Often working in the shadows, nurses play a crucial role, both with patients and physicians. This is also why specialists from the Sainte-Justine University Hospital Center, accustomed to receiving praise, salute the work of those without whom no medical feat would be possible. Whether through their experience, their empathy or their gift of ubiquity, these nurses hold their departments at arm’s length.
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Photo Hugo Duchaine
Nurse Lise Guilbault and Dr. Alexander Weil.
Nurse Lise Guilbault can not only boast of having 35 years of experience in neurosurgery, but also of having almost chosen the one who operates alongside her.
“She participated in my recruitment,” admits the neurosurgeon Alexander Weil with a smile. After a successful internship at Sainte-Justine, the latter left Quebec for Miami to specialize for a year and a half.
“She came to see me and we spent some time together. She even attended laser surgery. She was one of the first Quebeckers to see that, ”says the doctor.
This is a new cutting-edge technology, learned there, which he then brought to Quebec. During her visit, Ms. Guilbault notably wanted to see what the young neurosurgeon would need to ensure a smooth return home.
And he is full of praise for his colleague.
“It brings a warmth to the operating room, a family feel,” he says. She will also regularly return to see patients. [après l’opération]. She cares regarding her job and goes beyond what is asked of her. “
And that’s not counting the snacks, like cookies or juices that she always has with her to spoil the team following eight hours in the operating room, he adds, laughing.
“I always think: what if it was my child who is there”, says Mme Guilbault. This is why she enjoys giving herself so much to reassure the family and create a calm and serene atmosphere for the doctors who carry out delicate surgeries.
Photo Hugo Duchaine
Nurse Stéphanie Santos and Dr Daniel Borsuk
“She’s the team’s quarterback. Without Stéphanie, we would be unable to do our job ”, launches the Dr Daniel Borsuk, head of plastic surgery.
Stéphanie Santos is the nurse coordinator of the craniofacial surgery unit at Sainte-Justine.
“Without me, the team is still working, but without Stéphanie, everything stops,” he continues.
Anywhere in Quebec, as soon as a facial malformation or disease is detected in a child, often even before birth, the craniofacial unit takes care of it.
That is to say Stéphanie, explains Daniel Borsuk.
“She’s going to order the ultrasounds. She will call the psychologist or social worker to support the family. She fixes it all, ”he lists.
“When the patient comes here, she organizes herself so that he sees eight specialists in the same day. [comme un ophtalmologiste, un ORL ou un neurologue], and pass all necessary exams. And it does the follow-ups, collects all the reports, ”he continues.
“She calls the parents, explains the treatments to them. All this for 18 years! When the families leave our care, leave Stéphanie, they cry ”, reports the Dr Borsuk. “Me too”, adds Mme Santos.
She knows the 4,000 patients on the unit and remembers the details for each. “And she’s the one who teaches residents what to watch,” says the surgeon.
“For nurses to be able to flourish in their role, doctors must leave them that place and recognize their expertise,” greeted the nurse in turn.
Photo Hugo Duchaine
Nurse Émilie Allard Villeneuve (foreground) and Dr. Sophie Mottard
A pivot nurse in oncology, Émilie Allard Villeneuve has always known that she would work with children with cancer.
“When I was little, I listened to the Opération Enfant Soleil Telethon and wanted to work with children who had no hair,” she recalls with a smile. I tanned my mother to call, because she had to give and give for children no hair. “
“I always knew I wanted to do this,” continues the 37-year-old nurse.
A vocation that suits her perfectly, according to orthopedic surgeon and oncologist Sophie Mottard.
The doctor operates on cases of sarcomas, soft tissue or bone cancers, in Sainte-Justine. But in the vast majority of cases, these cancers also require chemotherapy treatments, which are coordinated by Émilie Allard Villeneuve. It becomes the point of contact for families in Sainte-Justine.
“Without Émilie, the oncology of sarcomas would not exist”, launches the Dre Mottard.
The nurse has an innate talent for connecting with young patients and families, who are going through the most difficult time of their lives. Whether it is to reassure them before an operation or to explain the steps of a treatment, for example.
“She walks into a room, and in 30 seconds she knows what to do […] It is authentic and people can feel it, ”continues the surgeon.
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