Maria Rugg

I have been a registered nurse for 30 years and a member of RNAO as a student and RN for 30 years. The majority of my career clinically has focused on pediatric nursing as a nurse/nurse practitioner with extensive experience in acute/chronic care focusing on palliative care and pain management. My education includes an honours nursing undergraduate degree from the University of Windsor and a master’s degree in nursing from the University of Toronto. I’ve also had my national CNA certification in palliative care since 2001. My involvement in RNAO has spanned my nursing career, with 10 years of participation with the pediatric nursing interest group executive, and involvement in the palliative care nursing interest group over the last five years.

My lifelong passion is to work in areas of patient experience and patient-related outcomes. I want to facilitate change in order to improve health and overall well-being of patients and families. I have worked to ensure that my areas of influence have pushed forward the patient experience from start to finish, and for patients and their families this has been something that reflects their values and goals of health. I am fortunate to have been afforded opportunities to work and volunteer in many areas, including management, clinical leadership, education, quality improvement and research.