Contributors

Nadia Ismiil, MD, FRCPC Dr. Nadia Ismiil, M.D., FRCPC is the Division Head of Anatomic Pathology at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and an Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology. Dr. Ismiil is also the Section Chair of Anatomic Pathology and Education at the Canadian Association of Pathologists.

Throughout her career Dr. Ismiil has held several leadership roles in medical education, such as the Director of Continuous Education and Professional Development for the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology at the University of Toronto.

Dr. Ismiil is a strong believer in physician leadership in the ever changing landscape of the healthcare system and as such holds a Masters Certificate in Healthcare Management from the Schulich School of Business, York University. Dr. Ismiil is currently pursuing the Masters in International Masters for Healthcare Leadership and Management at McGill University recognizing that personal and professional development is a life-long learning process.

My name is Léa Saker, I am 28 and I have lived in Montreal since I am 12 years old. I was born in the sunny state of California and was raised in Beirut, Lebanon.

At the age of 21 I was hired to work as a unit coordinator at the Jewish General Hospital. At first I was assigned to work in the recovery room for cardiac surgery. Within a few months, I was transferred to the Emergency Department. I enjoyed working in the Emergency Department due to the fact that I worked closely with doctors in bettering patient care.

Our main goal as unit coordinators was to ensure that our patients spend the least amount of time in the Emergency Department without compromising patient care. As a unit coordinator, my responsibilities were to ensure that patients would have the care they needed in a timely fashion. It was part of my responsibilities to coordinate and follow up on any exams ranging from imaging, blood test, nursing care and bedside care ordered by the physicians.

I was fortunate to assist in Departmental meetings and committees concerning several pilot projects which have now been implemented and finalized such as the “Rapid Assessment Zone” and the “Q-Track”. Fortunately, I was also able to work during the move of the Emergency Department.

My experience at the Jewish General Hospital raised an interest in Supply Chain Management. Understanding concepts like logistics, wait times and environmental consciousness became easier for me after having graduated from Concordia’s John Molson School of Business.

Today I am hoping to link what I have learned during the course of my Bachelor’s degree and my experience at the Jewish General Hospital by focusing particularly on Emergency Medicine. Having worked with many highly experienced and knowledgeable doctors I know that patient care is and always should be any health care professional’s first priority.

Dr. Jillie Retson is a family physician who grew up and practices in Kenora, a small rural city located on beautiful Lake of the Woods in Northwestern Ontario. The city and surrounding communities are also home to several First Nations.

Dr. Retson’s fascination with both culture and biology led herto complete an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in Anthropology at McMaster University, and a Doctor of Medicine degree at the University of Western Ontario.

Her love of the north led her to complete her family medicine residency in Thunder Bay. For eight years, Dr. Retson has enjoyed practicing comprehensive rural medicine including emergency medicine, inpatient care and surgical assistance.

Dr. Retson’s interest in leadership began in 2013 when a deficit of general practitioner and specialist support, threatened closure of inpatient wards and ICU at the Lake of the Woods

District Hospital. At that time, the closest tertiary care hospital, over 200 km away in Manitoba, began refusing to accept critically ill patients. Seeing an opportunity, Dr. Retson helped to develop, secure funding, and implement an Internal Medicine and GP extender program to address the crisis, and provide a stable platform for the future. This has led to her taking on the newly created position of Medical Lead for the hospital’s Internal Medicine and GP Extender program.

Dr. Retson is passionate about community engagement and has worked with her colleagues and community members to development a community health care coalition instrumental in forming a recruitment committee and hiring a physician recruiter. Their collective advocacy has helped create interministerial working groups to develop cross border health services agreements, ensuring access to tertiary care support in Manitoba. The group is now advocating for an “All Nations” hospital to address deficiencies in the present model and better service the culturally diverse population.