In Jean’s own words:
Sketching, researching, modelling, animating and creating beautiful artwork for communicating in science are all parts of our job as biomedical communicators here at the TVASurg team. A decade ago as a biology student, I was drawing diagrams to help myself study, unaware of the possibility of this could become a career. Now, this is my day-to-day life and a dream come true! Every day I get to use my creativity and medical knowledge to drive changes in the field of healthcare education!
My journey as a biomedical communicator started with enrolling in the Master of Science in Biomedical Communications (BMC) program at the University of Toronto. We explored different applications and directions as biomedical communicators, and I found myself particularly interested in healthcare education. For my master’s research project, I created a patient education video on Chronic Low Back Pain, a common health problem with a lot of misconceptions. The goal was to help patients understand some of the most difficult topics including anatomical structures, pain pathways, and underlying mechanisms of treatments. The video has since attracted over a million views online, and I was amazed by the need for accurate, high-quality healthcare educational resources. It not only affects patients’ view on their conditions, but also empowers them to take action in managing their health.
After graduating from BMC, I joined the Perioperative Interactive Education (PIE) team at Toronto General Hospital to pursue my interest in healthcare education. I worked with clinicians from different departments to develop various multimedia educational resources for medical professionals and patients, such as the Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS) Module and Heart Failure Patient Education Site. I learned the perspectives from different roles in the healthcare system and gained a deeper understanding of the needs, challenges and resources for healthcare education. These experiences helped me grow as a visual storyteller, and further strengthened my passion for improving the way healthcare education is delivered.
I am very excited to continue my journey as a biomedical communicator with the TVASurg team. It is fascinating to watch the surgical procedures in the operating room and go behind the scenes of learning the process and workflow of making these amazing surgical videos. It is also a very exciting time to join the team as they are expanding the atlas to include new surgical specialities! I am looking forward to learning and contributing to the new chapters with my talented TVASurg team members!