Team 1: Health Education
This team calls themselves The Collaboration, Advocacy, and Partnered Education (CAPE) Team. They came together to create a whole suite of education offerings for professionals working in home and long-term care, prioritizing Personal Support Workers (PSWs). For example, they created The CACE Homecare Curriculum, an online professional development program for health workers to learn more about delirium, dementia, and depression, featuring real PSWs and set in realistic home care scenarios. They are also working together on a Future Skills Centre project and a Public Health Agency of Canada Immunization Partnership Fund. The CAPE team brings together backgrounds in education science, psychology, clinical /health practice, business, public health, and more. CAPE is committed to fully partnered, respectful, evidence-informed education that helps make a better work world for diverse care providers and better care experience for all.
Contact the Team: [email protected]
Ram Aiyadurai
Ram Aiyadurai
Read Their Interview
Bola Alabi
Master’s in Public Health
Bola Alabi
Read Their Interview
Maya Fields
Maya Fields
Read Their Interview
Patti Leake
Master’s in Social and Administrative Pharmacy
Patti Leake
Read Their Interview
Dean Lising
Physiotherapist
Dean Lising
Read Their Interview
Sandra McKay
Sandra McKay
Read Their Interview
Ashita Mohapatra
Ashita Mohapatra
Read Their Interview
Stella Ng
Audiologist
Stella Ng
Read Their Interview
Nikki Woods
Cognitive Psychologist
Nikki Woods
Read Their Interview Ram Aiyadurai
Project Manager from TIER
I have had an interest in the sciences for as long as I can remember, and early on in high school I knew I wanted to work in the healthcare field. During my undergrad, I pursued a degree in biochemistry with the aim of becoming a doctor.
I am currently a project manager working on a few different projects. One of the larger projects I am working on is the development of educational modules for healthcare works to teach them about Infection, Prevention and Control (IPAC), the COVID-19 pandemic, and self-care and management of their mental health during and after the pandemic. The project also looks to work with healthcare workers, particularly PSWs, to empower them and receive fair treatment among the healthcare team and compensation.
In the later stages of my undergrad, I found that I didn’t enjoy being in the lab for long hours conducting experiments that had little to no practical application. During a work-study semester, I got a role as a clinical research assistant and was able to interact directly with the population we were looking to support, and it altered the direction of my life. I grew within the department and became the research coordinator, then pursued my PMP so that I would be able to expand my management ability to other projects and sectors.
In my role as project manager, I am responsible for the work of the team members and to make sure the work we have set out to complete is done well and on time. In order to set reasonable goals and timelines, I like to learn about the different areas involved in the project (such as educational design, website development, and videography) so that I can communicate effectively with the team members that have specialized roles.
If I’m not doing something active and outdoors, then I’m likely taking on one of a long list of projects or goals that I have set out for myself. Right now, I’m teaching myself how to play the piano and learning how to code in Python.
Two things. One, know what makes you happy/satisfied. If you like what you’re doing, whether it be in school or in your job, you will excel at it with ease. While you can still excel at things you don’t like, you may find yourself constantly asking yourself, “what if”. Second, talk to people and try as many different jobs or companies as you can until you find something that resonates with you. You can learn a lot from hearing the experiences of other people, and you can learn even more when trying things yourself. Give yourself that opportunity to learn and grow.
Bola Alabi
Education Coordinator from CIPE
Master’s in Public Health
In high school and up to my third year of undergrad, I wanted to be a doctor. I was still undecided on what field but was considering OB/GYN or Pediatrics.
I currently work as an Education Coordinator/Content Creator at the Centre for Interprofessional Education (CIPE). In my Education Coordinator role, I deal with facilitator recruitment for Interprofessional (IPE) learning activities, preparing and analyzing evaluation data for the IPE curriculum, coordination of IPE learning activities, and sit on several working groups. In my Content Creator role, I research and create evidence-based content for some of the grants this team works on.
