Scott Downs wins National Nursing Award

By Ken Johnston
Editor

Scott Downs of Pinewood, Ont. is a modest and kind person. Anyone who knows him knows this to be true and when he was one of three nurses in Canada to receive recognition for his skills and demeanor as a nurse this past spring, he kept it to himself.
Downs learned early this year that a former colleague, Sandra McNay, had nominated him for a 3M Skin Deep Award. “I was just honoured to be nominated,” said Downs last week. “The fact that she thought I was worthy said a lot to me.”
In her nomination McNay, who had worked with Downs at ComCare in Fort Frances, said, “Scott is a very dedicated RN who spends many hours with his clients eplaining wound care, the reasons for his treatments, etc...Scott is one of the most highly requested nurses in our office and he makes everyone feel like they are the most important client around.”
Downs, a Rainy River High School graduate, completed his nursing degree in 1997 and had his first posting to Rainy River Hospital. After seven years here, he moved to the Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg where he worked in cardiac, thoracic and vascular pre and post surgeries. After a year there he returned back to the Rainy River District, taking a job with the Tribal Area Health Authority for three years. It was there that he would be exposed to advanced wound care, something that has become his specialty.
With the high numbers of diabetes in the First Nations population, Downs quickly became aware of wound care. “I have learned that a bed sore is not just a bed sore anymore. There are ways to prevent it and other wounds. Things like good nutrition, exercise, etc. can help prevent wounds that occur with patients or clients." He has taken many wound care workshops and that interest saw him begin teaching colleagues. Something that his nominator stressed in the nomination. “Scott is highly motivated and... thrives on learning all he can about wound care...(he) can be relied on for phone calls at all hours of the day or night on or off duty with questions or concerns from coworkers. As well Scott spends time doing mini workshops or helping us one by one to learn a little more.”
After the Tribal Area Health Authority he took a job with ComCare in Fort Frances (where he worked with his nominator). “They really pushed me on the wound care and had me set up training from Rainy River to Atikokan on it.”
Having a vast resume of nursing experiences under his belt over the past 12 years, Downs is now returning to institutional nursing having accepted a full time position at Rainycrest Home for the Aged in Fort Frances. While he is not slated to focus on a specific area of nursing like wound care, he hopes, “I will get to use some of my strengths there.” Meanwhile he plans to continue his education and eventually hopes to become an Enterostomal Therapy Nurse.
He credits who he has become as a nurse to all those he has worked with. “When I learned I was one of three that had won this award, I said it is a reflection of where I come from and the people I have worked with. They made me who I am.” For that he is very grateful.
He received the award in the spring as part of 3M’s recognition of nurses during Nurse Appreciation Week May 6-12, 2009.