Career Options

Careers in the ‘new frontier’ of medicine

As manager of food services at Bridgepoint Health, Karen Foster is responsible for creating a menu that meets the complex needs of patients. Together with others working in the “new frontier” of medicine — helping people live well in spite of chronic illness or disability — her work is as rewarding as it is challenging.

LINDA WHITE
[ 2007-05-16 ]

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Joseph Datl (right), a patient at Bridgepoint Health, is all smiles after climbing down a flight of stairs with the aid of physiotherapist Kate Green.

“I have the opportunity to make a difference in patients’ lives at least three times a day. I feel so rewarded at the end of the day,” she says. “We prepare everything here: it’s a cook-serve model … It allows us to customize foods to meet needs.”

In addition to meeting the needs of patients, Foster is also responsible for food served in the cafeteria and prepared for outside agencies like Meals on Wheels. She earned a bachelor of applied science in nutrition from the University of Guelph.

“Our patients have multiple chronic diseases, which presents a lot of challenges. One patient may be diabetic, on dialysis, has problems chewing or swallowing, and has a heart condition or disease,” she says. “We have to ensure the foods meet their needs and don’t impact negatively on any or all of their conditions.”

Kate Green, clinical practice leader for physiotherapy, works with dialysis and palliative care patients and is part of a team that includes occupational and recreational therapists and social workers. “One of the really interesting things about dialysis patients is that, without dialysis, they would be palliative … Before, these patients were just functioning. Now, we’re seeing people at higher levels of function … so they’re really living again.


“On the palliative care side, our patients know they’re palliative and their life expectancy, but still have goals they want to achieve. They may still want to walk or as be as mobile as they can. When they’re no longer able to walk themselves, they may need an assistive device and then maybe a wheelchair.”

Green has worked in hospitals and private practice. “One of the challenges for Bridgepoint, which makes our work very interesting, is that patients, on average, have eight co-morbidities (conditions),” she says. “It really is rewarding … Not only do we get to be part of a patient’s life, but their families as well.”

Nurses also play a pivotal role at Bridgepoint. “Assessment is a big part of what we do,” says Jane Merkley, chief of professional affairs and chief nurse executive. “We may identify risks a patient may be exposed to, such as falls and infections, and help develop a care plan for them.

“One of our most fundamental roles is co-ordination of care — from ensuring patients are getting the right treatment at the right time to ensuring they are moving along their treatment plan so they can go home … We are instruments in terms of ensuring patients are set up for success.”

Through Bridgepoint’s “Live Well” campaign, nurses help teach patients to manage conditions so they have health within wellness. “In acute-care settings, care is often driven by physicians,” Merkley says. “In this kind of environment — where the emphasis is on symptom management, self management, health promotion and living well — nursing is at the centre. I think it is very rewarding to be so focused on the restoration of health.”

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HEALTH-CARE CHALLENGES


The World Health Organization and Health Council of Canada have identified chronic disease as the most significant health care issue for the 21st century. As medicine continues to evolve, our focus has gone from saving lives to helping people live well in spite of chronic illness or disability, which is in turn impacting careers in health care, experts warn.



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