I don’t need someone to say that I did something great, I’m doing it for the people of my community

“It is a true honour to be recognized in this way. I don’t do the work I do for any type of recognition,” said Susan (Sue) Doucette, provincial palliative home care clinical development coordinator, recipient of the King Charles III medal. “My home-based care team, our Island hospices, and everyone who provides and supports hospice and palliative care across PEI have been an integral part of all the work I do."

Sue’s role takes place in many areas of care, including the Provincial Palliative Care Centre, provincial geriatrics program, and provincial home care. She was nominated for this recognition by Hospice PEI. 

“I was asked by the Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association (CHPCA) who we could nominate on PEI as a recipient for the King Charles III Medal,” said Nancymarie Arsenault, Executive Director of Hospice PEI. “Someone who exemplified the work of hospice AND palliative care. I could not think of a more deserving person to nominate than Sue. She intersects both hospice services and palliative care on PEI.”

The Provincial Palliative Care Program and Hospice PEI (link is external) are not directly linked, but they do work side-by-side with patients and their families. This work happens in hospital and the patient’s home, regardless of where the patients are. If both groups are involved, they work as a team.

“I always look back at it differently now than I did in the beginning of my career because the approach has changed,” said Sue. “We used to think palliative care just focused on a person who was dying but it doesn’t. It’s much broader. It’s from diagnosis onward. You treat them as a person, support their family, and give them quality of life.”

Sue saw people needing palliative care early in her career as a visiting nurse before becoming a palliative care coordinator in 2015.

“It was not something I ever thought I would do,” she said, “It kind of scared me a little bit, you must mature a little, you have to gain that self-awareness and know where you stand. I knew I had a passion for it not long after I started in home care. So, I worked to get my certification before even applying for the job.”

Sue feels that there are still great strides to be made in understanding all that palliative care encompasses.

“If this recognition does that, then I’m thrilled with this award,” said Sue. “I don’t need acknowledgement for the work I do, I don’t need someone to say that I did something great, I’m doing it for the people of my community and the people of PEI. If this helps to spread the message, that the palliative care program is really about people, improving their quality of life, including their family, and not just treating the disease but looking at the person, mentally, socially, and spiritually, everything together. That’s my hope.”