Guiding Lights
Melissa Stodola (she/they) sees advocacy as an essential part of her nursing career, so it didn’t take her long to dive into union activism after she began working at Port Coquitlam’s Hawthorne Seniors Care Community in 2017. She currently serves as BCNU’s Simon Fraser region lobby coordinator.
“As a lobby coordinator, you represent so many members,” she says of her role. “You’re not speaking for yourself or just for the union. You’re speaking for nurses and their lives – their personal lives, their work lives – you are that voice.”
Stodola has held a variety of union positions. She has been a steward since 2022 and previously served as a joint occupational health and safety representative at her worksite before being elected as a lobby coordinator in 2024. She also currently sits as her region’s representative for the Young Nurses’ Network.
In recent months, she has been busy engaging mayors and city councillors to educate them about ways to support minimum nurse-to-patient ratios. She has held meetings and presentations this year with six local governments: Burnaby, Coquitlam, Maple Ridge, New Westminster, Pitt Meadows and Port Coquitlam.
For Stodola, this kind of work fits perfectly with her passion for speaking out.
“When you’re a lobby coordinator, you can’t just be quiet,” she says. “You have to put yourself out there and advocate.”
10 QUESTIONS WITH MELISSA STODOLA
What is one word you would use to describe yourself?
Resilient.
How did you decide to become a nurse?
When I was a teenager, I volunteered at Eagle Ridge Hospital and Manor. I really enjoyed helping the nurses with small tasks. On Fridays, I would assist residents with the bingo program and discovered a passion for holistic care for people with Alzheimer’s and dementia or people in their last chapter of life.
What do you do in your spare time?
I love yoga, sewing, watercolour painting, embroidery, pottery, nature walks, baking and cooking new recipes.
What advice would you give to someone just starting out in nursing?
The person you need to take care of the most is yourself. Patients need a nurse who is well rested, grounded, hydrated and ready to work. Make sure you have strong boundaries when it comes to work-life balance. Take your breaks!
What is one thing about you that people would be surprised to learn?
I’m a huge Legend of Zelda fan – my favourite game is Twilight Princess. I named my French bulldog Midna-Hylia which is the main character’s name.
What was the last good thing you read?
Home Body by Rupi Kaur.
What was the best piece of career advice you’ve received?
When someone is sick, scared, stressed or injured, they need someone who is calm. You’ll go far in nursing if you learn how to control your internal system during a crisis.
What do you like most about being a nurse?
The connections I have made with patients. It’s an honour to be someone’s nurse and a part of their journey.
What do you like least about being a nurse?
Having too many patients to take care of. Minimum nurse-to-patient ratios are so desperately needed!
Name one change you would like to make to the health-care system.
More emphasis on mental health. Individuals experiencing mental illness deserve personal and holistic care. Our health-care system needs more support, including more psychiatric hospitals, facilities, psychiatric nurses and other interdisciplinary team members.
UPDATE (Summer 2025)