A Passion for Nursing, Education, and Well-being, Thea McDougall, LPN

For over 20 years, Thea McDougall has built a career rooted in nursing, education, and leadership, always with a deep commitment to supporting both patients and fellow healthcare professionals. She graduated as an LPN in 2004 from Lethbridge, Alberta, just one year after LPNs became a regulated profession, and after practicing in Alberta for more than 20 years, has witnessed firsthand the evolution of nursing into the highly skilled and essential field it is today.

Her journey began as a clinic nurse in Red Deer before transitioning to neurology and rehabilitation at the Red Deer Regional Hospital. While growing her career, she also started a family, balancing both while specializing in vaccinations (there used to be certified LPN specialties!) and taking on casual work in public health in addition to her work in neurology. It was through these experiences that she gained a deeper understanding of preventive care, chronic disease management, and the challenges of modern healthcare.

In 2017, Thea discovered a new passion, nursing education. Teaching brought her immense fulfillment, and she quickly realized the power of mentorship, empowerment, and knowledge-sharing in shaping the next generation of nurses. She pursued and completed her Bachelor of Health Science while working full-time, further cementing her belief in the importance of lifelong learning. 

When the COVID-19 pandemic reshaped education, Thea was able to adapt through developing expertise in virtual teaching while completing a Master’s Certificate in Post-Secondary Teaching with a focus in online education. This period of rapid transformation reinforced her passion for innovative, accessible learning. Her career path led her into leadership and program development, where she worked as a Program Manager in Primary Care before becoming a Consultant and Training Lead at the Alberta Medical Association, designing education and training programs for Alberta’s physicians and healthcare teams.

Throughout her career, she has led, trained, and supported nurses and healthcare teams, but after two decades of working within a system that often demands more than it gives back, she also faced her own health challenges. That experience reinforced a powerful truth: nurses cannot continue to pour from an empty cup.

Now, she is dedicated to helping nurses and healthcare professionals build the resilience, wellness, and balance they need to thrive, not just survive, within their careers. With two decades of experience at the bedside, in leadership, and in education, she understands firsthand the realities of burnout, change fatigue, and the evolving demands of healthcare. Through training, mentorship, and wellness-focused education, she is committed to ensuring that those who dedicate their lives to caring for others also have the tools to care for themselves.

Believing deeply in the power of education and professional growth, she volunteers on the ARNET board, ensuring that nurses have access to the same learning opportunities that have shaped her own career.

For her, nursing has never just been a job, it is a lifelong commitment to learning, leading, and fostering well-being in a way that sustains both the profession and the people within it.