NP Alumna Hired at Saskatchewan Cancer Agency
Nurse Practitioner Margarita Bykova is creating her own path as the first NP employed by the Saskatchewan Cancer Agency.
If you’ve visited either the Saskatoon Cancer Centre or the Allan Blair Cancer Centre in Regina, you will find many doctors and nurses, but what you won’t find, is a nurse practitioner (NP). That is, until recently.
Margarita Bykova (NP ’19) is the first nurse practitioner hired by the Saskatchewan Cancer Agency (SCA). She started her position at the Saskatoon Cancer Centre on January 11, 2021.
“The SK Cancer Agency had been considering hiring NPs for a few years and in the past, several registered nurses (RN) actually returned to school to become NPs in the hopes of being hired to work for the agency, but the timing was not there yet,” said Bykova.
The new NP position is modeled after a similar one held by a general practitioner at the Allan Blair Cancer Centre. “When I started, the medical services department wanted me to create something similar in Saskatoon,” said Bykova. “After many meetings with management and various stakeholders and contacting NPs working at Cancer Centres in Alberta and British Columbia, I drafted a plan and work standards for the Oncology Follow-Up Clinic (OFC).” The clinic began accepting referrals April 12th.
Bykova spends her days seeing patients, reviewing investigations, triaging incoming referrals, and continuing to develop the OFC. In particular, she works with cancer survivors who completed active treatment, but require ongoing follow-up at the Cancer Centre for various reasons.
“I am working on strengthening resources to assist patients in their transition from active treatment to the long-term survivorship phase,” Bykova added. “I want to ensure patients return to the new normal after cancer, with a good quality of life. My goal is to have them ready for discharge from the Cancer Centre to the primary care providers and equipped with all the tools and resources needed when that time comes.”
Her role may be new with the SCA, but Bykova feels fortunate to have a lot of support. “I am lucky to have access to the Saskatoon Cancer Centre team for consultation and guidance. The oncologists are always open to answer my clinical questions. As well, I have been making connections with various service providers in Saskatoon, such as the Breast/Prostate Health Centre, Pelvic Floor Physiotherapy, Lymphedema Clinic, Menopause Clinic, etc., as this has helped me to gain the appropriate knowledge required to best assist my patients.”
Bykova has always been interested in cancer care and feels fortunate to work in oncology as a NP, although it’s not always easy. “Cancer diagnosis and treatment is life-changing. With cancer survivors, some struggle with long-term and late effects of treatment. Their physical and mental health is altered by treatment and understandably, they always have a fear of recurrence. But I feel fortunate to work with cancer survivors, as they are highly motivated to stay healthy and return to their lives. I am passionate about making a positive impact on people’s lives, especially in these times when they need it the most.”
Beginning her education in Ecology, it was a summer of minor health concerns and treatment by a kind nurse that inspired Bykova to pursue nursing. She completed her Bachelor of Science in Nursing at McGill University in 2013 and went on to work as a bedside nurse on med-surg and in intensive care units (ICU) for a few years. In 2016, her and her husband (who is also a nurse and works as a RN in ICU) moved to Saskatoon and she worked as a registered nurse at the Saskatoon Cancer Centre in the clinical trials department.
“When moving to Saskatoon, my husband and I were planning to stay for 2 years, then return to Montreal,” said Bykova. “My experience at the University of Saskatchewan (USask), our life in Saskatoon, and our exploration of Saskatchewan, made me appreciate the prairies a lot. Now, we are proud and hopefully permanent residents of the beautiful “Paris of the Prairies”.”
While working at the Saskatoon Cancer Centre as a RN, Bykova would walk or bike to work every day and see the beautiful USask campus. It reminded her of her love for academia and her desire to become a nurse practitioner. She applied to the USask College of Nursing that winter and completed her Master of Nursing – Nurse Practitioner program in 2019. Since completing her program, she worked in a temporary position at Kliniek on Main in Moose Jaw, in another temporary position in the rural town of Central Butte, and most recently, at the Regina Chronic Pain Clinic.
Although Bykova created her own path as the first NP employed by the Saskatchewan Cancer Agency, she is not the only NP to be hired. The second NP was hired in April and works at the Allan Blair Cancer Centre.
“The SCA is now very motivated to develop various NP roles,” said Bykova. “Since I started in January, other NP positions have been filled in Saskatoon and Regina. This is exciting, as NP positions are not overly common in urban areas in Saskatchewan. It is an opportune time to start as a NP in oncology and make the role your own. NPs can work in cancer survivorship, active treatment of many cancer types, primary care, and in hereditary cancers, etc. It could be a career of a lifetime - I encourage others to give it a try!”
For nurse practitioner students looking for more information on a NP career in oncology, Bykova would be pleased to answer any questions.