Almost | School of Nursing | Queen's University

Dr. Joan Almost PhD, RN

Position(s)

Professor

Contact Information

613-533-6000 ext. 74748

Teaching

My scholarly teaching is grounded within the philosophy and science of nursing and has developed from my extensive clinical, teaching, and research experience. Through integrating adult learning principals with scientific knowledge and firsthand experience, I strive to create a positive and meaningful learning environment that enhances knowledge exchange with students. During my career, I have demonstrated that I am a well-rounded faculty member who is engaging and supportive with students and whose students achieve significant outcomes. I have received The Reddick Award for Excellence in Nursing Education, was recognized by the School of Graduate Studies for my outstanding contributions to graduate education through the Featured Graduate Coordinators initiative and was nominated for the Faculty of Health Sciences Education Award. Areas of teaching expertise include leadership and management, policy, and quantitative research methods.

Research

My program of research is centered on engaging with healthcare partners, policy makers and knowledge users to advance the nursing profession and the science of quality practice environments in healthcare. Areas of research expertise include quantitative research methods, policy, nursing workforce, leadership, work relationships within teams, nursing recruitment/ retention, and health human resource planning. I have secured research funding for several research projects through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Ontario Ministry of Health, and Ontario Ministry of Labour.

Based on my expertise, I have been invited in recent years to collaborate with national nursing policymakers on key policy issues. Examples include: 1) My collaboration as Scholar in Residence with the Canadian Nurses Association (CNA) culminated in a report entitled Regulated Nursing in Canada: The Landscape in 2021, which will be updated in 2026. The impact of this report has been extensive and is used by CNA as a foundational document in their ongoing work responding to the current shortage of regulated nurses in Canada; 2) My collaboration with the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions (CFNU) was a research study examining the high use of private nursing agencies in Canada leading to a report entitled Opening the Black Box: Unpacking the Use of Nursing Agencies in Canada (2024). This was the first study examining private nursing agencies in Canada and provided three key recommendations to all levels of government focused on phasing out the use of private for-profit nurse staffing agencies, implementing regulations and oversight until agencies are phased out, and taking immediate action to solve the nursing shortage crisis; and, 3) A collaboration with a government agency to synthesize and critique current nursing workforce databases across Canada as well as factors influencing nurses’ choice to stay or leave their roles. The final report provided key policy recommendations to organizations and governments to address data gaps, improve the quality of current databases, and promote nurses’ retention to inform public policy on effective workforce planning.

Service

My extensive record of service includes contributions crossing local, national, and international borders. Current highlights of my external service include my role as 1) Scholar in Residence with the Canadian Nurses Association, 2) Editor (Research) with the Canadian Journal of Nursing Leadership, 3) member of the Dashboard Advisory Group with Health Workforce Canada and 4) member of the Expert Advisory Group (EAG) for State of the Health Workforce report with the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI).

Publications

For publications, please click here.

Team