Brenda Helpard is a laboratory professional with a unique position in Nunavut, Canada’s northernmost territory. We caught up with her to discuss her role in more detail.
How did you initially hear about the point of care coordinator position in Nunavut, and what encouraged you to apply?
Since 2012, St. Joseph’s Healthcare in Hamilton, ON, has had a working relationship with the Government of Nunavut regarding health care. I was seconded from St. Joseph’s to provide on-site support for Point of Care Testing (POCT) to include all 25 sites across Nunavut.
In your role, what are some of the challenges you feel you’ve been able to overcome or address?
Purchasing, especially the time it takes to get reagents to the health centres, is certainly a challenge. Improvements have been made in working with stores in each of the regions, to speed up the rate of availability for POCT supplies in health centres. I’ve also been able to build on the work already in place by the regional laboratories for storing, supplying and QC’ing some of the POCT supplies.
The second challenge would be the large area for training, especially with 24 health centres and a hospital in an area double the size of Ontario. Using telehealth for POCT training sessions enables remote hands-on training and augments regular sessions for ongoing training/competency assessments for new and current staff.
What aspects of the role make it enjoyable?
Having new POCT devices put into use is great. Having POCT devices on site has improved turn-around times for certain monitoring tests, such as an INR. For 22 of the health centres across Nunavut, there is no direct access to a laboratory so lab specimen send-outs are dependent on the flight schedule for that area and weather conditions that can lead to delayed or cancelled flights. Therefore, it can be a challenge for the front line staff to get samples to one of the regional labs for analysis. Having POCT, like electrolytes, available at their local health centre, allows patients to stay with their families, in their communities, for treatment or post treatment.
I find the dedication of the many staff members I meet and work with across the various health centres very enjoyable. It has been a pleasure collaborating with the medical laboratory technologists and technicians in the regional laboratories in Nunavut. Their support in validating devices, participating in pilot programs and troubleshooting POCT devices with the health centres has been great. Working across such a large territory could not be done without all the support I receive from the regional laboratories.