Carole Rhéaume Award
CAROLE RHÉAUME AWARD – awarded to a nurse who exemplifies Carole Rhéaume’s passion for, and
contribution to, patients with infertility. Carole was an exemplary fertility nurse who worked at Ovo Clinic in Montreal. She was a tireless patient advocate, a caring nurse and a true leader. Carole spearheaded numerous initiatives to improve patient care and access to care. Carole was tragically killed in the winter of 2015 when she stopped her car on the side of the road to help another motorist who had veered off track.
The Carole Rhéaume Award comprises of a sponsorship of up to $2,500 CAD for a registered nurse to attend an international conference in reproductive medicine in the 18 months following receipt of the award. The Award is made possible by the support of EMD Serono, through an educational grant.
Eileen graduated from the University of Toronto with a baccalaureate degree in Nursing Science, a Masters in Nursing,and a post-Master’s Nurse Practitioner degree. She has also successfully obtained her Extended Class qualification and holds specialty certification in Perinatal Nursing from the Canadian Nurses Association. She is a Nurse Practitioner at Mount Sinai Fertility and an Adjunct Lecturer in the Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing at the University of Toronto. Eileen was awarded a Mount Sinai Hospital Research Award in 2011 and is actively involved in all aspects of fertility nursing, but focuses primarily on fertility preservation and counselling. She also has an interest in gender inclusive care.
Eileen is an active member of the CFAS Nurses Special Interest Group, the Fertility Preservation Special Interest Group, and is a member of the Board of Directors. Eileen is helping to lead a Nurse Education Project Team in developing national fertility nurse competencies and this is a joint venture between CFAS and ASRM.
Catherine “Cathie” Dwyer graduated from the Registered Nursing Diploma Program at Humber College in 1981 and began her nursing career in surgical oncology, gynecology, neurology and medicine. She found her passion in women’s health beginning with labour and delivery, where she worked for 15 years, before realizing her true calling of reproductive endocrinology and infertility nursing. Cathie has cared for fertility patients for 17 years and as Team Leader she manages day to day operations and liaises with a multidisciplinary team to ensure staff and patient safety, satisfaction and efficiency. Cathie has won multiple awards including a clinical practice award, a nursing exchange award for a poster at a nursing conference, an award of excellence, a preceptor award, and an award for scoring the highest on a test of fertility knowledge. Cathie is a role model in terms of continuing education (educational rounds, webinars, conferences, certificate courses) which she actively seeks out, and she has successfully obtained her Perinatal Nursing Certification through the Canadian Nurses Association and passed the ASRM Nurse Certificate Course in REI. Cathie is also an active member of a number of societies including CFAS, SOGC, ASRM, and RNAO. In fact, Cathie was the Secretary for the CFAS NSIG from 2013-2015. Cathie also leads and/or participates in a variety of quality improvement initiatives and is always eager to join internal hospital committees. Cathie is approachable and extremely knowledgeable, an absolute asset to REI nursing.
Brenda McFalls is a registered nurse with 25 years’ experience in the field of Women’s Health and Reproductive Medicine. Currently Brenda is the Coordinator of The Fertility Clinic, Early Pregnancy Assessment Unit and Medical Genetics Program in South Western Ontario at London Health Sciences Centre, Victoria Hospital in London Ontario, Canada.
Brenda has participated in focus groups and workshops with the Assisted Human Reproduction Agency and Canadian Fertility and Andrology Society with a focus on relevant legislation, policy development and the changing face of the industry. She is an active member of the Canadian Fertility & Andrology Society, involved in the Nurses Special Interest Group, with participation on the Education Committee and Standards Committee. She also sits on the Women’s Care Council, the Women’s Care Program Ethics Committee, The Fertility Clinic Quality Care/ Patient Safety Committee and Public Relations Committee.
Highlights of her career include: being an invited guest to Saudi Arabia to operationalize a Fertility Clinic and teach the staff the fundamentals of reproductive medicine and fertility treatment; participating in national advisory boards for the pharmaceutical industry; development of the Nurse Training System affiliated with Merck; organizing and chairing a yearly, accredited CME program for referring physicians titled, Advancing Wellness in Reproductive Health and various public speaking events.
Brenda’s numerous certificates of achievement include Project Management, Essentials of Leadership Excellence and Emotional Intelligence.