After nearly three decades in medicine at St. Clare\u2019s, Julie transferred to child psychiatry two years ago. What she encountered was a unit carrying the province\u2019s full weight of pediatric mental health needs, but with limited resources and little recognition.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Janeway is the only place in the province where there’s any mental health pediatric care,\u201d she said. \u201cSo, everything comes to them. And I find that is stressful in a different way. But they\u2019ve done so much with so little.\u201d<\/p>\n
Determined to boost morale and create a more welcoming environment, Julie reached out to local artists for help transforming the unit\u2019s drab, institutional setting. Donations came in from across the community\u2014including artwork by Emma Dooley, and Amber McLure Hutton of Newfinn Art. The results have been transformative.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was proud of that,\u201d she said. \u201cWe wanted it to feel more like a home, less institutional.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Julie](\"https:\/\/intouch.rnunl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/art-238x300.jpg\")
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A Voice for Nurses<\/strong><\/p>\n Julie\u2019s advocacy didn\u2019t stop with aesthetics. When she arrived at the Janeway, the unit had no shop steward. Despite being new to union work, Julie and a colleague stepped up.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m more of a quiet kind of person, but we saw what was happening and knew we had to help,\u201d she said. \u201cThe support we\u2019ve gotten from the nurses here has been overwhelming.\u201d<\/p>\n Julie also hopes more people begin to understand what nursing really is\u2014and what it demands. \u201cPeople say, \u2018Oh, I couldn\u2019t do that,\u2019 and they think about tasks like incontinence care. But to me, that\u2019s about dignity. Everyone deserves dignity. And it\u2019s not just about the tasks\u2014it\u2019s about how we provide them.\u201d<\/p>\n She also expressed frustration about a lack of consultation when decisions are made. \u201cAt St. Clare\u2019s, they put a lip in the bathroom that we had to push stretchers and wheelchairs over. It sounds small, but it makes our work harder. We\u2019re the ones delivering the care, but we\u2019re rarely asked how best to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n Calm in the Chaos<\/strong><\/p>\n Julie has built a reputation as a calm, steady presence in high-pressure situations. \u201cI\u2019m pretty calm under pressure. People have called me bossy,\u201d she said, laughing, \u201cbut I think it\u2019s more about taking charge when it counts. You just react to the situation in the moment to keep your patients and coworkers safe.\u201d<\/p>\n For her, staying grounded means remembering that every clinical situation is, at its core, human. \u201cThere\u2019s a person behind every situation,\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s what matters.\u201d<\/p>\n Rooted in Community, Guided by Care<\/strong><\/p>\n Julie\u2019s decades of service are driven by one central idea: giving patients back some sense of autonomy, even when they feel most vulnerable. \u201cPeople lose so much when they\u2019re in hospital\u2014their mobility, their independence. I try to give people back some sense of control, some dignity.\u201d<\/p>\n That unwavering focus has made her a pillar of the Janeway unit\u2014and a reminder that expert care isn\u2019t just a phrase. It\u2019s a practice, one she embodies every day.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Julie Clements always knew she was meant to be a nurse. \u201cIt\u2019s just something I\u2019ve always known,\u201d she said. \u201cWhen people talk about love languages, mine is caring\u2014for my family, my coworkers, and my patients.\u201d That clarity of purpose, sparked in childhood by her grandmother\u2019s wartime nursing stories, has carried her through more than 30 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":1269,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[91,92,93,94,95],"class_list":["post-1268","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nursing-matters","tag-empathy","tag-and-the-power-of-professional-care","tag-advocacy","tag-st-clares","tag-the-power-of-nurses-to-transform-healthcare"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n![\"Julie](\"https:\/\/intouch.rnunl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/now-206x300.jpg\")
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