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A Mentor, Leader, and Difference Maker – Kris Gustavson Tells Her Story

November 13, 2019

Meet Kris Gustavson. She is the past president of the Nursing Undergraduate Society at the University of British Columbia (UBC), the UBC Nursing Alumni Association, and the Registered Nurses Foundation. She has also been a Board Director for two health organizations, and she has served as a Chapter Executive for the BC Lower Mainland Chapter for 6 years. Kris Gustavson is a true #CCHLDifferenceMaker who not only has an infectious passion for her work, but a passion for getting involved and giving back to her community.

As a pre-commerce student, Kris realized that she was more interested in caring for people than the world of business. She changed her career path and became a Registered Nurse with a Bachelor and Master of Science in Nursing. Since then, she has combined her business management, clinical, and leadership skills to improve patient safety, care, and experience. Kris has been a site reviewer for the BC College of Nursing Professionals and a surveyor with Accreditation Canada. Today, she is the Corporate Director of Accreditation and Patient Experience at the Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA). 

With over 30 years of expertise in her field, Kris has been persistent and dedicated to quality improvement and to the next generation of health care providers/leaders. Throughout her career, she has made a positive, measurable and lasting impact in her accreditation and patient experience work across the PHSA, as well as for the organizations on which she has served as a Board Director.

Kris Gustavson is forever grateful for all the opportunities that were provided to her when she began her career. To show her appreciation, Kris does her best to give back to her community and help up and coming health leaders. As a mentor, Kris has inspired and helped many students and staff with her knowledge and passion for health leadership. As a leader, she tries to emulate those who “took a chance on her” with up and coming health leaders. As a Chapter Executive, she gave back to the chapter that helped her grow her network by volunteering her time, insights, and talents.

Based on her involvement with the College and other associations, Kris Gustavson clearly demonstrates a passion for helping others and giving back. In fact, just last week she volunteered her time as a photographer for the BC Health Leaders Conference. It is this never-ending dedication to helping others and giving back that has earned her the BC Lower Mainland 2019 Chapter Award for Distinguished Service and the title of “Difference Maker”.