Barb Findlay, R.N.

Barbara Findlay is the Vice President of the Institute’s Optimal Healing Environments Program and the former Executive Director of the Tzu Chi Institute for Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Vancouver, BC - an organization committed to expanding the concept of integration in health care. During her six years with the Tzu Chi Institute, she provided leadership for its clinical program development, including the design and implementation of an Integrated Care Program and health outcomes research protocol. A frequent presenter on the issues surrounding integrative health care, she has been an active participant in Health Canada's consultation process around complementary and alternative health care and integrative medicine in Canada and has co-authored a number of reports and peer-reviewed articles on this topic. Ms. Findlay's early professional background includes 20+ years as a staff nurse in a variety of clinical settings, including inner-city emergency rooms, and as an educator for patients and health professionals in a community hospital setting. She received her Diploma in General Nursing (RN) from BCIT, and later her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of British Columbia. A life-long learner, she is currently pursuing a masters degree in Liberal Studies from Simon Fraser University, and has been an adjunct professor in the School of Nursing at UBC since 2003. Through her research, she continues to explore concepts of readiness, optimal healing environments and research literacy/capacity as they relate to models of integrative health care.