Page 16 - Annual Report 2016-17
P. 16
VOLUNTEER CONFERENCE 2017
On Friday March 3, UHN Volunteer Dennis McCormac, a scientist and
Resources hosted its rst annual artist, merges the two together by
Volunteer Conference, with an aim to showing various collections he has
provide volunteers access to learning kept over the years of science-related
about careers in healthcare through art, such as achieving a Guinness
various health care professionals. Over World Records by creating the
60 volunteers experienced three longest DNA model (43.5M) with the
speakers presenting on the journey to students of Ryerson University and
get to where they are in their current featuring it at the Yonge and Dundas
profession, and the steps along the way, Square.
such as education, volunteering and
work experience.
DENNIS MCCORMAC Presenter Susan Kiernan, Nurse
SENIOR SCIENCE ADVISOR Manager on the Multi-Organ Transplant
& DIRECTOR GENOMICS Unit, encouraged volunteers to get more
SERVICESTHE CENTRE FOR involved in patient centered care by
APPLIED GENOMICS taking on such roles are beside visits and
assisting on the unit with the
“UHN volunteers were one of the administrative tasks. Volunteers on the
most receptive audiences where I unit help take the stress off staff by
have presented. They were so OPEN allowing nurses to do more of their jobs,
to the way I spoke about merging while the volunteers are able to with the
ART and SCIENCE and I was day-to-day tasks that might take up a
overwhelmed at how they came up little more time.
after my presentation to discuss
their own ideas. Bioethicist, Ruby Shanker spoke to the
With the current climate around the volunteers on ethics in a hospital
world, it was great to feel part of a setting, and how someone in her
community of volunteers, whereby position aids patients and staff in
the very act of helping someone that making dif cult decisions and choices.
needs it, we are expanding our views Her interactive presentation allowed
and our horizons by navigating volunteers the opportunity to engage in
through the social strata and various case scenarios, which were both
breaking down barriers that would eye opening and thought provoking.
keep us separated and not see how
similar people are!” “Thank you so much for organizing this very rst Volunteer Conference and thank
you for giving me the chance to attend. It was a very informative event and I am
happy to get some great insight from the speakers. Feels so nice to know that we
have experts to guide on bioethical issues, which is an experience very often
encountered by the practitioners at some point of clinical practice. Also, it was so
nice to know from Susan that UHN has such cutting edge technology and a skilled
team at Multi-Organ Transplant department and about the challenging lunch
transplant surgeries performed.”
–Preeti Dhende, UHN Volunteer
Page 14
