A Full Circle Journey

Kathleen Shearer (Patient Partner and Researcher)

For Kathleen Shearer, WCHRI represents something simple and powerful: opportunity.

“It’s an opportunity for students, for researchers — and for families who will benefit from what we learn,” says Kathleen.

Kathleen’s connection to WCHRI spans nearly every angle. As a pediatric nurse and research co-ordinator, she first encountered the institute through its research community. But it was as a parent — raising four children, including a son with special needs — that her involvement took on new meaning.

Through the Pediatric Parent Advisory Group, Kathleen helped shape research led by Shannon Scott and Lisa Hartling, offering insight into what families actually need — not just what clinicians think might work. Over time, that role evolved from providing feedback to helping guide how research is designed, shared and put into practice.

“I think the biggest thing is knowing right away that the research is going to be meaningful to the people it’s meant to help,” she says.

Today, Kathleen has come full circle. Now a PhD student in nursing, supported by a WCHRI graduate studentship, she is contributing to the very system she once helped shape as a parent.

At home, that impact is just as real. The tools and knowledge she’s helped develop don’t stay in the research world — they show up in conversations with her own children, in how her family understands care, and in how they support others.

Through every role she’s held — nurse, parent, adviser, researcher — Kathleen has seen what’s possible when families are part of the process from the start.

And for her, that’s what it means to truly move forward — together.

Thrive: Transforming lives for women and children