Canoe Lake First Nation sisters study nursing together at USask

They look alike—you can tell that they’re sisters. On a Zoom call, they speak as if they’re tossing a volleyball back and forth, each handing off their answer before passing to the next.

The Woodward sisters Hilary, Kylee, and Deanna are all in their second year of the University of Saskatchewan (USask) Bachelor of Science in Nursing program at the Saskatoon Campus. They’re from Canoe Lake, a Cree First Nation on Treaty 10 territory about five hours north of Saskatoon.

Although they are sisters and are all currently studying nursing, they didn’t all take the same path to get here.

Hilary, the youngest, was the first one – right out of high school – to begin her first year of studies to apply into nursing.

“I picked this program because I wanted to choose something right away,” said Hilary. “I didn’t want to figure myself out. I figured I would do that while studying in a program. So far, it’s been going well!”

The next to fall in line was Kylee, who had already started university where she was taking a variety of courses, when she saw her younger sister enjoying nursing.

“She went directly into nursing, and I was like, that will give me a career, and she’s going to be in it, so I guess I’ll give it a try as well,” said Kylee.

The eldest, Deanna, had already completed post-secondary studies as a veterinary medical assistant and worked for a year as a continuing care aid when she decided she wanted to pursue her nursing degree and joined her sisters the same year Hilary began the USask nursing program.

With a close childhood and many memories of playing together, riding bikes, hanging out with their three brothers, and going on family vacations, the sisters are already tight knit. Their shared education allows them to work as a unit, scheduling their classes together, which is great for sharing notes and supporting each other.

“It's nice in labs because you basically have a designated partner already,” said Kylee.

Sometimes they study together, and Deanna appreciates when her sisters remind her about upcoming due dates.

While they are all in the same program, there are individual preferences. Kylee loves clinical the most, Deanna prefers the hands-on experience in the labs, and Hilary finds her passion in theory classes.

Their career goals are also different.

Hilary would like to get a few years of experience working in Saskatoon, but then return to Canoe Lake.

“I miss home a bit, and I want to see how everyone’s doing, even for a little while. I don’t think I’ll stay in Canoe Lake my whole life, but I do want to go back for a couple of years,” she said.

Deanna wants to work in geriatrics, especially to help patients with dementia. Kylee started out wanting to work in labour and delivery, but is now thinking about working with older individuals as well.

Not surprisingly, the sisters are close outside of the classroom. Kylee and Hilary live together, and Deanna lives nearby. They’ve all played volleyball together, with Hilary and Deanna on one nursing student team and Kylee on another.

With their strong connection to their First Nation, the sisters also appreciate the support they’ve found for celebrating their Indigenous culture at USask.

Hilary attended a powwow her first year and danced in her traditional jingle dress. Deanna notices the difference between USask and her past education experiences.

“The University of Saskatchewan is so much different than the college I went to in the beginning because you didn’t see Indigenous people on campus, and they didn’t have anything to connect us together. Going to USask is so much different because we get emails almost every week about different things we can join for Aboriginal group activities,” she said.

Kylee added that she appreciated the specialized tutoring support she received in first year with her statistics course, and the guidance she has received from College of Nursing academic advisor Gina DiPaolo, who still keeps in touch with the sisters.

While Hilary, Kylee, and Deanna are all engaged in nursing together, they also appreciate the profession is big enough to choose their own pathway.

“You go into nursing not knowing there’s so many doors for you with this degree,” said Deanna. “Then you start studying and you’re like, ‘I have so many options.’ Just because we’re sisters and we all want to go into the same profession, having the option of different careers within nursing once we complete our degrees is really nice.”