UTDRO Women in Leadership: Q&A with Colleen Dickie, Rebecca Wong and Young Lee

Rebecca: I have been a faculty member at UTDRO since 1990. When our PGY1s completed their first year at North York General Hospital, I was the first PGY1 Coordinator. Following that, I was the Residency Research Director from 2002 to 2008. From 2012 to 2014, I served as the Chair of Social Responsibility, Professionalism and Equity; and since 2014, I have been the Vice Chair of Education.

Young: I am the Sunnybrook Medical Physics Central Nervous System (CNS) Site Lead, and supervise five medical physicists within the CNS physics group. For the past four years, I have been the Physics Lead on the Gamma Knife and spine SBRT programs. I am the Radiation Therapy Quality Assurance (RTQA) Physics Lead on several clinical trials, as well as representing medical physics on the Canadian Cancer Trials Group and the National Clinical Trials Network since March 2018. I am also a Board Member and Treasurer of the Canadian Organization of Medical Physicists (COMP).

Colleen: I am the Director of Operations for the Radiation Medicine Program (RMP). I started working in the RMP as a Radiation Therapist more than 20 years ago with an interest in Clinical Sarcoma Research, and have held a number of different roles throughout my career ranging from Clinical Implementation Lead for the Magnetic Resonance guided Radiation Therapy (MRgRT) Facility; Radiation Therapy Process Development and Integration Practice Lead; Manager of Sarcoma Clinical Radiation Therapy Research for RMP; and the Manager of Strategic Operations, Radiation Therapy.

Rebecca: As a medical student, we have to do locums in order to land our house jobs. During one of my locums, I noticed that care was very different for seemingly the same problem when provided by different disciplines. This was however, different in the oncology (radiation) service, where the different disciplines communicated with each other, and discussed the best ways to look after a patient. The consultants were passionate and caring, to their patients, to the nurses, even to medical students. That, I thought, is the type of doctor I want to be.

Young: I enjoyed physics in high school and decided to major in physics at McGill. I did not have a direct career path in mind but followed a subject I liked, which was applied physics. I also loved problem solving. I am lucky because I had the luxury of following what I liked with an unclear goal, rather than being pressured to find a career right away.

Colleen: For those who know me, it is not surprising when I answer this question with Terry Fox. He inspired so many of us to cancer research and his legacy continues to motivate millions of people to work towards improving treatment for cancer patients and hopefully one day finding a cure. My aunt’s diagnosis introduced me to radiation therapy, and my father’s loss to the fight against pancreatic cancer remind me to stay focused on our most cherished value - the needs of our patients.

Rebecca: What is consistent over time is the notion of wanting to be the best I can possibly be. I find myself setting my goals to go just beyond my comfort zone. Taking on challenges, often not entirely confident how they will unfold, but expecting that I will find a solution and emerge slightly wiser. I gain the greatest satisfaction when I am successful in getting people to work together, and produce results that would otherwise not naturally occur.

Young: I really like solving problems and it turns out medical physicists solve a lot of problems. I also like working on a team. I get excited when I can get things to work, which includes daily processes such as treatment planning and unit problems, but also long-term challenges such as technique development for greater efficiency. I also really like change and the challenges that new aspects bring. I feel passionate about helping others and about educating younger people. I have been involved in organizations like SoapBox to educate others about medical physics.

Colleen: Over the years, I have had the pleasure of meeting many courageous patients who are the greatest motivator for me to work my absolute hardest every day. Working in such a dynamic, innovative and world-renowned program that focuses on the needs of patients is the most exciting aspect of my work. Contributing to improving patient care and the patient experience is what I am most passionate about.

Rebecca: Doing things that make a difference, be it establishing data for a new treatment strategy, creating a guideline that establishes consensus where it did not exist before, pulling together a group that grows, leaving a place a little better than how I found it.

