After working as an ER nurse, I was done. Then I discovered the magic of a small town practice

Christie Brulhart · for CBC First Person

· Posted: Jul 07, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

This is simply a First Person file by Christie Brulhart, who lives successful Consort, Alta. For much accusation astir CBC's First Person stories, see the FAQ.

When radical inquire maine what it was similar to enactment arsenic an ER caregiver during the pandemic, I ever lie. 

I archer them the worst portion was being mandated to enactment by my employer, the isolation oregon the masks. I don't deliberation they privation to cognize the truth.

Because the information is that the hardest portion astir the pandemic was listening to idiosyncratic who was struggling to breathe, accidental their past clipped sentence: "Can you archer my girl I emotion her?" 

Perhaps I didn't afloat admit however fractured our health-care strategy was until March 2020. 

My breaking point

I was moving a nighttime displacement successful a agrarian exigency country caring for a COVID-positive diligent — an aged pistillate who had suffered from polio arsenic a kid and was bed-bound arsenic a result. 

She had a convulsive cough that shook her flimsy frame. When she wasn't coughing, she would beryllium gasping for air. Her captious signs were looking much unstable by the minute.  Every clip we asked her astir her pain, she gestured, "10/10."

Due to her chronic illness, she had chosen to person comfortableness attraction alternatively than life-sustaining interventions like intubation. 

 As a registered nurse, I knew the diligent should person been offered a pump that would present symptom medications astatine a dependable state and the diligent could deed a fastener and person "breakthrough" doses. But it wasn't within my scope of signifier to administer medications without a doctor's oregon a caregiver practitioner's order. 

Unfortunately, the doc connected displacement did not consciousness that the diligent needed further symptom medications, contempt my insistence and documentation. 

Another caregiver and I spent the remainder of the nighttime successful and retired of her room, each holding one of her hands. We some cried down our masks and goggles arsenic she struggled to breathe. Watching that pistillate dying successful pain in an exigency section is 1 of the astir heart-breaking things I've ever seen. 

That was the infinitesimal I decided to go a caregiver practitioner. As an Albertan, you tin spot a caregiver practitioner for astir things you'd spot a household doc for. They person much grooming and acquisition than a regular nurse. 

The adjacent day, I started moving connected my exertion for the master of nursing programme astatine the University of Alberta (U of A).

Receiving my acceptance missive from the U of A was similar jumping into a crisp water archetypal happening connected a Sunday greeting — it was truthful refreshing to consciousness empowered. I started the programme successful autumn 2022.

Many of my colleagues astatine the U of A had worked successful captious attraction environments related to my experience. It was healing being surrounded by intelligent and driven women who wanted to make a difference, contempt the burnout, divisiveness and pain they experienced during the pandemic.

Passion reignited

Rural exigency attraction became a passionateness of excavation aft moving arsenic a registered caregiver successful the exigency section successful Bonnyville, an Alberta municipality with less than 7,000 people. Returning to schoolhouse reignited my passionateness to supply equitable and accessible attraction to agrarian communities. 

A caregiver I met done the program suggested that if I wanted to person a large interaction successful a agrarian assemblage and advocator for NPs to enactment successful agrarian ERs, past I should look astatine the occupation posting for the Consort Medical Clinic.

The clinic served a village of astir 670 residents successful east-central Alberta. The posting had closed four weeks earlier but I figured I had thing to lose. Within a day, I received a call and by December 2023, I signed my contract. 

The municipality has been traditionally nether the attraction of aesculapian doctors. I was the archetypal caregiver practitioner it had ever hired.

That Christmas, to the astonishment of my hubby and I, we were featured successful the section newspaper announcing that I had been hired. We received dozens of Christmas cards from the assemblage members and simple students welcoming america to Consort earlier we had adjacent moved. 

The town has restored my religion successful humanity and reignited my passionateness for holistic care.

The happening I've learned and emotion astir agrarian communities is that they tin look dainty and acold if you're conscionable passing through, but if you walk a small clip there, you'll rapidly recognize wherefore radical ne'er leave.

My hubby and I had been connected the waiting database to follow a babe for a fewer years. Shortly aft our accomplishment successful Consort, we had an unexpected astonishment — we had been chosen by a commencement household to follow their babe girl. 

We had little than 24 hours to hole for her arrival. I feared that determination would beryllium outrage from the assemblage due to the fact that I had conscionable started seeing patients, and abruptly I was taking clip off.

I was evidently precise wrong. Consort welcomed her accomplishment with unfastened arms.

When I archetypal arrived successful the quaint town, my archetypal thought was that this would beryllium a stepping chromatic successful my career. In a few short months, I had a overmuch clearer knowing of what this municipality means to me. 

Before I knew it, I was calling it home.

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