Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in education but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Kim Derkach, co-founder of The Canadian Institute of Integrative Nursing Development & Education ©, located in Saskatoon, SK, Canada.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
What is TheCIINDE©?
What began as the desire to create a program quickly evolved into the institute that we are sharing today. TheCIINDE© came together from a collective desire to increase awareness around the power of holistic nursing and nurse coaching, particularly in Canada. Our mission at TheCIINDE© is to revive the heART of nursing by advocating for a holistic care approach that integrates eastern and western philosophies beginning first with the health and wellbeing of the nurse. We are reimagining the advancement of nursing by advocating for the expansion of holism and healing in nursing practice. We have the power to reimagine a world where we are proactive in our approach to healthcare rather than reactive. We believe this is the heART of nursing!
We provide continuing education opportunities designed to support nurses who are ready for a mind shift, who know their way of being and approach to nursing and self is changing and expanding, and who are searching for a safe and brave space to explore, challenge, and elevate their vision for the future.
Our signature program, The Comprehensive Holistic Nurse & Coaching Certificate Program, is a program that has been peer-reviewed and endorsed by the Canadian Holistic Nurses Association (CHNA) and accredited by the American Nurses Credentialing Corporation (ANCC) and the Canadian Nursing Association (CNA), for 135 Continuing Professional Development Hours and Continuing Nursing Education Hours. Students completing this program receive a Certificate in Holistic Nursing and Nurse Coaching. This program creates a sense of community for nurses looking for a new way of being and nursing that honors a holistic and wellness-focused approach, regardless of the area of expertise.
With a growing emphasis on our collective and global health, TheCIINDE© is committed to creating a global community of nurses who support, encourage, and inspire one another to enhance their overall well-being and the collective. As we revive the heART of nursing, we envision a world where nurses honor nurses, support one another, and advocate for adopting a lifestyle where self-care is embedded in everything they do. We can shift how we reflect on our health as we care for ourselves as individuals, as families, and as a global community. We can find new and innovative ways to strengthen our commitment to caring and to live wholeheartedly while also advocating for healthy people on a healthy planet.
To work towards this goal, we are honored to share that TheCIINDE© was granted accreditation for nursing continuing professional development (NCPD) in November 2021 from the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC). This accreditation demonstrates our commitment as an innovative organization to using evidence-based criteria when developing high-quality educational initiatives that promote the professional growth of nurses.
Tell us about yourself
We are three nurses–Sherry Hole, Janessa DeCoste, and Kim Derkach–who have been drawn together as if by divine design and a soul–calling. Five years after meeting, we still find ourselves reflecting on the evolution of our kinship with gratitude and awe. It became apparent very early on why we were pulled together. We shared a vision: a deep, undeniable yearning to nurture a new way of being for both ourselves and others, to share our passion for whole health and well-being within the world. Our hearts wanted to ease the suffering of nurses worldwide and provide the support and tools needed for new nurses to show up with resiliency and awareness that compassion and caring start first within themselves. A much-needed shift had to occur from a state of simply doing and surviving to one of flourishing and thriving.
Each of us has a very personal story and reason for being where we are today and creating what we've made thus far. We are still waiting for the day the three of us can finally meet in person. Yet, we know in our hearts and souls that we have been brought together in this lifetime to do something special. It began with Sherry's vision of creating a holistic nursing and nurse coach certificate program in Canada. Organically, everything has grown and shifted, and the need and divine responsibility to do more evolved into an entire institute - The Canadian Institute of Integrative Nursing Development & Education Ltd (TheCIINDE©-pronounced the kind). We recognize our commitment, calling to facilitate this program, and so much more. We are happy to share that we are expanding our offerings through the work of TheCIINDE© to nurses both locally and globally.
We are women, mothers, and nurses…we are three souls who found ourselves on the same frequency, three women on a journey to bring forth and birth this brave new way of being and nursing. As three nurses, in divine union with spirit, we are interwoven like the heart's four chambers, each with our unique function, purpose, and contribution to the collective whole. Our hearts are beating as one, in unison with spirit, to revive the heart of nursing. We nurtured and mothered this divine assignment until the seed was ready to be birthed.
With each graduating cohort of students, our community and collective consciousness expand. With each student, we see a transformation from being overwhelmed, exhausted, and discouraged to being ready to reimagine nursing! This is a powerful testament to the power of community and connection. By ensuring quality education and care that starts with the nurse, we are influencing a ripple effect that will be far-reaching.
We are changing how nurses nurse. We are creating a community of nurses.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
It is an honor to walk alongside our students and witness the transformation that takes place as they learn to embed a holistic approach into their own lives and how it becomes an innate calling to become a true advocate of this new way of being. We recognize that healing goes to the heart, root, and core of who we are. Healing is our individual birthright, and we want to ensure it is available to everyone. By providing quality education and care that starts with the nurse, we are influencing a ripple effect that will be far-reaching. There is no way we could have ever known the extent to which our hearts and community would grow. We followed our hearts and dared to pursue our dreams. Creation is a thing of love, and where there is love, there are always miracles and limitless possibilities.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
Nursing truly is a calling of the spirit, an inner nudge to ease the suffering of others and to bring comfort and joy to humankind. It is a noble profession, yet it doesn't mean that it comes easily to nurses. In fact, of all the services to humanity, nursing is one of the most challenging services one can offer. We must learn to support ourselves and one another in attaining and sustaining optimal health, wellness, and wellbeing. It is time to think outside the box that defines and confines nursing.
The current and future anticipated nursing shortage is a global health issue. The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed deep cracks in Canada's health care system, and the nursing shortage has reached a dangerous tipping point. Clinical levels of burnout are at an all-time high, and nurses have reached a breaking point, with many leaving or on the verge of leaving the profession.
Our vision at TheCIINDE© is to advocate for the advancement of holism and healing in both nurses and nursing practice. We believe that nurses with advanced skills in holistic nursing and nurse coaching can be key influencers in 'well-care’-in preventing disease and promoting optimal health and wellbeing. We believe that all individuals deserve care that respects and honors their needs and choices, acknowledges the role of environment, culture, social connection, the intricate connection between mind-body-spirit, and the healing process, and is grounded in evidence-informed/based research and practice.
Due to our influential work, TheCIINDE© has taken on a life of its own. Opportunities find us, and we are so grateful. As our vision has evolved into an entire institute, we are challenged to honour what we are teaching students. Walk our talk. We are challenged to incorporate self into everything we do and practice what we teach. At The CIINDE (c), we believe that investing in YOU is the single most important investment you can make. We also believe that achieving balance and optimal self-care requires deep personal work, so we have created a company policy following our Six-Steps to Investing in You as a guide for students and faculty in the self-care process.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Follow your heart.
- Invest and believe in yourself.
- Build connection and community.
Is there anything else you'd like to share?
At TheCIINDE©, we have infused self-care into everything we do, from growing our institute to educating students. Self-care is at the heART of what we "do" as holistic nurse coaches.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.theciinde.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheCiinde/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theciinde/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TCiinde
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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