Joan Heatherington began her career in gastroenterology in 2000 at the UCMC GI clinic initiating a pilot project assessing the value add of a RN in a subspecialty medicine clinic. She initiated clinics supporting colon cancer screening, monitoring immunosuppressive therapy, telephone support and referral triage. In 2005, having completed a MN and NP graduate degree, Joan initiated a NO led IBD practice and worked collaboratively with physician colleagues on inpatient IBD care and program planning. 2021 she briefly trailed a careen in management returning to clinical care in 2023 as a NP supporting the oncall Gastroenterology service in Red Deer.