Romeo demonstrates excellent teamwork, a strong work ethic, and commitment to continuous education. Romeo supports and empowers students by providing guidance, flexibility, opportunities to learn from each other, and setting goals tailored to each student’s needs. Romeo is approachable, well-prepared, and teaches with enthusiasm, making learning enjoyable. They have shown grace and adaptability in accommodating students during unexpected situations. Romeo arranges for guest lectures or tours of specialized units, providing students with broader learning opportunities, and maintains a strong rapport with fellow nursing instructors. Their willingness to step in whenever needed, highlights both their leadership and dedication to excellence, making them a valuable asset to the Camosun Nursing department.
Romeo, a recipient of a 2025 Teacher Recognition Award, is a fairly new faculty member at Camosun, who has been teaching in the Baccalaureate Science in Nursing (BSN) program since spring of 2023. “I’ve been a nurse since 2012 and am still practicing. I received my diploma in Ontario then completed my undergrad in nursing after that. I’ve worked in emergency departments across British Columbia and was a travel nurse for about two years during COVID. And in 2021, I moved to Victoria where I worked in the emergency department at the Royal Jubilee before becoming a post anesthetic recovery nurse. Then in 2023, I became an instructor at Camosun College starting as term then moving to continuing in August 2024. Pivoting into an educator role has been fulfilling and is helping me grow. I feel it’s time for me to share my experiences and the knowledge I’ve acquired over the years in nursing to the future generation of healthcare providers.”
I wondered what Romeo teaches at Camosun and got a surprise. “I’m actually in Whitehorse right now leading the Consolidated Practice Experience field school. It’s purely clinical five week program, and I have eight students with me. We are practicing clinical in medical surgical units in Whitehorse General Hospital. This is my first time doing the field school in Whitehorse in a different environment, different clinical setting, different staff, all of which are tricky to navigate. But the staff here have been amazing, and the students have been engaged in rich clinical experiences here and are gaining confidence. It’s been life changing.” Romeo was a travel nurse for two years, and I wondered if this experience in Whitehorse reminded him of those days. “I miss that part of my life. Working in a different place challenges your adaptability and flexibility. Whitehorse is new territory for me, and it’s been amazing.” And when Romeo is not in Whitehorse, he teaches clinical and lab courses, mostly in second year.
I asked Romeo what he enjoys most about the teaching experience. “I love the human connection and supporting students in their learning journey. I enjoy working through challenges to help students become more resilient, sharing knowledge, meeting students where they’re at, pushing them to enhance their nursing practice and develop their clinical judgment, helping them to become confident with the skills I teach them. I’m so happy I get to be part of that journey.”
I was curious what a typical Romeo classroom looks like. “Constructivism is the teaching philosophy that I strive for in my courses, meaning that students are in the driver’s seat of their learning, and I’m here to guide them, supervise them, facilitate learning, and help them to locate resources, especially in the clinical setting where it might be tricky because it’s not as controlled as a classroom setting. I love active learning strategies and integrate them into all my classes. I’ll demonstrate skills for them while they ask questions throughout the step by step process, giving them space to learn and to practice the skills. I also use interactive tools such as Mentimeter which is great for students who may not be comfortable speaking up. I integrate games, for example for reviews I run a jeopardy game. And I facilitate discussions, giving them space assess what they already know before I start the lesson.” Romeo’s lectures are very interactive as well. “For example, I’ll lecture for 10 minutes then pose a question either for discussion or reflection. I take time to get to know the students and how they prefer to learn as well as their accommodations to make sure they are supported and feel psychologically safe in the classroom.”
I asked if Romeo could talk a little about accommodations in his classes. “It’s a bit trickier in clinical because we’re dealing patients and there is not a lot of flexibility regarding deadlines. But for assignments, like their critical reflections, I let them discuss topics they want to delve into so it’s more meaningful for them. And I try to accommodate extensions as much as I can as long as they let me know.” Romeo also works hard when it comes to giving feedback to students. “As a new instructor, I’m still learning how to give students clear, specific feedback. And while I find students have great insight on what they did well and what they can improve on I know I need to be there to guide them and ensure safety to build their confidence. I tell them, I’m not expecting perfection, I’m expecting progress.” I asked Romeo if he has had mentors to help him in his own journey as an educator. “When I began as a new instructor, I had a mentor (her name is Sue) who was so supportive. Our department shares resources and we go through challenges with students together. The nursing department is such a supportive, empowering department.”
I wondered if, from his short time teaching, Romeo had some memories to share. “It’s watching students progress and seeing them gain confidence over time. I am so proud when they consolidate their learning from the two years they’ve been with Camosun, when they can look at a patient as a whole person and pull together what they have learned through theory classes and lab to build their clinical judgment as a nurse.” Romeo was certainly seeing that confidence in the students he was leading in Whitehorse. “To be a part of the Consolidated Practice Experience field school, students need to apply and have references from instructors in order to be selected. They need to be flexible and adaptable because they have to work with new staff in a new environment, with a new electronic health record system, a new demographic of patients, different diagnoses they may not have encountered.” And with the support of the doctors, nurses, and staff in Whitehorse, these students have been up for the challenge.
Finally, I asked Romeo what advice he had to give to anybody coming to teach at Camosun. “A lot of what we do as nurses in the education sector are similar to how we work as nurses in the health care sector, we just have to conceptualize it differently. For example, as a nurse we engage in patient education all the time. We are counselors and we support patients through difficult times. We wear those same hats as educators.” Romeo told me he wrote a paper for his master’s program about professional identity as nurses and educators. “There are six nursing roles we can reconceptualize into nurse-educator roles, using the framework of Hildegard Peplau’s Interpersonal Theory. First is the stranger role, meaning we are strangers to patients and need to create a psychologically safe environment for them. As educators we are strangers to students at the beginning of a class, so we must create and maintain a psychological safe environment in the classroom. One way we do this is to integrate trauma-informed pedagogy, meaning we take into account the experiences and past traumas of students. Second, we are a resource person. As a nurse, we provide resources to patients, so they are discharged safely. As educators, we help students locate resources to guide them in their learning. Third, we have a teaching role. We educate patients as nurses, and students as educators. We have a counsellor role, supporting patients and/or students through active listening and counseling. And we have a surrogate role, acting as parents or family when patients or students are away from their own families. Finally, we have a leadership role. We lead as nurses, and as instructors, we lead students.” Mostly, Romeo advises new instructors to not be afraid to become an educator because “many things we do as nurses translate well into the education role. And as a nurse educator, you’re helping more people on a larger scale because you are a part of the learning journey for students who will one day themselves make a difference.”