“I didn’t find nursing – nursing found me,” says retired Professor Laurie Gottlieb, who reflects on a career that spanned close to six decades at the forefront of major developments in her chosen vocation.
In this wide-ranging conversation, recently retired Professor Laurie Gottlieb discusses her lifelong passion for nursing, the defining moments of her distinguished career, and her gratitude for the opportunity to “stand on the shoulders of giants”
What motivated you to pursue a career in nursing?
I always say that I didn’t find nursing – nursing found me!
My father, who had such an important influence on me, suffered from a debilitating chronic lung disease that claimed his life at 54. During his bouts of pneumonia, I would stand at his bedroom door, anticipating the nurse’s visit, watching as she bathed him, gave him his injection, instructed him on how to breathe, spoke to him in a way that was both soothing and reassuring, and made him laugh. The nurse also answered my mother’s questions and then gave each of us children a smile. When the nurse left, my father’s breathing was so much easier, his sleep so much deeper and my mother so much calmer. I was five years old when I decided I was going to be a nurse. I couldn’t articulate it at the time, but clearly, I was attracted to the transformational power of nursing.
At 17, I entered a three-year nursing program at the Jewish General Hospital – hospital training being the dominant route to becoming a Registered Nurse in Quebec. In my first year at the JGH, I learned that McGill offered a Bachelor of Nursing degree to RN graduates of hospital programs. The following year, while training at the hospital, I took evening courses at Sir George Williams University (now Concordia University) to obtain the prerequisites for admission to McGill. From the moment I stepped into McGill’s School for Graduate Nurses, where I earned my bachelor’s and master’s degrees, I felt seen and heard in ways that allowed me to flourish. Since there was no doctoral program in nursing at the time, I chose to do my PhD in developmental psychology. This turned out to be a great fit for my interests and strengths.
What sustained you in your career?
Nursing aligned with the values instilled in me by my family – education, community, integrity, compassion. I never entertained doing anything else nor did I ever question or doubt my decision.
From the beginning, I loved being with patients and was fascinated by their personal stories. While doing my master’s, I was blown away by research, which quickly became a lifelong passion. I also loved teaching and mentoring students, being challenged by difficult questions and watching them connect the dots and come up with new insights.
The opportunity to travel and exchange ideas with colleagues all over the world was gratifying. I’ve made over 260 presentations and spent time as a visiting fellow and scholar at University of Washington, University of California, San Francisco, Kings College, London, and Oxford University. Best of all, I met so many accomplished, talented, generous individuals – some who became colleagues and collaborators, others who served as mentors or role models, and many who became lifelong friends.
What were some of the defining moments of your career?
A defining moment occurred when the Parent Report recommended that technical nursing training move from hospital-based training sites to the newly created CEGEP system. I was invited to be among a small group of seven nurse educators who developed the blueprint for the original CEGEP nursing curriculum.
An even more significant moment was being invited to be a part of Canada’s first research unit in nursing and healthcare, set up here at McGill just as I was completing my master’s degree. It was a golden opportunity. Little did I know that when I described McGill’s approach to nursing, which I later renamed the McGill Model of Nursing, that name would be synonymous with nursing excellence!
When I was asked to assume the editorship of the Canadian Journal of Nursing Research which I later renamed CJNR, the journal was floundering and in debt. I brought leading scholars on board as guest editors, introduced themed issues, and solicited high quality manuscripts. Not only did it become profitable, it also ranked within the top ten most frequently downloaded journals on Ingenta. I held the position of editor for 22 years.
Conceptualizing and developing Strengths-Based Nursing and Healthcare (SBNH), a philosophy and value-driven approach that underpins the ISoN’s curriculum, and seeing its adoption in 28 countries worldwide has been gratifying. SBNH is about recognizing, mobilizing, capitalizing on and developing a person’s strengths to promote health and facilitate healing. It’s a way of humanizing our healthcare system by empowering everyone – patients and their families, clinicians, managers and leaders, educators – to make the best decisions.
I’m also proud of the work we did to develop the SBNH-Leadership Program, supported by grants I secured from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). In evaluation studies, the SBNH-L training program was linked to higher workplace satisfaction, increased well-being at work, and lower stress levels.
What were some of your biggest challenges?
When I started my master’s degree, I was 7 months pregnant with my first child. My son, Michah, was the first ISoN baby born to a graduate student, and my daughter, Arielle, was born when I was working as a researcher on a very large funded grant. Not wanting to interrupt my studies or let down the research team, I opted not to take maternity leave. With the support of my husband, Bruce, and lots of creative scheduling, we were able to balance work and family life.
In 1995, when I assumed the Directorship of the ISoN, McGill was facing serious budgetary cuts and the School was vulnerable to closure. My strategy was to focus on what made the ISoN unique, to build on our strengths, and to establish close relationships with McGill leadership, deans of various faculties, and hospital nursing directors. I also met with nursing leaders and colleagues provincially and nationally. With the support of faculty and staff at the ISoN, we revised the undergraduate and graduate curricula, relaunched a post-RN Bachelor of Nursing Program, and strengthened research productivity.
Shortly after my appointment as Director, while on vacation in Ireland, I was seriously injured after being hit by a car. Two weeks post-surgery, I returned to work, installing a bed in my office.
One unexpected challenge that tested my leadership skills was when the Quebec Minister of Education threatened to close direct access to nursing programs including the BScN and direct entry Master’s program, leaving in place the CEGEP technical stream as the sole entry to a university Nursing degree. There was no way I was going to let that happen under my watch! I rallied everyone with influence from within McGill, the McGill teaching hospitals, across the country and beyond in a multi-pronged campaign to save direct access to university nursing education in Quebec. Fortunately, I had the support of so many incredible colleagues at McGill, including Principal Bernard Shapiro, who played a major role in helping us save our School, and the deans of nursing at Université de Montréal, Université Laval, and Université de Sherbrooke.
You have the distinction of being the longest-serving faculty member of the School of Nursing. What has your association with McGill meant to you?
From the moment I walked through the doors of McGill as a 21-year-old nursing student, I found an environment that nurtured creativity, curiosity, imagination, innovation, and experimentation. My professors challenged me, mentored me and saw my potential.
As a faculty member and Director of the School, I had the joy of collaborating with smart, passionate and dedicated colleagues. The School of Nursing was founded in 1920 by visionaries who had a clear concept of what nursing was, what nursing could become and how nursing should be practiced. There were so many exceptional leaders here who revitalized nursing education, research and practice, shaping the trajectory of nursing in Canada – Bertha Harmer, Rae Chittick, Elizabeth Logan, Moyra Allen, Joan Gilchrist, to name a few. It’s been such an honour to have stood on the shoulders of these giants and to have played my own part in the School of Nursing’s illustrious history!