Young: I would like to create a system that can plan a radiation therapy treatment automatically using serial scan data. For example, if you are ill and have a scan done, as the information and demographics are entered into a system, the system would understand your disease and plan the correct treatment according to knowledge-based data. My goals however; continue to evolve; I wish to make an even bigger difference, and make significant contributions even beyond my specific area of expertise.

Colleen: The goals I would like to accomplish in my work have remained quite consistent throughout my career. I have always focused on identifying gaps and opportunities to improve patient care, and have worked with incredible teams to achieve results. I have never accepted the status quo, and will always work towards trying to improve our program.

Rebecca: I grew up in Hong Kong and left for the United Kingdom after Grade 10 with the hopes of securing admission to a medical school. The sharp transition between the two environments was a powerful motivating force in focusing the mind, and building personal stamina and reserve. Perhaps, due to the multiple transitions between cultures, I often contemplate the human interactions and the effect of cultural expectations and biases.

Young: I was born in Seoul and moved to Niagara Falls, Canada when I was 10 years old. I graduated with my BSc in physics at McGill University, then moved to England to complete my MSc in medical physics where I also completed my PhD. I lived in the United Kingdom for 14 years; I got married and started my family there. Then I returned to Canada five years ago, and accepted my position here at Sunnybrook. I think living in multiple countries and having to adjust to new environments have helped me to embrace challenges, as well as develop a personality that deals well with the new and unknown.

Colleen: I grew up in Scarborough surrounded by a plethora of interesting people with diverse cultures. I have been fortunate to have friends and family who are supportive, worldly, and kind; offering many different perspectives. Although my Scottish background has influenced my superstitious side (and stubbornness), my pragmatic Norwegian side prevails in times of uncertainty.

Rebecca: A good teacher does two things: conveys and instills passion in the subject; and provides the right tool/teaching moment at the right time.

Young: Good teachers must be experts in what they are teaching. Just as important, they must be patient and understand the needs of the student, so that they can translate the information in a way that is well received and useful. I think a good teacher recognizes how people learn differently and they can adjust their teaching style accordingly.

Colleen: Listening to your students and adapting to their learning style. Conveying your passion about your work or the topic at hand. Offering practical examples of how and where best to apply their learnings.

Rebecca: There were definitely key individuals who gave me advice and opportunities that have shaped my career. Drs. A Dembo and G Thomas who gave me my first job and encouraged me to pursue clinical epidemiology. Dr. G Brownman who gave me the opportunity to pursue knowledge translation and guidelines work. Dr. J Pater who gave me the opportunity in clinical trials and the Canadian Clinical Trials Group. Drs. P Warde, BJ Cummings, M Gospodarowicz, and FF Liu have all taken the time to think about what is good for me, given me advice and shaped the choices I have made and the directions I have taken.

Young: My biggest mentors have been my parents. My dad was not afraid of anything. He has been amazingly strong-minded, and even through sickness, he has shown amazing perseverance. He worked very hard. My mother has been a rock through my whole life and my biggest supporter. She has shown great mental-power through very tough times. Their examples have taught me to work hard and persevere at everything I do.

Colleen: Terry Fox reminds me that when life gets tough, you should be tougher. I grew up with an eternally optimistic father and a mother with an unparalleled work ethic. Her idea of relaxing is to have a dinner party for 20. Career wise, Dr. Brian O’Sullivan has taught me to never stop asking questions and trying to answer them. In the RMP, I have had many mentors and continue to work with new people, whom I learn from every day.

Rebecca: I found the most life changing experiences are encounters I have had as a patient or caregiver, lessons that have motivated me to be the best I can be to serve my patients. I remember as a child, my little sister was having an asthma attack. I was so scared and felt a total sense of helplessness. Even then, I realized how important it is to have someone who cares and sees the circumstances from your perspective, to provide immediate care, when needed.

Young: The way I view work has changed quite a lot from five years ago, coinciding with my move to Canada from the United Kingdom and my dad becoming ill. These things have made me mentally stronger. I also approach all things with vigour and never do anything half-heartedly.

