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Publications & Resources > The Standard > September 2004   

  Last modified September 1, 2004  

The Standard of Care

Barbara Martin, RN, knows it takes a team to care for a client. A community health nurse on a Six Nations reserve near Brantford, Barbara co-founded an innovative diabetes program for her clients.

It began in 1993, when Barbara noticed a high incidence of diabetes among the clients at the community health care centre where she worked. With no funding or resources, Barbara joined forces with another nurse and a dietician to start a small diabetes clinic that offered some basic education to clients.

Over the years, Barbara added doctors, pharmacists and medical lab technologists to the roster of health professionals at the clinic. As well, a chiropodist has joined the team to offer foot screening. Today, the clinic reaches at least 800 clients a year with a wide array of education, screening, treatment and support services.

Barbara understands that providing quality care requires lifelong learning. Soon after starting the clinic, she says, "I realized what I didn't know." She began taking courses to become a Certified Diabetes Educator.

Recently, Barbara was awarded the First Nations and Inuit Health Branch Award of Excellence in Nursing.

At the College of Nurses, the phrase "The Standard of Care" is more than just a tag line for the logo; it is about setting the bar for safe, effective and ethical nursing care through the practice standards and guidelines. The Standard of Care page features nurses who have raised the bar on the standard of care they provide to their clients.

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