Poster for NPAO Conference

Jaclyn Ricci (left) and Giuliana Vertolli with their research poster at the 2018 NPAO Conference.

The recent Nurse Practitioner Association of Ontario (NPAO) conference featured significant contributions, including research surrounding pain management and rare auto-immune disorders, from several of the impressive Nurse Practitioners from Sinai Health System.

Nancy Cardinez, Diabetes Research Nurse Practitioner, was presented with the coveted Patient Choice Award for the year by the NPAO. Nominated by three different patients, this award recognizes Nancy’s dedication and ability to make a real difference in patient’s lives. In addition to being a nurse practitioner, Nancy is a Certified Diabetes Educator who specializes in type 1 diabetes research and clinical management with the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute and the Leadership Sinai Centre for Diabetes. Alongside colleagues Christine Opsteen NP, and Dr. Bruce A. Perkins, Nancy also presented research at the NPAO conference, titled Rare Clinical Case of Graves’ Disease Following Hypothyroidism in Type 1 Diabetes, and she’ll soon be off to Berlin to present her work at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes conference.

Nurse Practitioners Giuliana Vertolli and Jaclyn Ricci also presented research at the NPAO conference. Alongside Nancy’s work, Jaclyn and Giuliana were amongst a small number of poster presentations accepted to be displayed at the annual gathering. This presentation detailed the administration of ketamine infusions for post-operative pain management for patients with chronic pain or opioid tolerant patients undergoing surgery. “Guiliana and I were eager to explore this drug therapy at Mount Sinai, and so honoured that the NPAO allowed us to present our findings at the conference,” says Jaclyn. “Studies like this have the opportunity to make a big difference in pain management and improve patient experiences.” Data for the poster presentation included reviewing a year of data from the practice, and thanks to their work, this therapy is now being considered in multiple departments across the hospital.