Colleen: At age 11, I was diagnosed with meningitis and almost lost my life. I learned quickly to cherish every moment and be thankful for what I have.

Rebecca: Have a goal, tell someone about your goal, and if there is a choice, make your activities and projects count towards your goal. Learn how to switch off and give yourself permission to switch off regularly. Family takes priority and be kind to yourself.

Young: I would say appreciate what you learn and do not waste time. Put real efforts into everything you do and try not to worry so much about the future.

Colleen: You do not have to solve every problem, but you should learn from every encounter — negative or positive. Take time to get to know yourself and like yourself. Do not take things too personally — some people can have a bad day and it has nothing to do with you. Continue to be curious and strive for more.

Rebecca: One of the projects I am working on is to answer the question, “How can we efficiently collaborate with the radiation department from resource constrained settings to increase radiation quality and capacity through training and education?” I am privileged to be in a position to represent our department to work with many individuals, groups, organizations on this cause. Each collaboration to me is a sample, and we want to understand how the collaboration works and create the tools, so that we can do this more effectively.

Young: I am currently working on optimizing the cone-beam computed tomography for Gamma Knife (GK) to visualize tumours, through both software and hardware changes. I am also working on creating an inverse treatment planning solution for GK using multi-criteria optimization. I am also involved in certain aspects of the MR-Linac, and determining how to develop adaptive planning for glioblastoma multiforme patients.

Colleen: I developed an App to disseminate evidence-based best practice for the radiotherapy treatment for patients with soft tissue sarcoma including pactical guidelines for optimal treatments. I continue to work on this initiative in the hopes of influencing better treatment for this rare disease worldwide.

Rebecca: The #metoo movement has highlighted the importance of seeing beyond cultural norms to recognize, speak up and strive for what is fair and just. Women are just one group. Ethnicity, gender, social economic status all put individuals into different advantaged or disadvantaged categories; that we need to speak up, advocate and stand up for others. I attended a Women’s Forum in Medicine this past year. Strategies to speak up, acknowledge the issues, lend support, whether one is part of a minority group or not, are skills that everyone can learn and use to create a positive impact.

Young: Our department is 25% women if we only count the medical physicists, but if we look at the whole medical physics department, the number is less. This number is better than many departments. If you look at numbers of women in high leadership positions, this number starts to shrink even more. I think the #metoo movement has brought issues that exist in the work place out into the open. Many people have become more aware, which I think makes a difference to those who may have encountered prejudice/harassment and it encourages them not to be afraid. Part of solution is to increase the number of women in this field.

Colleen: Fortunately, our RMP has a history of strong female leadership, so I have been lucky to learn from some of the most intelligent, resilient and supportive women in healthcare.

Rebecca: I believe one’s predisposition, how you react to the world and how others react to you, are heavily influenced by early age development. Some of the stereotypes of being Asian and female are perhaps perpetuated by what I project externally, even if cognitively; I fight hard to deny them, especially in stressful situations. I believe that as a female professional, greater deliverables are required to prove excellence, or have it noticed and acknowledged. Being recognized as a leader, capable of making tough decisions while being passionate and caring, is much harder to do as a woman.

Young: The biggest challenge I see is that many of us have lacked a female mentor in a powerful position who can really be on our side. I think in our field, many of us have just had to plow through and have not had a lot of mentorship.

Colleen: The challenge I continue to struggle with is maintaining a healthy work/life balance. Feeling guilty on every front is not healthy but is an affliction of having a busy career and home life.

Rebecca: When things are difficult, there is a valuable lesson to be learned. When opportunities knock, take them. Choose a goal that makes a difference.

Young: The first is job scope and understanding the exact nature of your job. Equally important is understanding where the boundaries lie and not become frustrated when things do not go your way. The second would be having a thick skin; you have to be willing to take criticism and give criticism in the right way. Third is being a good communicator.

Colleen: Try not to react immediately; adapt and embrace change because sometimes all the planning in the world can go awry, and focus on what matters most (sometimes attention to the small things can avoid big explosions).

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