Olive Fast, PhD, RN
Academic Title: Associate Professor
Contact Information
Office: Y457
email: ofast@mtroyal.ca
phone: 403.440.8785
Education
PhD, University of Calgary
MScN, University of British Columbia
BN, University College of the Cariboo
BA, University of Winnipeg
Nursing Diploma, St. Boniface School of Nursing
I began nursing in 1983, working for many years in Acute Care, including Intensive Care, Emergency, Med/Surg Educator, Project Coordination, and Management. I continued going back to school, obtaining my final degree, a PhD in nursing, from the University of Calgary in 2016. I have worked in all domains of nursing, including clinical practice, education, management, and research. My passion is to see healthcare improve by educating nurses, both at home and abroad.
Area of Instruction
- Adult Health
- Alterations in Health - Pathophysiology and Pharmacology
- Seniors Health
- Theoretical Foundations in Nursing
Area of Scholarship
As chair of SPECT, I have the privilege to also head up the organizations monitoring and evaluation activities, including identifying the impact of education and mentoring on healthcare workers practices related to infection control activities, specifically in the area of sterile processing of surgical instruments.
My PhD thesis, titled, “The Social Organization of the Staffing Work of Nurse Managers: A Critique of Contemporary Nursing Workload Technologies”, was published in 2016.
More recent research focuses on clinical instructors reasoning processes when putting students on a learning contract, and developing a tool to support this process.
Selected Publications
May 1, 2019 Fast, O., Gebremedhin Teka, H., Alemayehu/Gebreselassie, M., Fast, C.M.D., Fast, D., Uzoka, F.M.E. (2019). The impact of a short-term training program on workers’ sterile processing knowledge and practices in 12 Ethiopian hospitals: a mixed methods study. PLOS ONE (Vol. 14(5) pp. on-line). open access: PLOS. (In Print / Published). Retrieved from https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0215643. doi: doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0215643
August 2018 Rahmani, A., Irajpour, A., Zamanzadeh, V., Campbell, S., Hassankhani, H., Fast, O., Aliafsari Mamaghani, E. Experiences of Iranian nursing students regarding their clinical learning environment. Asian Nursing Research, 12(3): 216-222. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anr.2018.08.005
February 2018 Fast, O., Fast, C., Salami, Z., Fast, D., Veltjens, S., White, M. Mixed methods evaluation of the impact of a short term training program on sterile processing knowledge, practice, and attitude in three hospitals in Benin. Antimicrobial Resistance and Infection Control (2018) 7:20 doi.org/10.1186/s13756-018-0312-6
December 2017 Fast, O., & Rankin, J. Rationing nurses: Realities, practicalities, and nursing leadership theories. Accepted November 2017, Nursing Inquiry, doi.org/10.1111/nin.12227
August 2017 Fast, O., Fast, C., Fast, D., Veltjens, S., Salami, Z., & White, M. Limited Sterile Processing Capabilities for Safe Surgery in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Experience in the Republic of Congo, Madagascar, and Benin. BMJ Global Health, 2017:e000428. doi:10.1136/bmjgh-2017-000428
Selected Presentations
Fast, O., Rankin, J. (2019). “We’re Short Staffed Again”: How Did We Get Here?. 6th World Congress of Advanced Nursing and Healthcare, Brussels, Belgium.
Zettel, S., Bouma, J., Fast, O., Harris, J., Feist, H. (2019). Facilitating the Immersive ICU Experience: Teaching Using 360 Degree Technology. Celebrating Teaching at MRU, Rodrick Mah Center, Mount Royal University, Calgary, Canada.
Cancunnan, A., Fast, O., Dosani, A. (2019) Sterile Processing Capacities in Low and Middle Income Countries: An Integrative Review. Houston Global Health Collaborative, Houston. Houston Global Health Collaborative.
El-Hussein, M., Osuji, J., Fast, O. (2018). The science behind gut feelings in clinical nursing education. CASN 2018, Montreal. Scholarship of Teaching and Learning – Research Rigour for Nursing Education.
El Hussein, M., Fast, O., Osuji, J. (2018). The Nature of Gut Feeling in Clinical Education: A Grounded Theory Study. NETNEP2018, Banff Center for Arts. 7th International Nurse Education Conference.
Relevant Community Service
- Chair, Sterile Processing Education Charitable Trust (SPECT) - Jun 30, 2013
- Vice-President, SPECT-US - Feb 1, 2016
- Year 3 Lead, BN Program, SoNM, FH&C