After taking a hiatus in 3rd year from going to medical school (when we were asked to skin a cat in 3rd year Anatomy), I realized I was still interested in being part of the healthcare world and started looking at other opportunities in health. While working at a Neurology clinic at Sunnybrook, I realized I enjoyed coordinating the students who completed a portion of their placement at the clinic. This encouraged me to seek out an opportunity that allowed me to continue coordination with students in the health sciences.
I bring with me considerable experiences from different aspects of healthcare, which is well suited to interprofessional education. Also, I bring my coordination and research skills from working in different teams to achieve set goals.
Outside of work, you can find me reading in a thriller/mystery/suspense novel, playing candy crush, looking at recipes on Instagram, and watching an action/thriller movie.
One piece of advice I would give to a high school/university student hoping to enter a career in healthcare/science field is to network, do some research, volunteer, and talk to people. The healthcare/science field is bigger than you realize and the opportunities available are very vast. Most importantly, you don’t have to have it all figured out at once, as you progress in life and in your career, you will find different opportunities you would enjoy.
Maya Fields
Student Research Assistant
When I was in high school, I wanted to be a pediatric oncologist.
I currently work as a student research assistant at CIPE. Here, I help the team with different projects, as well as take on projects of my own. For example, I helped create this event and website, and I had my own project writing a paper for “Canadian Audiologist” about careers outside the audiology sound booth. My current career goal is still to become a pediatric oncologist.
I am currently in my third year studying Biomedical Sciences at the University of Guelph. After the Winter 2021 semester ended, I decided that I wanted to get involved in research. I was lucky to find a position as a summer research student for Dr. Stella Ng. I have been working with her as a research assistant since.
This team consists of people from many different education backgrounds and all different ages. I bring the perspective of someone who is still going through the education system. I can help simplify the language of our educational modules to a level I feel is more understandable to someone who is just entering the science field.
Outside of work, I am a full-time student (my other “job”). In my free time, I enjoy reading, going for walks, spending time with friends, and binge-watching way too much Netflix.
Even though I’m still in the same age category, I’ve learnt so much over my past two years in University. Don’t be afraid to get involved and put yourself out there. Make a name for yourself and try your best- hard work pays off. It is also equally important to prioritize self-care or you will burn out. Give yourself breaks, go outside, and generally be kind to yourself. Finally, rejection is normal. It can sting, but take it as a learning experience and grow from it. You never know what other opportunities are waiting for you!
Patti Leake
Research Associate at TIER
Master’s in Social and Administrative Pharmacy
When Patti was in highschool, she wanted to be a geneticist.
Patti now works as the research associate at TIER. As the research associate, Patti helps to support grants through project management, as well as idea and knowledge building. She also manages events at TIER.
In Patti’s last semester of high school, she attended the Ontario Science Centre Science School program. This was where she found others with a love for science, and first felt at home being a geek. She then attended Queen’s University for an undergraduate degree in biology. In her third year, Patti did a semester abroad in Scotland, where she had the opportunity to do extensive lab work, which is when she realized that a lab career would not be suitable for her. After graduating from Queens University, Patti wanted to do something different, and moved to British Columbia. There, she attended teachers college and became a high school science and french teacher. After moving back to Ontario, Patti worked at a private school, where she was able to make her own curriculum to help keep students engaged in science. After having children, Patti then decided to attend midwifery school, but family responsibilities made that career choice untenable. She decided to return to school again and completed a Masters in social and administrative pharmacy at UofT. From there, she got a job at TIER due to her experience in knowledge building research, her education skills, and the research skills she obtained from her Masters degree.
Patti brings her teaching expertise and curriculum development skills from her time teaching high school to this team. She also brings her personal commitment to equity work, drawing on her learning as part of a group of parents who started an alternative school in Toronto that focused on environmental and social justice. From her time in midwifery school and the MSc., Patti brings her perspective of informed choice and a preference for projects with participant collaboration. This is put in action through power-sharing and considered engagement with researchers and research participants. Finally, Patti describes herself as always willing to help, and as a contributor to the culture of teamwork.
