From hockey to health care — UFV alum leads national association
As a six foot four, 220 pound Western Hockey League defenseman, Scott Ramsay felt right at home patrolling the blue line and delivering big hits.
Then his world changed.
Instead of throwing body checks during a shift, Scott now dishes out a kind word, a smile, and vital medical care to ailing children at BC Children’s Hospital.
Scott gave up hockey for health care after a series of concussions and a family tragedy transformed his perspective. He went back to school and now is a graduate of the UFV Bachelor of Science in Nursing program.
“If you asked me 6 years ago if I would be a nurse, I could not have predicted it,” Scott explains, “But life happens and how you deal with things defines you.”
For Scott, the defining moments came as he watched his younger brother Kody battle lymphoma. Many hours spent at his brother’s bedside provided a first-hand look at the difference nurses make in the care of sick patients. Unfortunately, Kody succumbed to his cancer, and the experience fundamentally changed Scott.
He hung up his skates and came to UFV.
Since graduating, Scott has not only earned a full-time position on the pediatric medicine and cardiac ward at Children’s Hospital in Vancouver, he is also President-Elect of the Aboriginal Nurses Association of Canada (ANAC). Scott is of Métis heritage and will become the youngest president in the ANAC’s 41 year history.
“I’m very honoured to be working with the current 11 Board of Directors at ANAC and see it as a huge responsibility to walk in the footsteps of the past presidents and all the great Indigenous nurses before me.”
“I think it is so important to engage the indigenous community and inform and educate young people in particular about health and wellness – it’s vital to their future and to Canada’s future,” adds Ramsay.
The ANAC works with communities, health professionals, and government institutions on Aboriginal Health Nursing issues and practices within the Canadian Health system with a view to benefiting Aboriginal peoples of Canada by improving their health and well-being, physically, mentally, socially and spiritually.
