Tell us a bit about yourself and your work as the Faculty Lead for Remediation and Probation.
As a Neonatologist at BC Children’s and Women’s Hospitals, I love caring for our smallest patients during their most critical phase. My subspecialty area involves neonatal resuscitation and stabilization, particularly using simulation and outreach education to help improve the outcomes of babies in the province. Seeing these patients grow and thrive is extremely fulfilling for me.
With a master’s in medical education, I expanded my area of interest in supporting learners by helping training programs navigate the remediation and probation process. Helping develop individualized training to assist learners monitor their progress and succeed has been rewarding.
What have you learned in this role that has surprised you most?
Every person comes with their story – their experiences, their skills, and their needs for support. Addressing these challenges helps trainees who are struggling flourish in their program. Helping identify the needs of a trainee in difficulty can be challenging, though witnessing the fruits of these efforts, is extremely rewarding.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received on the job?
Look at each situation as an opportunity for betterment. As a previous program director, I experienced situations that didn’t go the way that I hadn’t hoped they would, particularly for a given trainee. My initial reaction was to see this as something that I had done wrong – in some way failed the trainee. However, coming to the realization that we are all trying our best and genuinely want all of our trainees to be the most competent physicians they can be. Each of these situations, though they may be difficult, are an opportunity to help people be the strongest versions of themselves.
What impact do you hope to have on residents?
I hope that all residents, including those on remediation or probation, are supported in their training journey, regardless of where that journey ends up taking them. Though this can be a difficult and stressful journey, with the right support, I want the residents achieve more than they thought was possible for themselves.
Anything else you want to add or want people to know?
There are lots of resources through PGME to help support residents who are experiencing difficulty in their training process. Many of those resources can be found on the UBC PGME website at: https://postgrad.med.ubc.ca/resident-help/. There is also a helpful guide for program directors that can be found at: https://postgrad.med.ubc.ca/faculty-staff/guide-for-program-directors/. I am always happy to speak with program directors if they have any questions or concerns and can be emailed at: dmanhas@cw.bc.ca.