Prior to the pandemic, Patti would trampoline once a week. Now, she enjoys going for walks, bike rides, reading, and spending time with her kids and partner.
Patti has learned a lot through her life experiences and has lots of advice to share. She stresses the importance of separating professional capacity from your self identity- your self worth is not equated to your work. She also explains that there is no way to know all the possible jobs that exist, and so you should study what you are interested in. If you then find something more enjoyable, it is okay to change your mind, no matter when in your life you do. Finally, work-life balance is important. It is better to finish with wellness than to finish burnt out. Joining clubs and sports teams can be a great way to do more than schooling.
Dean Lising
Educator from CIPE
Physiotherapist
Dean always had an interest in healthcare and thought that he might become a physician. While in high school, he completed a Co-op term in nursing in order to expose himself to more healthcare options. In university, Dean completed a human biology science degree to keep his options open.
Dean is still a practicing physiotherapist part-time, but now works full-time as a team-based practice and education lead, where he has many roles. Dean is the director of BOOST, a team collaboration workshop program, and also works as an educator and leader, where he leads, teaches, and facilitates various educational programs and activities.
During Dean’s undergraduate career, he was part of an extern program at UofT, and had the opportunity to shadow a physiotherapist at a hospital. This interested him, and Dean applied to the UofT physical therapy program after completing his undergraduate degree. After becoming a physiotherapist, Dean started taking on students and was asked to become the student coordinator at his hospital. As his career advanced, Dean’s reputation as an educator grew, exposing him to the Centre for Interprofessional Education (CIPE) and he became a professional practice leader and manager at community and teaching hospitals. Through hard work, building relationships and a reputation, while keeping himself open to opportunities, Dean joined CIPE and is now the Team Based Practice and Education Lead.
Dean brings a collaborative team perspective to the CAPE home team, whether it’s through collaboration with students, provider roles such as PSWs, community members, or this team. Prior to COVID-19, Dean developed virtual online learning programs, and was therefore able to help the team adapt to the online learning environment. Dean has a futuristic strategic mindset that helps the team consider how their current work can relate to future trends and plans.
Dean has always felt that work-life balance is critical. He stays physically active with his three sons through basketball, racket sports, or swimming. He also enjoys spending times outside with his wife and working on home renovations.
Dean has a lot of great advice to share! Don’t feel pressured to commit to the perfect career at once, because things change. That being said, it is important to be as open and informed as possible while trying to think ahead because each decision you make can lead you somewhere new. That can be a great thing, so be open to change, whether planned or not, and take the opportunities that come your way. Finally, work to your strengths, it will ensure that you like you work and it will feel more natural.
Sandra McKay
Vice President, Research and Innovation at VHA Home HealthCare
When Sandra was in high school and university, she wanted to be a teacher and her love of sports led her to imagine a life as a physical education teacher.
Sandra works as the Vice President of Research & Innovation at VHA Home HealthCare, a home-care organization that delivers healthcare services to more than 100 thousand people a year in their homes. Their goal is to help people stay with their families and in their communities for as long as possible. As Vice President of Research & Innovation, Sandra’s job is to ensure that the organization is always open to new ideas, asking difficult questions, and considering new ways of learning and improving. In her role, she works closely with academic and hospital partners to conduct research and introduce new innovations into homecare.
Sandra completed an undergrad in Kinesiology at the University of Windsor. She was unsure of her next steps and decided to complete a Master’s degree in Kinesiology at the University of Windsor. She then pursued her PhD in Kinesiology at the University of Michigan. Her PhD focused on infant motor development. After completing her PhD, Sandra was eager to return to Canada and secured a postdoctoral fellowship at the Sunnybrook Health Science Centre and Toronto Rehab Institute in Toronto. While working in the Sunnybrook lab, she also did some consulting for VHA, the organization she now works for.
