When I first started at Fraser Health, I was a project coordinator and later moved into the role as project leader. This has allowed me to take on more initiatives and responsibilities giving me the confidence and knowledge over time to develop and refine my skills.

As a project leader within the Mental Health and Substance Use (MHSU) program, I have the opportunity to plan and implement various initiatives and projects that enhance our services, ensuring we provide the best care for our patients. This can include expanding or enhancing an existing service or program or creating an entirely new program to include in our service continuum.

On a day-to-day, I work through project documents, plans and frequent communications between key stakeholders. This can include facilitating advisory committee meetings or focus groups with people that have lived experiences for input on projects or initiatives to make sure it aligns with our patients’ needs. They say project management is 90 per cent communication, and that is something I really enjoy! There is also managing the impact or risk from a systems perspective to monitor any interdependencies that could influence the project. Lastly, projects usually undergo a lot of changes, so we do have to be adept at change management to ensure things run as smoothly as possible.

I was first drawn to MHSU because of how impactful the work is. Working with a vulnerable population that can often be overlooked and misjudged. Helping lead projects in this portfolio brings compassion satisfaction because you know there is a strong need in the community for the work you are doing. I really love seeing a project go from start to finish and hearing from those impacted about how it has benefitted them. Before joining Fraser Health, I didn’t know how impactful my work could be since I don’t work directly with clients. Most of the work is behind-the-scenes from a client perspective and I have learned early on that this wasn’t the case. All the work we do as project leaders is extremely relevant to creating better services and an overall better system of care for our clients.

Our team is fairly new and is continually growing! With this, comes a lot of experiences from different perspectives and backgrounds. I really appreciate how anyone can bring up a question they might have about the work and there’s always someone that has had an experience with it or is willing to help find an answer. We also host monthly community of practice sessions which has been very beneficial to learn from the team’s constant wealth of knowledge.

Since our team has been growing rapidly, I decided to create a social committee within our hybrid team to continue to foster our connections. For me, feeling a sense of community within a team is key and I really value building strong bonds within the team. We had our first social event in the summer and many have found it to be valuable to connect outside of work. We had lots of good laughs and everyone was looking forward to the next one!

Working and living in the Fraser Health region, I love how close we are to all sorts of outdoor activities. From hiking, camping, paddleboarding, running or snowboarding – you name it and I’m in!

I would highly recommend working at Fraser Health because the staff that I’ve met have always been the friendliest and kindest people. From the moment I had my interview, I already felt like I was part of the team.