Michelle Nicholas

Michelle Nicholas is a PhD candidate at Simon Fraser University (SFU) studying the application of a novel, non-pharmacological digital therapeutic therapy to help manage delirium symptoms in critically ill patients. Michelle is also involved in the ventilation studies through her role in investigating the effects of long-term mechanical ventilation  on the cardiovascular system. Michelle is also the Principal Investigator of a research project at Royal Columbian Hospital aiming to elucidate trends and determinants of pleural effusions in patients following cardiac surgery. 

 

After completing her nursing degree at the Auckland Institute of Technology in 1999, Michelle travelled to Saskatchewan where she started her career in cardiac nursing. She then spent 4 years in Manchester, UK, where she worked as an agency nurse in local hospitals. Upon moving back to Canada in 2005, she started working as a Registered Nurse for the Fraser Health Authority. In 2008, Michelle completed her certification in Critical Care Nursing, and is currently employed at the Royal Columbian Hospital in the Cardiac Surgery Intensive Care Unit (CSICU). 

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In 2017, Michelle completed her Masters degree in Critical Care under the supervision of Sharon Johnson at Cardiff University, during which she investigated targeted temperature management in the post cardiac arrest intensive care patient population. She is most interested in bench-to-bedside knowledge translation, which she can apply to her clinical work in managing the critically ill. 

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In addition to working at the cardiac surgery intensive care unit, Michelle serves as a subject matter expert and examiner at the Nursing Community Assessment Service (NCAS); the process for international nurses to re-certify their credentials in Canada.