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UNB nursing professor Dr. Kimberly Wilbur earned her PhD in Interdisciplinary Studies after overcoming personal setbacks and dedicating her research to improving the care of society's most vulnerable populations.

When Dr. Wilbur crosses the stage at the University of New Brunswick's 44th Saint John Fall Convocation Ceremony on Friday, Oct. 23, she will receive her PhD in Interdisciplinary Studies (IDST).

“Once the pandemic hit, I found myself thinking, ‘maybe this is the perfect time to start taking a few courses,’ and then I started working towards my PhD. I chose Dr. Rob Moir from the Faculty of Business as my supervisor, and the journey evolved from there.”

The path was far from easy, but the encouragement she received, the knowledge she gained, and the relationships she formed along the way became the foundation of her doctoral research.

A community health nurse and educator, Kimberly began her doctoral studies in 2020 after years of working with people experiencing homelessness, mental illness, and substance use disorders.

“I was coming across individuals whom I would literally beg to go to the hospital because I knew they were critically ill and required medical care, yet they would refuse,” she said. "I just couldn't seem to convince them.”

“The next day, I would come back to the community only to find that they had passed away, dying in abandoned buildings and in parking lots. I said to myself, ‘Kim, what is it that you’re not doing, what can you be doing differently?’”

“I understood all the many barriers they faced in the healthcare system; however, they simply would not go to the hospital. That was really the basis of my research question and what led me to explore this issue,” Wilbur said.

Her thesis, Mattering Matters: Identifying What Influences People Who Use Drugs to Access Emergency Healthcare Services, sought to answer that question.

“I really believe that IDST was the right approach because it wasn’t only a nursing issue,” said Wilbur. “It was very broad and included sociology, psychology, philosophy, and nursing. I think if I had stayed within the discipline of nursing alone, my results would have been different, more medicalized.”

While working on her PhD, Wilbur began facing personal challenges that would change the trajectory of her research.

She continued working full time while navigating vision loss in early 2024, being hit by a distracted driver followed by a fall at work resulting in an open dislocation of her fingers. Then, in May 2025, she received a breast cancer diagnosis, all while coping with the sudden loss of her father.

“I finished my PhD,” she said. “But I don’t think that it would have been possible without all of the support and encouragement I received from my son, mother, aunts, friends, colleagues, and the Elders along the way.”

Wilbur approached her treatment through the lens of Two-Eyed Seeing, bringing together Indigenous Ways of Knowing with Western knowledge and medicine.

“I underwent conventional cancer treatments, including surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy. At the same time, I was supported by traditional Indigenous medicines,” she said.

“Both Elder Dr. Imelda Perley (Opolahsomuwehs) and Elder Andrea Simon, who were themselves breast cancer survivors, understood what I was experiencing. Together, they quietly wrapped their arms around me, offering support and guidance throughout my breast cancer treatment, and into my recovery.”

These experiences ultimately shaped both Wilbur’s personal healing journey and her academic work.

In her research, she discovered that many of the people living on the streets were more likely to seek emergency health care when they felt they mattered to someone or something.

“I noticed that if they didn’t feel that they mattered to anyone or anything, then they did not matter to themselves and, in turn, they would simply choose not to go to the hospital.”

She recalled one individual who had an old pet, and because their pet needed them, they would access health services, and he made it clear that it was the only reason.

These findings became one of the most significant conclusions of her research: a sense of mattering must be built into plans of care if there are going to be positive changes in the future.

As Wilbur noted, "It seems almost simplistic and intuitive; however, it is a very difficult and complicated concept to create and implement in fragile populations."

“Living with a serious addiction, being unhoused and often mentally ill is not an easy life,” she said. “Yet it is so important to treat people with kindness and respect, regardless of where they are coming from, because everyone is fighting a battle of some kind.”

With her doctorate now complete, Wilbur is bringing those lessons to her classroom, focusing on Indigenous health and healing while helping prepare future nurses to provide compassionate, culturally responsive care.

Among the most important lessons she hopes to pass along is the value of making meaningful human connections.

“You need to notice when someone hasn’t been around and let them know they were missed,” she said. “Be gentle in your approach. Make eye contact, listen quietly, and ask, ‘If there was one thing I could do to help you today, what might that be?’”

At convocation, eight members of her family will travel from across the country to celebrate this milestone alongside her.

“I see things differently now with a doctorate degree,” she said. “I question more and I want to understand the evidence, but we need more research in the field of mattering.”

For Wilbur, the lessons from her research and her lived experiences come down to a simple truth: pursue peace, and with it will come joy and gratitude.

"This experience has changed me, and I have so much more gratitude now: gratitude to be here, and gratitude to be loved, and to be with the people I know and care about,” she said.

“Everyone matters; you do not have to, nor are you expected to travel through this life alone.”