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Jennifer Lopez is registered nurse (RN) and patient care coordinator, as well as the President of the Integrated Filipino Canadian Nurses Association (IFCNA). N4 is grateful to have Jennifer’s valued perspective as Co-Facilitator of N4’s Community of Practice Internationally Educated Nurse (IEN) Lived Experience Consulting Group. This group provided invaluable guidance in the development of N4’s recently published report, Welcoming Internationally Educated Nurses into the Canadian Health Care Sector: Recommendations for Change.
Jennifer began her career as a nurse in the Philippines, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Nursing with high honors (Cum Laude) at Quezon City Medical Center & Colleges (now WorldCiti Colleges). She then moved to Saudi Arabia and worked there as an RN for over a decade. In 2012, Jennifer immigrated to Canada and experienced firsthand the many challenges that IENs face in having their foreign qualifications recognized in Canada. Upon understanding that her RN license and experience would not allow her to work as an RN in Canada, she enrolled in George Brown College’s bridging program and began preparing to write the Canadian exams to work as an RN. Simultaneously, she also worked as a registered practical nurse (RPN) — a path that many IENs pursue as they navigate the licensure process.
Over the course of the following three and a half years, she worked nights as an RPN for the Scarborough Health Network, coming home to sleep briefly and then continuing her studies. She also undertook additional coursework to acquire a certificate in nephrology from Humber College, in order to work as a dialysis nurse – an area of nursing that she is particularly passionate about and had worked in while in Saudi Arabia.
In 2019, Jennifer earned her RN license, and now works as both a patient care coordinator at University Health Network (UHN) – Toronto General Hospital’s Hemodialysis unit and a staff nurse at Unity Health Toronto – St. Joseph’s Health Centre. One of the things that she loves about dialysis nursing is the emotional connection with the patients due to the frequency of visits and the nature of care — we’re like family,” she reflects about this type of nursing.
IEN mentorship and advocacy have been an important part of Jennifer’s life since she immigrated to Canada. She’s a longtime member of the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council (TRIEC), which she joined to mentor other newcomers. In 2019, Jennifer was one of the brains behind IFCNA, founded to support the many Philippine-trained nurses who come to Canada with navigating the complex licensure process. IFCNA was founded in Ontario but has now spread to other provinces and territories in Canada.
For Jennifer, her role as a mentor can sometimes find her on the phone with IENs while she’s on her bus commute to or from work, or at 11:00 PM after a long day in the hospital. Jennifer’s mentorship approach includes making sure that each IEN remains hopeful in their goal of becoming on RN in Canada, “I tell them to write your name, put an RN at the end, put it on your mirror, and that is the light at the end of the tunnel for you and you can see it every day as your motivation.”
Jennifer continues to advocate for a more streamlined licensing process for IENs in Canada and believes that this would enhance patient safety and quality of care. “Many people are suffering, even during the pandemic, there are IENs on the sidelines who want to help, why can we not help them to help patients?”, she reflects. Jennifer also acknowledges the importance of combatting the burnout of nurses in order to ensure retention and would like to see employer policies that support work-life balance, including better family leave and vacation policies. She also encourages employers to prioritize professional development opportunities for nurses, including a clear pathway to leadership roles.
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