About Us

Lead Instructor - ACLS, ACLS EP, PALS, PEARS, BLS, First Aid, Heart Saver, Nurses workshops

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Graduated Nursing in India (2007) and immigrated as Graduate Nurse to Saskatchewan with a work permit in  the year 2009 and became a Registered Nurse in Canada. Sunny Jose worked in Rural community Hospital (ER and Acute care) in the first two years, and later moved to Urban Hospital. Majority of his nursing career, he devoted to bedside nursing in cardiology and became an instructor in 2016. He is a proud Registered Nurse and an entrepreneur with 15+ years of experience in ER, Acute care, Medical and Surgical, and Cardiology departments at Rural and Urban hospital setting in Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Colombia. 

He is passionate and committed to assist all healthcare professionals in delivering quality continuing education. He congratulates all healthcare professionals for their dedication and passion in continuing education to work safely and competently.

 

"Empower skills and knowledge with Beats and Breaths Academy Ltd."​​

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Experienced Instructor - ACLS, ACLS-EP, PALS, TNCC provider, Nurses Workshops

 

Kaitlyn Julas is a Registered Nurse certified in Adult Critical Care (CNCC, Canada). She specializes in Adult Critical Care and Emergency Nursing. Kaitlyn completed her Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree through the University of Alberta and graduated with distinction. She went on to complete Advanced Studies in Critical Care Nursing through Mount Royal University. Her background includes rural and tertiary level emergency and critical care nursing. Kaitlyn currently works full time at a Level I Trauma Center in various critical care areas. She teaches ACLS/ACLS-EP, PALS & TNCC with Beats and Breaths Academy. In 2024, Kaitlyn became a member of the Emergency Nurses Association Faculty for Alberta. Kaitlyn is passionate about systemically improving the quality of healthcare delivery. She believes that by empowering her colleagues through continuing education, she can help to improve patient care and outcomes. At Beats and Breaths Academy she is well known for her ability to create a safe and fun learning environment while remaining focused on high quality course delivery.

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“LIFE’S MOST PERSISTENT AND URGENT QUESTION IS ‘WHAT ARE YOU DOING FOR OTHERS?’” -Martin Luther King Jr.​

Experienced Instructor - ACLS and Nurses Workshops

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Melissa Da Silva is a Registered Nurse who graduated from the University of Alberta and has over 20 years of Critical Care nursing experience in a Level 1 Trauma Center. She is deeply committed to providing quality and compassionate care to her patients and brings a wealth of knowledge into her teaching. She joined Beats and Breaths Academy Ltd. in 2020 and teaches ACLS and other workshops for healthcare professionals to be safe and competent in practice.  In addition to teaching at our facility, Melissa has taught nursing clinical for the University. She has been recognized for in-depth knowledge, expertise and achievements in areas including Quality Nursing Care, Clinical & Communication Skills, Team Collaboration, and Mentorship.

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Experienced Instructor - ACLS, ACLS-EP, PALS, BLS, TNCC Provider, ENPC, CTAS, Nurses workshops, ECG and ACLS prep. workshop, and “Stop The Bleed” Instructor

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Jason Pedersen is a Registered Nurse, Emergency, Critical Care and clinical nurse educator with 30+ years of clinical experience.

Jason has a passion for emergency, prehospital, and critical care which he had spent his broad nursing career pursuing. His experience ranges from remote rural to urban and tertiary settings. It also includes EMS and ground transport as well as helicopter rescue in a remote location in British Columbia. He is an instructor for many advanced resuscitation courses. He has worked as a Tertiary Emergency Department Clinical Nurse Educator where he is honed his adult and pediatric critical care clinical leadership and mentorship skills.

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He had transitioned from direct bedside roles to clinical nurse educator and assistant head nurse roles. These have allowed him to formalize his leadership skills while continuing direct clinical care. He had traveled extensively during his nursing career. These diverse work environments and teams gave him the opportunity to excel as a collaborative leader as well as excellent instructor.

 ACLS instructor

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Dr. Haponiuk's career highlights include being an EMS medical director and a flight physician with STARS air ambulance as well as years of clinical experience working in a busy, tertiary care Emergency Department. Over the course of her career, Dr. Haponiuk has been a didactic and clinical teacher for paramedics, medical students, and residents and has been honored with three teaching awards. Her extensive clinical experience allows her to bring many real-world cases and scenarios to her teaching which make her didactic and skills-based teaching relevant and engaging for students. She has been teaching ACLS since 2004 and is excited to be joining the Beats and Breaths Academy teaching faculty.

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Dr. Haponiuk began her teaching and lifesaving career as a lifeguard and swim instructor in her late teens and early 20's. After completing her Bachelor of Sciences degree at Simon Fraser University and medical school at the University of British Columbia, she moved to Edmonton in 2001 to pursue an Emergency Medicine residency. Since completing residency in 2006, she has remained in Edmonton working as an attending Emergency Physician. 

ACLS Instructor

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Dr.Carly Rumley is a born and raised Edmontonian. She completed a BSc in Biological Sciences, a MSc in Medical Genetics, and her MD from the University of Alberta during which she fell in love with Emergency Medicine. She graduated from the U of A CCFP EM program in 2021. Her interests include EM ultrasound. Outside of the ED, she is a swimmer and runner. 

