About
Alberta Primary Care Nurses Association is a provincial association of nurses who network and provide mentorship, tools, resources and educational opportunities to foster professional development, leadership, and excellence in primary care.
​
Land Acknowledgement:
We acknowledge we practice on the territories of Treaty 6, Treaty 7 and Treaty 8; the 8 Métis Settlements and the Métis Nation of Alberta.
We also recognize the Indigenous Peoples who dwell in urban centres across this land. These territories are the home for many Indigenous Peoples, including the Anishinabe, Blackfoot, Cree, Dene, Inuit, Métis, Stoney Nakoda Sioux, and the Tsuut’ina.
​
We respect the Treaties that were made on these territories, we acknowledge the harms and mistakes of the past, and we dedicate ourselves to moving forward in partnership with Indigenous Peoples in a spirit of reconciliation and collaboration.
​
Proud Partners:
.jpg)
Our Team
President
Melissa Waddell, RN BScN
Melissa is an RN since 2012 residing and working mostly in Edmonton, Alberta. Nursing in Primary Care Practice became a passion of hers after switching from Emergency Medicine in 2018. Since entering a leadership role in 2019 her goal has been to enhance education and awareness of all the wonderful work Primary Care Nurses do within Family Practice. She serves as the Primary Care Nursing contact and representative for Alberta on the Coalition for Primary Health Care and the Canadian Family Practice Nursing Association. She's honored to lead the APCNA to contribute to enhancing this specialty in nursing and provide it the recognition it deserves.
President-Elect
Gisele Gagne, RN
Gisele graduated from MacEwan’s Rural Nursing program in 2002 and then earned her degree
from the University of Alberta’s Post RN Rural Program in 2009. She started her career as a
staff nurse at the Bonnyville Health Center and continues to work there casually in obstetrics
and acute care. Gisele has been involved with the Bonnyville PCN since its inception, first as a
community partner during her 8 years as Nurse in Charge at Kehewin First Nations, then as the
OB program nurse lead. Gisele has been employed by the Bonnyville PCN since 2013 and is
currently the Clinical Lead and continues to run the Obstetrics program. She is honored to
accept the challenge and to help push forward the goals of the members of the APCNA.
.webp)
Treasurer
Kate Tindall, LPN
Kate graduated from the Licensed Practical Nurse program at Northern Lakes College in 2011. She has worked in various healthcare settings initially focusing on maternity care and woman’s health. Her transition to primary care occurred 6 years ago and enhanced her nursing experience to include team-based management of complex patients, prenatal and newborn care, and health education and promotion. In 2020, Kate joined the Grande Prairie Primary Care Network’s practice transformation team. As manager of the team and associated program, Kate provides leadership to transformation staff and a group of primary care nurses working in their own family practice settings. Kate is energized by the opportunity to be a part of an up-and-coming specialty of nursing which is family practice nursing and to be able to give nurses an opportunity to provide collaborative team-based that supports better health outcomes for patients. She is a passionate advocate for the patient’s medical home model (PMH) of care and maximizing the role of nurses in advancing the implementation of the PMH.
Education Chair
Alena Thompson, RN, BScN
Alena graduated from the MacEwan diploma program in 2001, then was able to complete her BScN through U of A rural delivery in 2009. She began her career at Bonnyville Health Centre in rural nursing. Her focus quickly became obstetrics. Alena was also able to instruct for MacEwan’s rural delivery nursing program. Once the Bonnyville Primary Care Network was established in 2006, she developed and ran the OB Clinic prenatal care program in a variety of roles including Patient Educator. From there, Alena went back to Bonnyville Health Centre in roles including Clinical Safety Coordinator, Clinical Educator and Clinical Care Coordinator in acute care. This gave her experience and skills in program development, staff education and leadership. Back to her passion, Alena returned to the Bonnyville PCN to develop the Bonnyville Child & Adolescent Mental Health Clinic alongside a community board, then settled back into primary care nursing. She is currently the North Zone PCN Implementation Consultant, working with NZ PCN teams to develop and grow the Family Practice Nurse role.
Secretary
Kolbi Deunk, RN BN
Kolbi graduated from the Bachelor of Nursing program at Mount Royal University in 2018. Immediately after graduating, she began her career in primary care. First, working in her hometown of Brooks,AB with the Palliser Primary Care Network as a Registered Nurse and Behavioural Health Consultant, and now currently with the Calgary West Central Primary Care Network as a Primary Care Registered Nurse. Kolbi has spent the entirety of her career diving into the world of primary care and is passionate about the role of the primary care nurse. Kolbi has found her career in primary care to be very rewarding and is excited to join the APCNA team to help bring awareness and advocate for the role of the primary care nurse in family practice settings.
North Zone Rep
Jamie Wolfe, LPN
Jamie graduated in 2000 from the Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology (SIAST).
Her early career began in East Central Alberta working in acute care as well as home care before
relocating and planting roots in the Lakeland area. She continued her career in rural nursing at the Bonnyville Health Centre working in acute care before joining the Bonnyville Primary Care Network in 2018 as a Family Practice Nurse. Rural nursing provided Jamie with a variety of experiences and opportunities in areas of medical, surgical, palliative and maternity care. Jamie is passionate about lifelong learning. She has taken special interest and education in areas of patient centered care, mental health, behavioral health and recently patients medical home. Jamie is excited to join the team of talented professionals with the APCNA and help bring awareness to
primary care and the vital role of primary care nurses in Alberta.
Central Zone Rep
Amanda Singh-Pelletier, LPN
Amanda graduated from the Licensed Practical Nurse program at Mohawk College in 2005. She has worked in various healthcare settings, which include dermatology, obstetrics, gynecology, and ocular plastics. She started her career as Primary Care Nurse with the Edmonton West Primary Care Network in 2018. In 2023, she finished her certification in Mental Health Nursing and also was the recipient of the Pat Fredrickson Excellence in Leadership Award for her outstanding work in leadership, advocacy, communication, and passion for the profession through the The Fredrickson-McGregor Education Foundation. Amanda is dedicated to providing quality primary care, which includes but not limited to women's health and mental health. She believes in the patient’s medical home model and finds it rewarding to work closely with the Primary Care Physicians. She believes in patient centered care and providing a wide range of care to her patients.
South Zone Rep
Corrine Christian, RN BN
Corinne graduated from the University of Calgary School of Nursing in December 2005. She has worked
in public health, occupational health, and now has found her passion in primary care working at a large
and innovative family practice in Calgary since 2012. In her role as Clinical Nursing Resource, Corinne
oversees the development and maintenance of nursing clinical care plans and clinic processes, with a
shared vision to optimize nursing scope and the benefits of team-based care. Corinne recognizes the
immensely valuable role nurses play in primary care and is excited and grateful to be joining the ACPNA
team to continue to advocate for recognition and growth of this nursing specialty.
Member At Large
Manpreet Kaur Khaira, RN
Manpreet graduated from Mount Royal University in 2011 and began her career in acute care in hematology and intensive care. In 2015 joined one the largest PCNs in Calgary – Mosaic Primary Care Network. Here she spent the first few years providing chronic disease management working alongside a great multidisciplinary team. She later became a case manager in the Mosaic Pain Management Program which integrated her practice and knowledge of acute care into chronic care. She developed a passion for QI initiatives and during the COVID pandemic, had the opportunity to lead her team with COVID support calls. Currently, she is currently a part of the ATIN team (Attachment, Transition, Integration, and Navigation). This team has a focus on supporting patient attachment from hospital to primary care, discharge planning, and care coordination where she continues her passion in education and QI work. Manpreet is extremely excited and grateful to be joining the APCNA team whilst working towards providing voice and recognition to Primary Care Nursing.
Founding Member
Kim Daniels RN, BN
Kim graduated from nursing school at the University of Lethbridge in 2008. Kim had worked in Primary Care throughout her schooling and after graduation, took a position at the Campbell Clinic in Coaldale, where she spent the next 11 years offering Primary Care Nursing expertise and working alongside a multidisciplinary team to the full scope of practice. Kim moved into the position of Clinical Care Coordinator within the clinic adding Quality Improvement and process and policy management to the long list of skills and duties within the clinic.
In 2019, Kim moved to her current position as Clinical and Quality Improvement Lead with the Chinook Primary Care Network Central Support Office. This role allows Kim to put the Primary Care clinic voice front and center when it comes to process and policy-making strategies across the province and within the community.
Founding Member
Abbie Skrove RN
​
Founding Member
Chantal Rennie RN
​