Kristy Schafer-Blood

Clinical Director, Community and Primary Care, Registered Nurse, Island Health

I went to the University of Calgary right after high school and wasn’t sure of what I wanted to do, so I opted for a General Studies program.  My parents strongly encouraged me to continue in school, despite not having a clear vision, as no education is wasted, and they did not want me to lose momentum.  I had always liked helping people and in high school I volunteered with the Between Friends Club, which was an activity-based program for teens with disabilities.  I really enjoyed this, and then I started working in group homes with adults with developmental disabilities as a part time job while in my first year.  Although I loved this work, I knew that I needed to expand my career options, so I decided to transfer to the Bachelor of Nursing program for my second year.  I graduated and started working as an RN in 2001. 

My first nursing job was at a large hospital in Calgary, and I was 22 years old.  Although I liked helping people and wanted to develop my skill set, I did not enjoy working in the hospital.  I stayed there for 4 years though to develop a strong nursing foundation, and then I moved to palliative home care.  I truly found my passion here and stayed in palliative care for the next 15 years.  I felt like I was making a difference every single day and the palliative community is close knit.  As I gained more seniority in nursing, I was often assigned as a charge nurse, or to cover the Team Lead.  I also found that I really liked leadership and wanted the chance to be involved in policy and education initiatives.  I slowly moved from a front-line position into a Care Manager position, which was formal leadership.

As a new leader, I did feel frustrated at times as I didn’t feel I had the skill set to advocate for and plan system changes.  I needed advanced leadership education to get to where I wanted to be, so in 2016 I started the Master of Health Administration program through the University of Regina.  This program helped with my business writing, system knowledge, and ability to strategize.  I graduated in 2018 and then followed this up with a Certified Health Executive designation through the Canadian College of Health Leaders. 

After I graduated, my husband and I decided to move back home to BC, and I found that my Master Degree, along with my work experience made it quite easy to transfer health authorities.  I worked as a palliative educator with Vancouver Coastal Health, and then managed the Home Support team.  Throughout Covid, we decided that we wanted a smaller setting and Vancouver wasn’t for us, so we moved to the Cowichan Valley, and I got a job managing the Duncan Community Health Services team, which felt like coming home for me as I had worked in home care for many years. 

In Island Health, as opportunities presented, I applied for them, even those outside of my comfort zone.  I moved into the Director role for the Primary Care Network and then to my current position that has accountability for both community and primary care.  I had a mentor back when I first started my leadership journey who told me that I needed to diversify and go back to school so that I would continue to challenge my thinking and broaden my experiences.  This was excellent advice as I have seen other nurses become stuck in their own narrow field of practice and this becomes quite limiting.  By forcing myself out of my comfort zone and continuing to challenge myself I have developed the confidence to be able to step into new situations and thrive.  That advice is still relevant for life – keep growing and changing.  It pays off and there are no bad experiences.