Date: 2007
Location: Edmonton
Profile: Marie Campbell started her nursing career in Saskatchewan in 1971. In 1974 she came to the Edmonton region where she has been an active UNA unionist ever since. Campbell spent much of her career in the Emergency Department of the Royal Alexandra Hospital. Later she worked in the Emergency Room at the North East Community Health Centre.
A veteran of 5 strikes across two provinces, Campbell recalls the camaraderie during those times, with nurses supporting each other with childcare and walking the line regardless of the weather. She recalls pickets in both blistering heat and freezing cold.
Campbell uses her position as a Ward Rep to mentor and educate new nurses coming into her workplace. With an eye to the future, she hopes that such training of nurses to think collectively about their profession and their rights as both workers and professionals will guide new nurses as the healthcare system faces various changes.
Keywords: Emergency Room nurse; North East Community Hospital; Nursing strikes; Royal Alexandra Hospital
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See also: United Nurses of Alberta; Women and Work in Alberta