Sandra’s experience as a researcher working outside of a traditional academic institution and embedded within a healthcare organization provides her with a unique perspective to complement the expertise and experiences of the other research team members. Sandra brings her combined business and research experience of working at an organization that employs PSWs. This unique role gives her insight into the world of working with PSWs, which is beneficial in supporting the creation of curriculum with PSWs to support their learning needs.
Outside of work, Sandra spends a lot of time with her family. She has an identical twin sister with three daughters whom she enjoys being with. She also enjoys playing soccer, and she has done so since university.
Sandra’s biggest piece of advice is to just do it! When in undergrad, she had not considered a field in health sciences and focused on being a teacher. This made her path feel very narrow, and once she considered other opportunities, she realized how great a healthcare or health science career is. She stresses that this field is exceptionally fulfilling, not matter what career you choose. The healthcare field is fast paced and dynamic and provides ample opportunities to grow and remain challenged and fulfilled in your work. Additionally, she explains that sometimes you have to create the job yourself. If you focus on the things you enjoy, work hard, be disciplined in your approach, and push yourself to be brave- things will find their way to work out.
Ashita Mohapatra
Business Manager of TIER
I was originally interested in Architecture. That involved moving out of my hometown and state. When the time came to apply, I decided against it due to personal constraints. I was also excited by the business world, inspired by my father who was a successful industrialist. So, I switched my stream from Science in high school to Commerce at undergraduate level, and went on to complete my Master’s in Business Administration.
My role as the Research Institute Business Manager at TIER is a leadership role, providing key facilitation to the Institute, its researchers, and acting as a bridge between the Institute, Research and Hospital Operations. I provide administrative services to TIER researchers, develop and manage budgets and finances for the institute, plan and execute initiatives, develop and implement operational and strategic plans with the institute director and have overall responsibility for administration. I also facilitate and oversee institutional educational programming and events, organize Council and Committee meetings to facilitate decision making and represent TIER on UHN’s Research Support Services management team, risk and audit, emergency preparedness and communications teams within research operations and am responsible for the planning and execution of initiatives and projects within these areas.
It’s a long story but an exciting one! I have over 25 years of administrative and project management experience. I’ve had two long stints. The first as the Regional Head of operations of a call centre company in Bangalore, where I handled operations of six branch locations (call centres) with 2000+ employees. After I immigrated to Canada, I joined UHN in 2012 and provided executive and administrative assistance to Dr. Alex Jadad, who was the Canada Research Chair for eHealth Innovation and went on to handle projects and research grants as well. When Dr. Jadad was appointed as Director, Institute for Global Health Equity & Innovation (IGHEI) at University of Toronto in 2015, my role transitioned to that of a Manager. This was my first exposure to the health sector and the learning has been tremendous. I love being in a role that supports research. Research indulges our spirit of inquiry and is so crucial to how we can live healthier, work and play better. Being at TIER helps me continue to do that in a meaningful way, my skills being transferable and even though I do not have formal training in any health-related discipline.
It has been my experience that the administrative burden of applying, holding and implementing a project grant for researchers is onerous. I see myself as a person who could take on some of that burden, leaving researchers to do what they do best, while I do what I do best! I bring an effective and strong combination of education, skills, experience and passion to support research.
I love to sketch, my current interest being zentangling. I enjoy dabbling in gardening, travelling, reading, listening to music and baking with my daughter.
