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Kathleen Deduke
Northern Nurse and Best Practice Educator
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“I remember being asked, ‘If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you go? And I said, ‘I would go home, back to Northern Manitoba.’ And I really meant it.
You really have no idea until you come here and experience it. People come here because it feels like home. It’s simple living. You find your friends and community here, and that’s what pulls you in.”
Coming Home to the North
With Kathleen Deduke, Northern Nurse and Best Practice Educator
For Kathleen Deduke, nursing has been more than a career. It’s been a path back home. Raised in northern Manitoba, the North has always represented to her a deep connection to community and meaningful relationships.
That plan became even clearer during a conversation with another travel nurse. “I remember being asked, ‘If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you go?’” Kathleen recalled. “And I said, ‘I would go home, back to Northern Manitoba.’ And I really meant it.”
Born in Thompson and raised in Snow Lake, Kathleen grew up surrounded by northern communities, lakes and the close-knit connections that come with small-town life. While her career has taken her across Manitoba and even to an emergency department on Vancouver Island, in her heart she knew she could build a life she truly loved in the North.
After working in Brandon and spending time travel nursing in British Columbia, Kathleen returned to the Northern Health Region on a travel contract in Thompson and The Pas. From the moment she arrived, she knew she was where she belonged.
“As soon as I got back, I felt like, ‘I miss it here. I want to live here. I want to work here.’”
Today, Kathleen calls The Pas home, where she works in emergency department, the operating room and now serves as a Best Practice Educator supporting multiple departments.
Kathleen’s love for nursing began long before she entered a classroom. As a child, she regularly visited a family member in the hospital who went through a life-changing accident. One core memory has stayed with her and shaped her.
“I remember this nurse coming into the room. They knew her by name. They loved this nurse. She seemed to really make an impact on them,” she said. “I remember thinking, ‘That job is really cool.’ I’ve wanted to be a nurse ever since that moment.”
Kathleen began her healthcare career as a health-care aide before becoming a phlebotomist with Canadian Blood Services. Those experiences helped build the foundation for her nursing career and led her to earn her nursing degree through University College of the North in The Pas.
While the pristine scenery and lakes are beautiful, Kathleen says it’s the people and sense of community that make Northern Manitoba special.
“It’s not just the outdoors. It’s the community,” she added. “You make friends at work, but you also have a community outside of work. There’s so much to do. It’s small enough that you get to know people. It really is a community.”
Since returning, Kathleen has been able to build a life she loves in The Pas. Thanks to the affordability of living in Northern Manitoba, she purchased her own home, joined a local baseball team and built lasting friendships within the community.
Professionally, she believes Northern Manitoba offers opportunities that are difficult to find elsewhere.
“In the north, you aren’t limited to specialized units. We feel like one big department where you can be exposed to everything from emergency, pediatrics, all the way to palliative care. Anything that comes through the door, you get to learn from.”
The broad scope of practice in the North means nurses develop confidence quickly and gain experience across a wide range of patient care.
“You’re getting high acuity cases like larger centres, but with fewer resources, so you learn to rely on your team,” Kathleen shared. “You adapt. You figure it out. And it makes great nurses.”
Kathleen describes the North as welcoming, authentic, and full of people who work hard and enjoy life.
“I love that it’s a little rugged,” she added. “It’s a bunch of hardworking people who like to work hard but play harder.”
While some people see the North as remote, Kathleen sees something different. For her, the combination of meaningful work, endless opportunities to learn and a strong sense of belonging is exactly why she came back, and why she stayed.
“You really have no idea until you come here and experience it,” said Kathleen. “People come here because it feels like home. It’s simple living. You find your friends and community here, and that’s what pulls you in.”