Meet Anna Balenzano

Anna Balenzano - Assistant Nurse Manager, Postpartum Unit, Women's Health at the Royal Victoria Hospital

“From patient care to managing the unit, the supplies, scheduling nurses to work, making sure all policies and procedures are carried through and always being on the lookout for new evidence-based practice--that’s what I do as Assistant Nurse Manager for the Post Partum Unit in Women’s Health,” says Anna Balenzano. 

Anna Balenzano has been at the McGill University Health Centre since 1980 and she has seen many changes in the way nurses practice. 

“Sometimes bringing in best practices, which equals change, is hard because if you have always been nursing a certain way, it may be difficult to accept. But it can be compared to not wearing a helmet biking decades ago. We now know that wearing one saves lives. It is about best quality of care.” 

In Post-Partum education is a huge component of the job. Nurses have a 24- to 36-hour window where they have a lot of teaching to provide to families. Each nurse makes a daily teaching plan. Whenever there is change to nursing practice, Balenzano must learn about the change, believe in the change, teach the front-line nurses, role-model and explain as many times as possible the change until there is buy-in and roll-out. 

“We need our staff to believe in us as champions and then have faith in the new ways of caring,” says Balenzano, who adores the teaching element of her job. “I find when I believe in something, my team believes in it.” 

For Balenzano, nursing has always been her passion, not just a job. “We are launching families into the world,” she says. “When I go home after a day of work I feel good; I know I have made a difference.”