About Our Founder
Hope Gillis, RN CON (C)
Hope Gillis, RN CON (C), is the President and Founder of NovaHope Inc., which was established August 23, 2019, and opened March 2, 2020.
A native of Nova Scotia, Hope Gillis is inspired by the beauty of our province and our eclectic mix of cultures. A singer-songwriter and poet at heart, Hope is passionate about finding the beauty in the everyday. She brings this passion along with her nursing expertise and skills to her patients/clients to help them feel supported and informed during the cancer experience.Hope is a member of:
Nova Scotia College of Nursing
Canadian Nursing Association
Canadian Association of Nurses in Oncology
Canadian Association of Psychosocial Oncology
Hope was a recipient of the Dorothy McKeown Award, Halifax Infirmary School of Nursing, for Professionalism, Integrity and Compassion.
Hope brings over 30 years’ experience and skills as a Registered Nurse and 12 years’ experience as a Canadian Certified Oncology Nurse. She has a special interest in the bio-psychosocial approach, known as the relationship between the Body–Mind–Spirit and our social environment.
She started her nursing career in emergency nursing, where she worked for 20 years. She later found her way to the world of oncology, where she worked 12 years in various oncology settings – chemotherapy, radiation oncology and cancer patient navigation.
Hope has an extensive portfolio of courses, conferences and workshops to support her knowledge as an oncology nurse. Examples of courses she has acquired:
Oncology Distance Education Certificate from Alberta Health Services
Inter-Professional Psychosocial Oncology Course (IPODE)
Therapeutic Practices for Distress Management in Oncology
Canadian Nurses Association - Canadian Oncology Nurse Certification
Hope is a lifelong learner and continues studies through workshops and conferences, as well as studies through Saint Francis Xavier and de Souza Institute. It is Hope’s intention to support and expand her knowledge, ultimately to enhance her service of care to her patients/clients.
As Hope listened and observed the needs of her patients, she began to recognize gaps in the system. She decided to take a closer look at how she wanted to continue her calling for healing. Her passion and calling focused on decreasing suffering and promoting a greater state of well-being regardless of disease or prognosis. Hope sought to find an environment that would be in alignment with her values of supporting the Body–Mind–Spirit connection.
Hope’s delivery of care is propelled by her commitment and dedication to deliver a whole health approach – one on one and face to face – at the patient’s own pace. This mantra led her to create the role of the NovaHope Cancer Coach Nurse. Thus transpired the inception of:
