Healthcare chose Marilyn Robinson, CHE. She believed that people had confidence in her ability to “do the job”. Therefore, whenever an opportunity presented itself, Marilyn never hesitated to take it. This will to pursue opportunities has led Marilyn to have a successful career as a health leader full of unique and rewarding experiences. It has also earned her the 2019 Chapter Award for Distinguished Service from the College’s Manitoba chapter.
After completing her degree in Nursing, Marilyn began her career by teaching nursing to others. Following several years of teaching, she went on to become the Director of Nursing for a new community hospital. Since then, she has worked on special projects for the government, as well as being the Director of the provincial Home Care program, President of the provincial Nursing Association, Chief Nursing Officer at Seven Oaks Hospital, and CEO at Fred Douglas Lodge. All in all, according to Marilyn, her biggest accomplishment as a health leader was being involved with the opening of a new community hospital. This entailed building a strong management team, developing policies and procedures, hiring and developing staff, introducing innovative solutions and much more.
As a member of the College for 37 years and a CHE for 25 years, Marilyn has truly experienced it all. Today, she values her involvement with the Manitoba chapter as this allows her to give back by offering support and expertise to upcoming new leaders and by helping to mentor them in their new and emerging roles.
Marilyn Robinson’s advice to aspiring health leaders is to take advantage of every opportunity to learn from others. She also recommends reading the educational articles from the Healthcare Management Forum, completing your CHE, and participating in as many health leadership activities as possible.