You will find your way! It’s both an exciting and stressful time. As I have an 18-year old daughter myself, I have seen her struggle with the peer pressure of knowing exactly what you want to be at that age. While that may be true for some and definitely in my generation and country, there were only a few career options available to me, that is not true for everyone and opportunities are plenty in North America. You can truly be what you what to be, and if you don’t know what you want to be now, that’s perfectly fine too! I would encourage students to give themselves a chance to explore and discover their passion and what makes them truly happy. Enjoy the process! And it’s important to understand that you can always switch, if you think you made the wrong choice. The good news is that when you decide to work in the healthcare industry, you need not be limited to working in a clinical setting and be a doctor or nurse etc. There are other healthcare roles and settings that you can work in and still impact patients positively e.g. allied medical professionals. Apart from health-related professions, there are a number of professions which provide critical behind-the-scenes-support to healthcare. e.g. professionals from administration, finance management, accountancy, IT, programming, communications, digital and media, quality improvement, HR, legal/law, ethics, facilities, etc. These are professions with transferable skill sets and can be applied to any industry. The opportunities are plenty. Do your research, speak to people and seek out the information you need. The world is indeed your oyster! All the best!
Stella Ng
Director and Scientist at Centre for Interprofessional Education
Audiologist
I wanted to be a high school English and Computer Science teacher. I also had some curiosity about a healthcare role, like physician, and also some curiosity about engineering. It took me a while to find my niche!
I am now a health professions education scientist. I am the Director and Scientist at the Centre for Interprofessional Education. I love what I do. I get to work with so many diverse and amazing individuals and teams who are trying to make the world a better place through collaboration in health care.
During undergraduate studies, I discovered Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology as professions, and began to pursue that path. I became an audiologist and practiced for a while as an Educational Audiologist for a large public school board, liaising between health care and education professionals and families to help kids with disabilities. I faced many challenges in practice and with the system, and eventually did my PhD in Health Professional Education and a post-doctoral fellowship in health policy/systems and medical education. From there I landed my faculty / scientist role in the University of Toronto and Toronto Academic Health Sciences Network, and the rest is history!
I bring a focus on critical reflection for better practice and how to teach health professionals to be able to achieve this. Critical reflection is an approach that has us question our assumptions, and continually strive for more compassionate and ethical action. Health care providers need this ability to provide optimal care.
I spend time with my family–my husband, daughter, and dogs–I do recreational Olympic-style weightlifting, I love food, am a terrible backyard veggie gardener, and admittedly enjoy binge-watching a great series.
There are so many options out there that you don’t even know exist. I never would have thought my current career was even an option, when I was in high school or undergrad. Pursue your passion, work hard, network, browse the Internet for opportunities, reach out, ask for help, and be open to the infinite possibilities.
Nikki Woods
Director of Tier
Cognitive Psychologist
Nikki was interested in a career either in business or as a clinical psychologist.
Nikki primarily works as an education scientist. She completed a PhD in cognitive psychology and runs a cognitive psychology lab that examines education in the health professions. Nikki is also the research institute director for The Institute of Education Research (TIER), and is the director of the Wilson Centre, which also focuses on education research.
Nikki started her undergrad in commerce, then switched to social sciences, and eventually landed on experimental psychology. She initially thought she would focus on the clinical aspect, but Nikki’s undergrad allowed her to learn more about research. Nikki ended up in medicine and health professions education, as it was a nice way to combine her interest in science with something that had a practical value and contribution- changing the future of health professions.
This team serves as an interception of all of Nikki’s lenses. Often, her formal role is bringing in education science, specifically her understanding of human psychology and the science of learning. However, Nikki also brings her own unique lens as a member of the research community and of the Black Canadian community. This community is important for this project in particular, since many of the PSWs in Ontario come from the Black community. This team is personal to Nikki, as many of her own family members are PSWs, and so she understands the time, effort, and money that PSWs put into their training, and how undervalued the field is. She aims to ensure that the training this team provides is useful learning that is long-lasting.
Outside of work, Nikki spends most of her time with her kids. She also enjoys listening to podcasts and reading.
Nikki stresses that there are many more ways to participate in the healthcare/science field than just being a doctor, nurse, or wet lab scientist. Healthcare is a very broad field, and in order to discover more options, you have to be open to the different paths that may come your way. If you don’t know what you want to be, think of the things that matter most to you and what interests you, and find a profession that supports that. Finally, try not to limit yourself to the jobs that surround you- they can benchmark you. You should never let your starting point limit your end point.
