News Archive

VELIA ALTAMIRA VAZQUEZ
POSTGRADUATE EDUCATION MANAGER (INTERIM)

Site:
Vancouver – Diamond Health Care Centre

Velia Altamira Vazquez, Postgraduate Education Program Manager (Interim) with UBC’s Department of Emergency Medicine.

How long have you worked in the department or with UBC?

I started working at UBC back in 2018 and recently joined the Department of Emergency Medicine in January 2023. It has only been three months and counting.

Can you summarize what you do in the department?  

As the Postgraduate Education Program Manager (Interim), my role is to oversee the Emergency Medicine Residency program (RCPSC-EM) and support the administrative team across sites. I work closely with the Program Director and Associate Program Directors to provide administrative support to ensure the residency program is running smoothly. A couple major pieces are overseeing the CaRMS process, Academic Day planning, and program finances. A big part of my role involves project management.

What is your favourite thing about working in the department?

There are too many things I am loving about this role. For example, I love how this residency program embraces quality assurance and looks for ways to improve processes and better serve its resident. I enjoy the ever-changing environment and continuing to look for new ways to improve our process.

And, of course, the humans on the team. I am new to postgraduate education and the admin team has been truly welcoming and generous in sharing their expertise; and the doctors on the leadership team are just amazing. I am in awe of the leadership team as these are all EM doctors working in EDs across the province that also devote time to educating the next generation of EM doctors. That’s a lot! Their commitment and energy is contagious and an inspiration to contribute back to the community in whatever way I can. If you ask me to choose one, then it’s the team.

What is one interesting fact about you that people may not know?

My family owns a bat cave. Or rather, my parents’ ranch in Mexico has a cave on it that is full of bats. I don’t know much more about the cave, because of the bats in it.

What kinds of hobbies and interests do you have outside of work?

I care deeply about EDI and I am currently completing a certificate. I also care deeply about making Latin culture more accessible and am joining the board of the Vancouver Latin American Cultural Centre.

ELIZABETH STACY
OPERATIONS DIRECTOR


Site:
Vancouver – Diamond Health Care Centre

• Twitter

Elizabeth Stacy, Operations Director with the BC Emergency Medicine Network.

How long have you worked in the department or with UBC?

I started working in the Faculty of Medicine at UBC in 2004. In 2018 we moved to Washington DC for a couple of years (cut short by COVID), and when we came home, I was lucky enough to start up at UBC again in 2021.

Can you summarize what you do in the department?  

My focus is on community-engaged health research, Indigenous reconciliation work, and health education.
Currently, I am the Operations Director at the BC Emergency Medicine Network (EMN), and in my role I ensure the smooth functioning of the Network. At the EMN, we develop accessible and trusted clinical resources, support sharing of resources, tools, and advice, and advocate for emergency practitioners. We connect emergency care providers and patients across BC so they can share knowledge and support each other to deliver better care. And, among other things, we support scientific innovations and real-time virtual support programs, while providing evidence and experience-based input on policy development.

What is your favourite thing about working in the department?

I’ve really enjoyed all the opportunities to learn new things, meet new people, and work on creative and impactful programs. It’s been a pleasure to be surrounded by people with such rich experiences and expertise who mentor and support others to grow. I get to work with so many amazing people, and I’ve developed a lot of strong relationships that I really value. I also really appreciate the importance that’s placed on growth and learning through an ever-expanding suite of training, webinars, and other professional development education to allow us to keep open minds to new things.

What is one interesting fact about you that people may not know?

I was an exchange student right after high school, and had the incredible fortune to live in the Czech Republic (now Czechia) for one year. Funnily enough, my cohort was the first to be sent to that country after the fall of communism! Coming from a smaller town in BC, it was quite something to be afforded the opportunity to become very independently sufficient very quickly, learn another language and travel extensively at the ripe old age of 17.

What kinds of hobbies and interests do you have outside of work?

I love to cook and eat (I did a stagier for a few weeks to try it out in a professional kitchen!), and I love to travel. I also have a fun and very busy 10 year old and a new dog, so there’s always a lot happening in our house!

