Nursing SIG

The CFAS Nursing Special Interest Group (NSIG) was established in November 2004 at the CFAS Annual Meeting in Jasper, Alberta. The current NSIG membership consists of over 100 members.

The overall mandate of the CFAS Nursing Special Interest Group (NSIG) is to promote and foster the vision, mission and values of the CFAS within the practice of Canadian Fertility Nursing as well as ensuring that Fertility Nursing is actively represented within the CFAS’ actions. The NSIG’s objectives are to: encourage fertility nurses across Canada to engage within CFAS; offer and promote ongoing professional development opportunities; provide a forum for networking, support, collaboration and exchange of information related to nursing within and between Canadian fertility centres; and help ensure consistency in the delivery of high quality patient care within reproductive medicine.

In order to accomplish the NSIG’s mandate, the NSIG Executive Committee is comprised of the following positions:

Chair;
Co-Chair;
Secretary/Treasurer;
And 4 other Executive Committee Members

Nicole Lee RN, BScN - Chair 

Nicole Lee is the Nurse Manager at Hannam Fertility Centre, and previously managed the CCRM Toronto Surgery Centre. She obtained her BScN from York University in 2010 and started her career in family practice. Nicole’s introduction to fertility began at Procrea Fertility Centre as a Nurse Coordinator in 2011.

Nicole has worked in other areas of nursing - travel medicine, cosmetic surgery, and oral surgery but made her way back to fertility when she joined Hannam Fertility Centre/CCRM Toronto in 2014. She has a passion for learning and quality improvement initiatives for patient care.

Nicole looks forward to contributing to the CFAS Nursing SIG by being part of initiating opportunities that strengthen ART Nursing Practice.

Bonnie Johnson - Co-Chair

Bonnie started her nursing career in 1998. After graduating from nursing, she worked in community health care and cosmetic surgery. In 2011, she joined the team at the Montreal Fertility Center. Bonnie has been a member of the NSIG executive since 2016. In 2019, she successfully completed the Certificate in Leadership of Assisted Reproduction in Clinical Setting course, and plans to put what she has learned into positive practice.

Bonnie is passionate about helping each patient through the ART process with both the proper technical and emotional support. She has worked closely with the psychologist at the clinic to ensure that each patient is properly cared for throughout their fertility journey.

Bonnie looks forward to working with the members of the NSIG to promote educate and assist all the nurses of the CFAS.

Sarah Steel, RN - Secretary/Treasurer

Sarah is the Cycle Monitoring Manager at Create Fertility Center. She obtained her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Ryerson University in 2012 and start her career in acute surgery. Sarah started at Create in 2014 as a Cycle Monitoring Registered Nurse and transitioned to managing in 2017.  She is a member in good standing of the CNO, RNAO, CFAS and ASRM. 

Sarah has a passion for nurse empowerment and education as well as patient safety. She looks forward to working with the Nursing Special Interest group to strengthen ART nursing and education. 

Rima Kharonsky, NP-PHC, MN - Executive Member

Rima Kharonsky is a Nurse Practitioner at CReATe Fertility Centre in Toronto ON. She obtained her BScN from the University of Western Ontario and MN with NP certification from Ryerson University. Rima’s introduction to fertility began at CReATe over a decade ago as a sedation/circulation nurse in their OR, moving to becoming the team manager in their cycle monitoring nursing department, until she decided to trailblaze the NP role at CReATe in 2016. Rima specializes in fertility preservation, third party reproduction, and patient education about women’s health.  

Rima has a passion for promoting nursing education and development, and feels strongly about enhancing patient experience in the fertility field. Rima is looking forward to working with other fertility nurses and further advancing the nursing profession in the REI field.

Brenda Vines - Executive Member

Brenda Vines is the President of Xytex Canada. She holds her Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing and is currently registered as a non-practicing member of the College of Nurses of Ontario. She has over 17 years’ experience in the fertility pharmaceutical sales industry and over ten years in a clinical setting, which is extremely beneficial to the Xytex patient base.
She was responsible for coordinating and advancing one of the original professional ObGyn medical review programs, the Canadian Obstetrics and Gynecology Review Program, which, after over 22 years, is still active today.

Brenda’s successes in the fertility industry are driven by her passion for education and desire to share that passion with patients looking to expand or start a family.

Alison Gilmour, RN, BScN, MN, PNC(C) - Executive Member

Alison earned her nursing certificate in 1989 and has continuously expanded her education and experience since that time. She earned a BScN in 2002, a MN in 2004 and throughout her career, Alison has focused on Women’s Health including Obstetrics and Infertility. Alison was in the first group to obtain the Perinatal Nursing Certification in Canada (PNC(C)) with the Canadian Nurses Association. In 2017 Alison was part of the committee to update the PNC(C) exam and has been asked to return in 2019.

Since 2005, Alison has served a variety of leadership roles at Manager and Director levels, acquiring significant experience in handling Human Resources, Project Management and Quality Management. Alison has led Accreditation Canada and the Out of Hospital Program for CPSO teams for Fertility Clinics. She currently oversees clinical operations and regulatory compliance for Integramed Canadian Fertility Practices in Ontario