About the Woodend Clinical Education Research Grant

Rosie Deol, RN, BScN, MSc, PhD Candidate 

Rosie Deol is a Registered Nurse and PhD candidate in the School of Nursing at McMaster University, supervised by Dr. Susan Jack. Her clinical and research interests centre on maternal health, health equity, and improving healthcare experiences through education and evidence‑informed practice. She is particularly dedicated to amplifying voices that have historically been overlooked in healthcare and to ensuring that lived experience does more than inform research. She strives to see it shape nursing education, influence clinical practice, guide researchers’ questions, and strengthen the care individuals and families receive. 

Rosie’s doctoral research focuses on developing and evaluating an equity‑oriented educational intervention for healthcare professionals and undergraduate nursing learners caring for individuals who experience severe maternal morbidity (SMM). SMM refers to serious and potentially life‑threatening complications occurring during pregnancy, childbirth, or the postpartum period, such as severe obstetric hemorrhage, eclampsia, sepsis, and serious cardiac complications. Beyond the acute clinical event, these experiences can have profound and lasting psychological, social, and emotional impacts for individuals and their families. 

Her doctoral work is an independent study embedded within the SERENE Research Program, a multi‑year, interdisciplinary initiative aimed at reducing the incidence and impacts of SMM through integrated research on care experiences and intervention development. 

Using a three‑phase mixed‑methods design, Rosie’s research brings together multiple forms of evidence to inform the development and evaluation of the educational intervention. The first phase synthesizes findings from a systematic review, qualitative interviews, and World Café discussions to identify clinical, relational, and structural challenges in SMM care, along with corresponding educational priorities. These insights will guide the co‑development of the intervention in partnership with nursing students, clinical instructors, healthcare professionals, trauma‑ and violence‑informed care (TVIC) experts, educators, and individuals with lived experience of SMM. Grounded in the Equity‑Oriented Health Care (EOHC) framework, the intervention will integrate principles of TVIC, cultural safety, and harm reduction. 

Supported by the CASN Woodend Clinical Education Research Grant, the final phase will evaluate the acceptability of the intervention among undergraduate nursing students and clinical instructors involved in perinatal clinical education. Ultimately, the project aims to prepare nursing learners with both the clinical knowledge and the relational, equity‑oriented approaches needed to provide safe, responsive, and compassionate care to individuals and families affected by SMM.