RENMART BUHAY
LEAD RESEARCH ASSISTANT


Site:
New Westminster – Royal Columbian Hospital Surrey Memorial Hospital

Renmart Buhay, Lead Research Assistant with UBC’s Department of Emergency Medicine.

How long have you worked in the Department/UBC?

I have been working with the Department of Emergency Medicine since December 2021.

Can you summarize what you do in the Department?

I am currently a lead research research assistant at Fraser Health hospital sites (Surrey Memorial Hospital and Royal Columbian Hospital) for the ATICO study led by Dr. Jeff Brubacher. The study identifies risk factors for the long-term health outcomes of injured active transportation (pedestrians, cyclists and micro-mobility device) users. This includes examining the road infrastructure details and participants injury circumstances.

My role involves screening and interviewing participants at EDs across multiple hospital sites and documenting accident locations using Google Maps. These accident location screenshots will then be shared with city planners and traffic safety engineers. I initially started as a research assistant for the National Drug Driving Study but transitioned fully onto the ATICO  study after working on the pilot study at Vancouver General Hospital.

I have also been involved in various systematic and media reviews for our research team, and I manage a Twitter account for our road safety and public health research team where I post content about our lab’s research projects and the current research/news in the field of road safety.

What is your favourite thing about your work?

My favourite part of my work is the wonderful teammates, co-workers and mentors working on many different and interesting areas in road safety. I also enjoy being able to engage patients in public health research and promote knowledge translation of road safety and injury prevention research through social media. 

What is one interesting fact about you that people may not know?

I have a lot of different artistic hobbies but have recently been into creating and designing my own digital illustrations and cartoons. I will hopefully be able to publish my own comics one day!

What kinds of hobbies and interests do you have outside of work?

I like to be involved in community engagement projects. I co-founded a health promotion colouring book project for newcomers and refugees in partnership with the City of Surrey. Currently, I am working on a digital zine showcasing artwork and resources around the topic of youth eco-anxiety. I also have many artistic hobbies like drawing, graphic design and poetry, and enjoy outdoor activities like longboarding, surfing and hiking!

RENMART BUHAY
LEAD RESEARCH ASSISTANT


Site:
City – Location

Renmart Buhay, Lead Research Assistant with UBC’s Department of Emergency Medicine.

How long have you worked in the Department/UBC?

I have been working with the Department of Emergency Medicine since December 2021.

Can you summarize what you do in the Department?

I am currently a lead research research assistant at Fraser Health hospital sites (Surrey Memorial Hospital and Royal Columbian Hospital) for the ATICO study led by Dr. Jeff Brubacher. The study identifies risk factors in the long term health outcomes of injured active transportation (pedestrians, cyclists and micro-mobility device) users. This includes examining the road infrastructure details and participants injury circumstances. My role involves screening and interviewing participants at ED across multiple hospital sites and documenting accident locations using google map. These accident location screenshots will then be shared with city planners and traffic safety engineers. I initially started as a research assistant for the National Drug Driving Study but transitioned fully onto the ATICO  study after working on the pilot study at Vancouver General Hospital. I have also been involved in various systematic and media reviews for our research team, and I manage a Twitter account for our Road Safety and Public health research team where I post content about our lab’s research projects and the current research/news in the field of road safety.

What is your favourite thing about your work?

My favourite part of my work is the wonderful teammates, co-workers and mentors working on many different and interesting areas in road safety. I also enjoy being able to engage patients in public health research and promoting knowledge translation of road safety and injury prevention research through social media. 

What is one interesting fact about you that people may not know?

I have a lot of different artistic hobbies but have been recently into creating and designing my own digital illustrations and cartoons and hopefully will be able to publish my own comics one day!

What kinds of hobbies and interests do you have outside of work?

I like to be involved in community engagement projects. I co-founded a health promotion coloring book project for newcomers and refugees in partnership with the City of Surrey. (https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/refugee-colouring-book-by-sfu-students-1.5369087) Currently, I am working on a digital zine showcasing artworks and resources around the topic of youth eco-anxiety. I also have many artistic hobbies like drawing, graphic design and poetry, and enjoy doing outdoor activities like longboarding, surfing and hiking!