Ms. Jean MacPhee

Cape Breton University is pleased to recognize Ms. Jean MacPhee for her dedication and commitment to her community and the patients whose lives have been greatly improved thanks to her efforts. A Registered Nurse by trade, Ms. MacPhee completed an education program at the Nova Scotia Cancer Centre that made her the first certified nurse to administer chemotherapy in Cape Breton. She then went on to complete an oncology education course from the Cross Cancer Institute in Edmonton, Alberta, and successfully attained the Canadian Nurses Association Certification in Oncology Nursing – a nationally recognized, advanced nursing specialty credential.

Over the years, Ms. MacPhee’s steadfast determination and dedication to enhancing the quality of care and support provided to cancer patients and their families transformed the landscape of cancer care in Cape Breton. Her efforts culminated in 1998 with the opening of the Cape Breton Cancer Centre.

Ms. MacPhee’s commitment to professional development extended beyond her own department, where she played a pivotal role in the development and implementation of a mandatory teaching program for nurses administering chemotherapy. She also ensured nurses on the inpatient medical unit, paediatrics, as well as nurses in healthcare facilities throughout the district, received the required education to administer chemotherapy in their own departments.

Thanks to Ms. MacPhee’s continuous advocacy for the provision of support services and programs to meet nutritional, emotional, financial, spiritual and other needs of cancer patients to become an integral component of the new cancer centre, Cape Breton is now a leader in cancer care innovation. Cape Breton has now been recognized several times for providing the highest satisfaction of patient care in the country.

Early in her career, Ms. MacPhee knew her passion was to care for cancer patients. This became the compass of her life moving forward, leading to many years of the hard work, perseverance and dedication that has given the Cape Breton Cancer Centre the outstanding reputation it has today.

Ms. MacPhee’s willingness to teach and mentor made her a role model to all who have come in contact with her. These encounters have made her a highly sought after resource and speaker amongst her peers and community organizations. She has served as a board member of the Victorian Order of Nurses, the Nova Scotia Cancer Gynecological Screening Program and the Canadian Cancer Society. Ms. MacPhee has also served as an expert reviewer for the Canadian Association of Nurses in Oncology and is a founding member of the Cape Breton Cancer Centre Symposium, an annual educational event that attracts healthcare professionals and speakers nationwide. She has also been the recipient of various awards of recognition and excellence from the community, the cancer centre, and provincial and national nursing associations.

Throughout her career, Ms. MacPhee has demonstrated remarkable leadership skills and distinguished herself as a nurse instrumental in the promotion and implementation of high quality cancer care for residents of Cape Breton and eastern Nova Scotia. Her ultimate goal has always been to ensure the people of Cape Breton had the same quality of cancer care as the rest of Canada.

Ms. MacPhee spent many years developing her managerial skills through a nursing unit administration program, resulting in her receiving the Canadian Institute of Management designation and obtaining her baccalaureate degree in nursing. Through her leadership, the nursing staff in the oncology clinic, and later the cancer centre, achieved national certification in oncology nursing, ensuring they had the competencies necessary to deliver high-quality oncology patient care.

Ms. MacPhee spent 20 years of her career in cancer care, working in roles as an oncology nurse, Program Manager in the oncology department and Director of the Cape Breton Cancer Centre. Her vision of providing cancer services started locally at St. Rita’s Hospital in the early 1980’s with her request for a dedicated space for the administration of chemotherapy. By the 1990’s, Ms. MacPhee was the Program Manager, and by 1998, she was the Administrative Director of the new Cancer Centre at the Cape Breton Regional Hospital.

Today, her commitment to ensuring the best for the cancer patients of Cape Breton and Eastern Nova Scotia has not waivered. Even in retirement, Ms. MacPhee still serves as a relief nurse in units where she is needed. Ms. MacPhee is a true icon of the Island, and one Cape Breton is greatly indebted to.

Congratulations, Ms. Jean MacPhee.