We are Women’s offers the WCH community a chance to get to know each other and share our stories.
Name: Emily Simmonds
Title & Department: Researcher, Centre for Wise Practices in Indigenous Health| Research Manager, WCH Institute for Health System Solutions and Virtual Care
On the WCH team for: (Length of time you have worked at WCH) 5 months
1. What does your typical workday look like?
My workdays are dynamic, which I enjoy. As a qualitative researcher, my work involves getting relevant Indigenous traditional and community knowledge to health practitioners, program managers and policy-makers to support research and applied initiatives that aspire to support the wellness of Indigenous Peoples. Most days are spent gathering and analyzing data, reading and writing reports, designing resources, and attending meetings to listen and learn from different communities of practice.
2. What excites you the most about working at WCH?
What excites me most about working at WCH is the opportunity to learn from and work alongside others committed to challenging systemic oppression in the healthcare space and creating transformative change across the healthcare system.
3. How does your work contribute to creating a positive patient experience?
I don’t directly interact with people coming to WCH in search of a therapeutic relationship. Instead, I partner with different communities of practice, including front line health care providers, to inform service design, build and provide resources designed to improve the care and services for Indigenous Peoples.
4. Tell us one (or three) thing(s) that your colleagues would be surprised to learn about you?
- I love to swim, snorkel and scuba dive
- I enjoy reading science fiction