After graduating the Applied Linguistics and Discourse Studies Masters program at Carleton University in 2012, I was hired as a research assistant at the Audiology Hearing Lab at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario. After gaining first-hand experience working in a research lab, I decided to pursue my research interests in the cultural competence in healthcare services at a doctoral level. In 2013, I was accepted into the Rehabilitation Sciences PhD program at the University of Ottawa. My interest in cross-cultural communication came about after taking Professor Trudy O’Brien’s classes on intercultural communication. It was her passionate way of teaching that inspired the direction of my career and Carleton’s MA program in Applied Linguistics and Discourse studies that ensured its attainability.
I have since completed my Ph.D. in Rehabilitation Sciences, specializing in cultural competence in audiology in October 2018. Utilizing my knowledge in cultural competence, I have assisted in a program of research in collaboration with a First Nations health organization to develop and implement cancer survivorship strategies. I am also currently working towards developing a program of research on culturally competent practices with Indigenous families receiving healthcare services.
Currently, I am working at CHEO in the Department of surgery where I continue research in child health outcomes.
(Last updated: 23 April, 2019)