When I was in high school, it seemed as though everyone else knew what career they wanted to have. At 18 years old, I had no idea, and so I studied Tourism at college and became a Flight Attendant. My father was a pilot and there was an air of mystery to flight attendants (and I needed to know what that was about!). It wasn’t until my mid to late 20’s that I worked out that I wanted to be a Social Worker. The way I figured this out was by adopting the opposite mindset to the way I had originally been thinking. Instead of thinking of a job title (doctor, chef, teacher etc.), I started to think about who I was as a person, what mattered to me, and what I felt I was good at. For example I was passionate about social justice, equality and mental illness. I was also regularly told that I was good listener, and from a young age, I had been problem solving and advocating for the people around me by speaking up when I felt there was an injustice occurring. I then looked at which fields these skills and values were most relevant to. 

 Currently I work on a transitional care unit at UHN that was opened up in the throws of the first covid wave. It is a very busy unit, and my role there has been to work as part of a multi-disciplinary team supporting patients with a range of psychosocial concerns to transition from that unit to wherever their next destination may be. Each patient comes with a unique story, their strengths and challenges, and their social/professional support networks (or lack thereof). I work with patients to assess their needs, advocate and connect them with information or supports if necessary, provide emotional support, facilitate difficult discussions and assist the patient and their families to navigate the hospital system and community services. My goal is to continually grow personally and professionally, and to undertake an array of learning opportunities and challenges. I believe in ‘leaning in’ to the direction that you want your life or career to go, and being open to that trajectory changing as you learn more about yourself and other opportunities present themselves. 

 After completing a bachelor of social work (BSW), I began working in the community at a refuge for women who were homeless and/or escaping violence. Additionally I worked at a telephone counselling service. I learned a lot from both of these positions, including the fact that both roles (for their own reasons) were not sustainable for me in the long term. The former lacked structure and required me to work an unlimited number of unpaid hours a week, and it was impossible to self care and to aim for a work–life balance. The latter role of a phone counselor I really enjoyed, however counselling for 8–10 hours straight per day, five days a week did not provide much of a balance in terms of job tasks, and I was interested to expand my professional work experiences. Hence I completed a master of social work (MSW) and decided that I would like to work in a hospital. Having grown up in an aviation-oriented family, I loved the airport for the diversity in why people were there, where they were going, if they were sad and saying goodbye, or excited about a vacation etc. I saw a hospital setting as the ‘airport’ of social work. It was a highly structured environment, yet with each day presenting new challenges and myriad enriching learning opportunities. 

I like to think that I bring to my team the perspective of a situation as seen through the eyes of the patient or through a social work lens. A person’s physical health is inextricably related to their social environment, hence the term ‘social determinants of health.’ The social disadvantages that we are often born into (relating to factors such as income and social status, education and literacy, and access to social or community support) have a direct impact on our health, and overall quality of life. I try to help the team connect these structural factors to the patient’s current health concern. 

Well, it has been an interesting few years, so I need to find my new normal again. I spend time with my family and friends, I love a good lake, a good glass of red, and a good laugh. I also hope to find a creative outlet this year when things settle down as a little voice inside of me keeps asking me when I will make time for my creative side to express itself (my exercise self has also been screaming☺). “Soon!” I say to both. 

There are a lot of opportunities in healthcare, and many of the skills are highly transferable from hospital to hospital, often even from country to country. If you are looking for which career ‘speaks to you,’ please read my response to question #1. If you are looking more for financial stability and are not driven to feel passionate about what you do, then I would look at work trends and consider which jobs that will be in high demand when you finish your studies.