Meet the first cohort of grads from U of T's Doctor of Nursing program

Several members of the inaugural, five-person cohort of graduates of the University of Toronto’s Doctor of Nursing (DN) program – the first of its kind in Canada – crossed the stage in Convocation Hall this week.

“I’m so incredibly proud of our first cohort of graduates from our Doctor of Nursing program,” says Robyn Stremler, dean of the Lawrence Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing. “They are exemplary in their research scholarship and leadership skills, and have demonstrated the capacity of nurses to make an enduring impact on health, policy and education across multiple sectors.”

The DN program at the Lawrence Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing was first launched in 2021 and is designed to provide doctoral education to nurses who want to enhance their leadership capacity and drive system level change across health care and education.

In contrast to traditional Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) and the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degrees offered in the United States, U of T’s DN program provides students with the opportunity to participate in two internships that coincide with research projects and help them build their implementation science and knowledge translation skills through experiential learning.

It also allows students to continue working while pursuing their degree – a significant draw.

“With the DN program we have recognized a critical need for doctoral education among nurse leaders in health systems and education,” says Samantha Mayo, associate professor and director of doctoral programs at Bloomberg Nursing. “These leaders have active roles in shaping the health-care environment and are keenly aware of the pressing issues related to education and practice that are impacting the nursing workforce and quality of care. As such, they are uniquely positioned to be effective leaders in change and transition.” 

Meet the inaugural class of  U of T Doctor of Nursing graduates:

Julia Fineczko 

Fineczko completed one of her internships with the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario (RNAO), where she learned more about the association and its long-term care (LTC) best practice program, including how it supported the sector and the role of a director of nursing care within long-term care homes. Fineczko, who has worked in LTC for six years and most recently as a director of nursing, saw the challenges the position faces, including a lack of funding, the need for long on-call hours and having to step into the frontline of care when homes are short-staffed. 

Her doctoral project explored support strategies for the position to help create effective leadership practices and improve how long-term care operates. She is now stepping into the role of associate director, long-term care best practice program at the RNAO, where she will build on her thesis findings.

“As a result of my internship and the DN program, I was able to further understand how associations like the RNAO support the long-term care sector, its leaders and residents, with the implementation of best practices that enhance both the work environment and quality of care,” she says.  

Breanna Lloy

Lloy, a nurse practitioner (NP) from Nova Scotia, sought a doctoral degree that would help her put research into action and expand her leadership skills. 

Her doctoral project was personally motivated. It was focused on understanding how to better support nurse practitioners after they graduate and transition into their new roles – a time that can leave them feeling isolated and burned out. Her project demonstrated a greater need for mentorship to connect NPs with one another and foster retention for this critical nursing role. Lloy is now the professional practice leader with Nova Scotia Health, working on redesigning a transition model for new NPs entering the organization. 

“Nurses are life-long learners and this program is an excellent opportunity to take research and apply it in the real-world, level-up your leadership skills and influence change,” Lloy says.

Nikki Marks

Marks is a nurse practitioner who currently works in acute care and follows lung transplant patients as they transition to rehab and home. Her doctoral work examined mobile health apps and how they could support lung transplant recipients and their caregivers in performing self-care after transplant surgery. It is a starting point, she says, for developing self-care technology that can support people with serious and persistent illnesses.

Marks says she was drawn to the DN program because of its promise to enhance leadership and knowledge translation capabilities – something she believes many nurse practitioners are well positioned to do given their deep clinical expertise and proximity to patients and caregivers. 

“I think the DN program fills a gap in nursing leadership and education,” she says. “I know I have gained so much from this program and I encourage anyone who wants to take their nursing career to the next level to consider this degree.”

Andrew McLellan

McLellan is a nurse practitioner who has worked as a nursing educator in several countries in Africa – most recently at the Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. After observing challenges in the clinical learning environment related to the size of the student body and the capacity to track students’ progress, he created a participatory action research project to optimize clinical nursing education. 

“The seeds of this doctoral study were planted long before my arrival in Tanzania,” McLellan reflects. “I had recognized the need for a participatory methodology, understanding that contextually-driven and sustainable change could not be achieved through top-down approaches alone.”

McLellan is now working with the World Health Organization (WHO) Academy to develop a global course for policymakers on reorienting health systems towards a primary health care approach.

Vanessa Wright

Wright is a nurse practitioner with a background in community and population health, primarily focused on newcomers. Her doctoral work was motivated by the collaborative efforts of community health and social organizations – including hospitals, food banks and faith groups – during the COVID-19 pandemic in order to provide vaccines to high-risk communities. 

“I wanted to capture the learnings from COVID-19’s collaborative infrastructure, particularly the role of urban hospitals in community-based equity work, to understand how we can inform future integrated care approaches between health and the social care sector,” says Wright, who plans to continue to study community health and collaborative practice in her career, focusing on how nursing can address system inefficiencies and advance health equity. 

“This program is a pioneer in having nurses examine the gap between research and operations, and [break down] silos. As nurses we need to be action-oriented to see real change.”