Social Sciences Conference, Rhodes, Greece, July 18, 2006).

Recent Grants

Bassendowski, S., Fowler-Kerry, S. (co-PIs), Berry, L., Butler, L., Henry, C., Petrucka, P., & Storzick, C. (2009). Interprofessional Collaborative Practice in Global Health:  Nursing and Other Health Professions Making the Links between Saskatchewan and the Philippines, $10,000, Interprofessional Health Collaborative of Saskatchewan.

Ferguson, L., Berry, L., Fowler-Kerry, S., Wall, P., Kent-Wilkinson, A., Spurr, S., Besse, C., Hewson, K., Evans, R., & Bowen, A. (2010). Enhancing the Student Learning Experience Through Lecture Capture, $5,000, Western Region Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing.

Berry, L.E. (2007). Criminal Record Checks Policy in Health Professional Education: An Analysis of the Ethical and Administrative Issues in Implementation, $5000, Western Region Canadian Association Schools of Nursing Research Award. This project is the second phase in this program of research (see Start Up Funds project). Data collection for this project is complete and data analysis underway. Project completion is slated for March 2010.

Berry, L.E. (2007). Criminal Record Checks in Health Professional Education: Ethical Issues in Implementation Phase 1, $5000, University of Saskatchewan Start Up Funds Research Grant Project. The data collection for this project has been completed. Data analysis is underway, with completion of the project slated for December 2009.