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Experienced Instructor - ACLS, ACLS EP, PALS, BLS, NRP, ITLS

Willy Lauder is an Advanced Care Paramedic with 32 years of experience and 20+ years of teaching as an experienced ACLS, PALS, BLS, ITLS, and NRP instructor. Currently working as a community paramedic with AHS. He is very passionate in teaching and very happy to join a team of instructors at Beats and Breaths Academy Ltd. In his free time, he loves to play sports and rock climb. He is a scout leader with group of kids. He spends time playing guitar when out at his trailer for relaxation most summer.

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Instructor - Nursing Workshops - Clinical Documentation

CTAS Instructor

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​Shelley is a Registered Nurse with an extension background  in nursing inclusive of ER, acute care and managerial.  Over the course of Shelley's career, she has worked internationally (Florida) and in four provinces in Canada.   Shelley returned to Canada in 2013, first to BC and then in 2015, to Alberta. As a North Zone Educator, Shelley developed and taught  the Charge Nurse Workshop: Leaders in Action.  In addition to being a CTAS instructor, Shelley  has provided educational programs to several nurses while in her Clinical Educator role.  Over the past seven years, Shelley has investigated several cases of abuse (harm). A key component is documentation when conducting these investigations.  Currently, Shelley works casually in a small rural hospital in Northern Alberta.

ACLS and PALS Instructor

 

Natallie Wiedemann has been an ER nurse from remote Northern Canada to Urban Trauma 1 for the last 20 or so years, Currently practicing in a small suburban ER. She began teaching about 10 years ago and developed a love for the education side of nursing and have expanded her role from bedside nurse to casual CNE. Her focus is on providing quality care utilizing the most up to date information and best practices to ensure the highest quality of patient outcomes. She endeavours to create a safe and welcoming learning environment to allow everyone to learn together to fully understand the concepts presented

BLS Instructor

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Victor is a Heart and Stroke certified BLS instructor since 2019 and has been instructing with Beats and Breaths Academy since 2023. Professionally, Victor is a PCP - Primary Care Paramedic with over 13 years of experience working on an ambulance in various communities in Central Alberta. Victor is passionate about teaching CPR because he knows the difference it can make when someone receives early bystander CPR and defibrillation. Victor’s favourite part of teaching BLS is facilitating the team dynamics exercise. When not busy working, Victor enjoys cooking, traveling, exploring new cuisines, and eating authentic Japanese ramen (not the instant kind!).

BLS and First Aid Instructor

 

Beatriz Rubio completed the Bachelor of Science in Nursing After Degree program in 2020, graduating with distinction. She also holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology with a specialization and a research certificate from the University of Alberta, which she received in 2018. Currently, she is pursuing a Master of Nursing degree at the University of Calgary, expected to be completed in August 2024.   Since 2020, Beatriz has been working in the cardiovascular surgery unit, bringing her expertise and dedication to patient care. In 2023, she joined Beats and Breaths Academy as a BLS instructor. She is known for her passion for teaching and her commitment to continuous education and professional growth. She strives to equip healthcare providers and the general public with essential life-saving skills such as CPR and first aid.   Beatriz is dedicated to enhancing healthcare delivery through education and empowerment. Her commitment to improving patient care and outcomes is reflected in her efforts to provide high-quality instruction and foster a culture of learning and excellence.

ACLS Instructor - Calgary, AB

 

Ibukunoluwa moved to Canada in 2019 after completing part of his general surgery residency in the United States. In February 2023, he joined the Pediatric Surgery team with Alberta Health Services as a Clinical Surgical Assistant where he loves keeping kids alive. He has a passion for critical patient care, cardiac physiology and neuroscience. Bringing teaching experiences from college and medical school, Ibukunoluwa brings a wealth of medical knowledge to the team. Fun fact about him - he started a home school in his neighborhood in Nigeria around the age of 12 and many students say it really helped them succeed later on in life. IBK - as we call him for short - looks forward to seeing you in the classroom where you will learn how to save lives!

BLS, ACLS, PALS and CTAS Instructor - Toronto, ON & Calgary, AB

 

Farah is a Registered Nurse with over 11 years of experience in Emergency Medicine and Trauma Care. Currently, Farah is the Clinical Nurse Educator at Unity Health Toronto's Emergency Department and Level One Trauma Centre. Her role involves utilizing evidence-based practices to guide clinical decision-making, optimizing policies and procedures, and delivering a comprehensive ED education curriculum to build competency in caring for critically ill and injured patients. As Co-Chair of the Quality Improvement Council, Farah collaborates with an interdisciplinary team to lead initiatives such as the CPR Coach, Hypothermia Pathways, and Blood Culture Collection projects. Current QI projects Farah is involved with includes evaluating the CPR Coach role, reviewing Hypothermia Protocols, and enhancing Blood Culture Collection practices. 

Farah holds instructor status with the Heart and Stroke Foundation for BLS, ACLS, and PALS and with the National Emergency Nurses Association (NENA) for Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale (CTAS) and is an Adjunct Lecturer (Appointment) with the University of Toronto. 

In her spare time, Farah loves enjoying new places in the city, travelling, and spending time with her cat, Binky.