What inspired you to pursue this career?
It’s a bit unusual, in the sense that my mom was a labour and delivery nurse, and I swore I would do anything other than obstetrics and gynecology – who wants to follow in their mother’s footsteps? But then it was the classic cheesy story: I did my first delivery in medical school and I fell in love with it.
Initially, I thought I’d be more of an obstetrician than a gynecologist, but once I saw what could be done in laparoscopic surgery through these tiny incisions, and how quickly patients bounced back compared to the big, old-fashioned surgeries – that’s what got me hooked. It was in the more senior residency years where I met guys like Dr. Sukhbir (Sony) Singh and Dr. John Thiel and I knew this was what I wanted to do.
What’s your favourite part of your job?
Is it cheesy to say the patients? It’s just such a fantastic group and I love working with the people I work with, especially here in Saskatchewan. I love the challenges too. I love being able to push the envelope and do bigger things through MIS surgery.
When did you get started with CanSAGE? What have you gotten out of your involvement with CanSAGE?
I’ve been involved in CanSAGE and the annual meeting basically since it started. I was on the scientific planning committee for the first one they had in Toronto.
I’ve gained a huge amount of skills just through this conference alone. Watching how other people do things, networking with other surgeons, figuring out how they approach difficult situations – it’s made me a better MIS surgeon, being able to communicate and work with all these individuals that I’ve had the pleasure of working with for the past 10 years.
And I love the benefits this society brings – the training of fellows, the improved care that is spreading throughout Canada, and all of these amazing programs. They’re going out into communities and really advancing the quality of gynecologic care, which I think is absolutely phenomenal. I think CanSAGE being behind that is a huge success.
Do you have any hobbies? What do you do in your spare time?
I love to travel. I’m sitting here in a lounge waiting to go to France right now as I talk to you. I love to cook. And I love going back up to northern B.C. every summer. I grew up in a little place called Telegraph Creek. It’s up in the middle of nowhere and it’s absolutely amazing. My favourite part is that they don’t have cell phone or internet access. I get to completely unplug. I absolutely love it.
You’re Chair of the 2025 CanSAGE Conference in Saskatoon. What are your goals as Chair?
It’s been amazing to see it grow in leaps and bounds the way it has. We’re incredibly excited to bring it to Saskatchewan, because none of the major ob-gyn conferences have been held here. And we’re very pleased to be able to honour Dr. John Thiel, who was one of the founding members of CanSAGE and who is very much a Saskatchewan guy. So I consider it a great honour to be selected as the Chair to design a conference worthy of what it needs to be.
