As a dietician at Surrey Memorial Hospital (SMH), my portfolio includes pediatric medicine, psychiatry, oncology, some outpatients, and maternity and I love that every day is different. The variety that I see day-to-day really keeps me learning and growing as a clinician. I absolutely love working with my pediatric patients and their families and caregivers.
I’m a member of the Pediatric Eating Disorder Shared Work Team and we have been working hard to update and revise the regional decision support tools for acute care of a patient with a medically unstable eating disorder. I’m so proud of what this team has accomplished, including the creation of patient and caregiver booklets that provide families with more information on what to expect during the admission, roles of team members, and resources for pediatric eating disorders. We hope that these booklets will make admission to the hospital less overwhelming for children and their families who need it.
I work with an incredible group of kind, caring, intelligent, and collaborative people. They give me something to smile or laugh about every day, which has meant a lot – especially during the pandemic. Working with my collaborative team and having the support of management has grown my confidence and communication skills immensely over the last few years working in this position. I feel very supported when asking questions to further my knowledge, and communicating my recommendations to the care team and to the families we work with. I also have gained the confidence to explore new challenges, such as taking on quality improvement projects as a front-line staff member to improve patient care both in my practice and within Fraser Health.
I love that I can incorporate quality improvement into my frontline work. I feel fulfilled when I know I’m making a difference whether I’m interacting with my patients or behind-the-scenes on how we can improve care for our patients as a whole within the Maternity Infant Child Youth (MICY) program.
I would recommend anyone starting as a casual to consider saying yes to any opportunity to train in new areas. I worked casually for a few years before moving into a permanent position, and it really helped me to identify what areas of acute or outpatient care dietetics I was most passionate about. I probably wouldn’t have gone into the world of pediatric nutrition if I didn’t have the opportunity to train and cover pediatric and neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) as a casual.
Since moving to Surrey, my fiancée and I have been very pleasantly surprised by how accessible our neighborhood is to stores, recreation, and amenities. I live in the community I work in, and there are so many good restaurants to explore in our community. This is our home now, and I can’t picture us moving out of the neighborhood in the foreseeable future.
I love being close by to green spaces and having lots of options for outdoor activities. I love hiking in some of my favorite trails with my dog such as Lynn Canyon and Golden Ears or go to dog-friendly beaches like Crescent or Ambleside Beach. We also love to go camping – it’s great having so many provincial and private campgrounds, all within an hour’s drive!
I make time for things that bring me joy like baking, gentle movement, and relaxing watching tv shows or movies. Accessing nature is also very therapeutic for me so we enjoy walking my dog around our neighborhood or taking her on hikes.
Fraser Health is the heart of health care for over two million people in 20 diverse communities from Burnaby to Boston Bar on the traditional, ancestral and unceded lands of the Coast Salish and Nlaka’pamux Nations and is home to 32 First Nations within the Fraser Salish region.
Our hospital and community-based services are delivered by a team of 48,000+ staff, medical staff and volunteers dedicated to serving our patients, families and communities.
2023 All rights reserved.