My connection to family and ceremony is a huge part of who I am. Knowing my identity and being really proud of it is something I have very intentionally passed down to my daughter. I want her to be very connected to where she comes from, whether through family connections, stories, traditions and ceremony or by developing an understanding of the land and all that it gives us.

Wherever I can create that space for culture and connection to spirit for her, I do. She loves ceremony, and she loves church-a reconciliation I am proud of. We talk about the medicine, we have a hand drum we share, and we sing together, a tradition that we have made all our own with the songs that we know by heart outside of ceremony.  

International Women’s Day with Dr. Megan Cooney

My interest in medicine came from a realization that I really like to talk to people and get to know them and that there are few professions where you have the opportunity to build deep connections in the same way you can as a physician.

I appreciate and love every part of my professional and my home life. There are no parts to what I do, in any aspect of my life, that feel like work. I just view myself as really lucky to be able to do and experience all the things that are so important to me.

Making wayfinding accessible at HSC

“You don’t come here to get a coffee. You come here because you or a loved one needs medical attention. When you are stressed like that, the last thing you need is to become lost in a 49-building hospital.” – Karen Beek, Space Allocation Coordinator, HSC

Karen Beek is partially colour blind, unable to see a difference between blue-green and grey-blue colours.

It’s a challenge that the 25+ year Health Sciences Centre (HSC) employee has used to her advantage – and the advantage of all who visit the hospital’s 49-building campus. As Space Allocation Coordinator, Beek is responsible for signage and wayfinding throughout the HSC campus, ensuring that signage and wayfinding are not only clear and easy-to-understand, but also accessible.

I often joke that I have zero chill because my brain feels like it’s always moving at 70 million miles per minute. Like many women, I wear many hats. I am a nurse, an educator, a clinical instructor, a wife and a mother of two young children.

When I joined the health system ten years ago, mentorship was such an invaluable support for me. I still remember the names of many experienced nurses that took the time to answer my questions. Their guidance helped me build a strong foundation that has set me up for success throughout my nursing career.

Tracy Ward, Regional IP&C Nurse, Southern Health–Santé Sud

I’ve had the privilege of working with many exceptional women throughout my career, women who have given me mentorship, guidance, and opportunities to challenge myself, and who have shown incredible support for one another personally and professionally.

I have had so many colleagues, managers, and directors that have provided valuable support to me over the years. Those experiences set a standard that I strive to reach in my current role as I attempt to offer that same support to my colleagues and the teams I work with.

“Wilson disease should be renamed to Wilson syndrome. I say that because every patient I have met presents differently. It is still a very rare condition, hard to diagnose and hard to treat.” – Dr. Peretz, Hepatologist, Gastroenterologist, Director of the Manitoba Liver Transplant program and Program Director for the Hepatology Areas of Focused Competence (AFC) training program at the University of Manitoba

Although rare, Dr. Peretz, Hepatologist and Gastroenterologist at Health Sciences Centre and Director of the Manitoba Liver Transplant program has a personal connection with Wilson disease and credits his history with it to making him a better doctor.

International Women’s Day with Rosanne Labossière-Gee, Director of Health Services, Critical Care

At five-years-old I was already taking care of my Barbies, putting bandages on them pretending they were my patients. It started when I would tag along with my mom to provide home care for her clients, watching her attend to their needs in a comforting way. Since that time, I knew I was going to become a nurse. I didn’t realize back then that so many opportunities would present themselves throughout my career, and what “being a nurse” would actually mean to me.

Throughout 30 years of nursing, I have been through ups and downs in health care, and every challenge I have experienced has been an opportunity to grow.

I am a child of immigrant parents who came to Canada from Jamaica and Ghana in the 1970s. Witnessing the challenges they faced navigating new and distinct systems and acclimatizing to a completely different environment is what fueled my desire to create welcoming spaces for others, where and how I could. This is what lead to co-founding the Manitoba Black Nurses Association – an effort to make healthcare a place where everyone feels supported.

Manitoba Black Nurses Association (MBNA) is a non-profit organization which seeks to educate members of the community of health disparities relating to Black people. We also serve as a source of support to Black nurses and use our diverse background to network and educate each other.

International Women’s Day with Kamaljit Kaur Sidhu

Kamaljit Kaur Sidhu came to Canada in 2013.

Trained as a staff nurse, Kamaljit left India for the opportunities she saw for herself in Canada.

Once settled in Manitoba, she was motivated to continue working in health care.

“I’m so happy to help, and always happy to do something for patients,” said Kamaljit, explaining that her first job with a staffing agency gave her the opportunity to experience working in many different places as a health care aide.