FEATURED PROFESSION
Occupational
Health Nurse:
Remote Mine
Site
Donna Waselyshen
Registered Nurse
AREVA Resources
Canada
McClean Lake Operation
AREVA Resources Canada
McClean Lake Operation is a
uranium mine and mill site
near Wollaston Lake in
northern Saskatchewan, about
750 km north of Saskatoon.
www.arevaresources.ca
Donna’s Work Experience
Multiple summers as a Camp Easter Seal nurse
Four years in rural nursing, including experience in
cardiac care, obstetrics, medical-surgical, pediatrics and
emergency care.
Seven years in two nursing homes in Saskatoon
Twelve years at AREVA Resources Canada
Challenges Encountered
 Working alone - when working alone
you don’t have anyone to discuss
patient issues with to obtain a
second opinion, but we can call the
company doctor during emergencies.
What are some of the health issues you deal with as
an Occupational Health Nurse at a remote mine site?
 Day-to-day health issues, such as headaches and cold
symptoms
 Occupational injuries, mainly back strains, falls & cuts
 We use Air Ambulance services to evacuate anyone
with an emergency medical condition, such as a heart
attack, stroke, bowel obstruction or seizure disorder
 Some northerners use the McClean Lake Medical Center
as a clinic, because it is very convenient while on site. We
treat patients with bronchitis, pneumonia, sexually
transmitted infections, diabetes and urinary tract
infections. We deal with psychological issues as well drug or alcohol addictions, domestic violence,
schizophrenia, bipolar, depression and generalized
anxiety disorders.
What additional experience, skills or training do you
recommend nurses have to work at a remote mine site?
 Certification for Occupational
mine? Health Nursing
 At least five years of experience in a variety of
areas, including cardiac care, trauma, emergency
and psychology
 Up-to-date First Aid and CPR certificates
 Spirometry and audiometry training
 Exceptional nursing skills
 Good communications skills to be able to work with
patients for whom English may not be their first
language, as there are many employees who speak
Dene, Cree or other languages
 International Trauma Life Support (ITLS) course
What is it like to work at a remote mine site?
We live in a camp environment, so you
have to be comfortable having your meals in
a cafeteria
and
sharing
bathroom
facilities. However, we do enjoy a private
bedroom and good meals! There are many
 Wait times for Air Ambulance - it
extracurricular activities available on-site,
takes about three hours for Air
including squash, racquetball, volleyball,
Ambulance to get to Points North
biking, archery, floor hockey, badminton,
Landing, the nearest airport to our
pool and ping pong, just to name a few. There
operations, providing there is a plane are also fishing, library and arts and crafts
and paramedics available
clubs. There is always something to do after
immediately.
hours! Camp life isn’t for everyone, but
 Long hours – if a critical patient can’t when you don’t have to cook, do the dishes
or even make your bed, it’s pretty awesome!
be evacuated, they must stay in our
I enjoy my job because of the variety of
care overnight. In these situations,
medical conditions I encounter; It gives me an
you don’t sleep much and then
need to be at work for your shift the opportunity to apply all my nursing skills. I
usually work alone for half a week and then
next morning at 7 am.
another nurse works with me for the other
half of my seven-day shift. We work 12-hour
days and are on-call at night. The rotation is
a week on-site and a week at home. We
have three weeks of vacation per year, but
with the week-on/week-off schedule, we
are able to easily take three consecutive
weeks away when taking just one week of
vacation, and that is quite nice.
Occupational Health Nursing can be
challenging, but you learn something new
every day. It is one of the best jobs I have
ever had! Co-workers become your
temporary family for the week you are at
work and they are supportive and fun to
interact with. Once you try nursing at
a remote mine, you will love it.
usask.ca/nursing