Interview with
Shalini Das, recipient of the Surrey Women in Business Award.
What led you to
open Symbiosis Pediatric Therapy Inc?
We came to Canada in 2008. Initially I was working with a
different company in Vancouver, and I realized we had clients who were
travelling all the way in from Surrey and Abbotsford to Vancouver to get therapy
services. They were getting so tired and parents were frustrated. At that time,
my husband and I were also looking for a house, so we thought ‘why don’t we
find a house on this side of the river and start something here?’, as there
were hardly any pediatric private practices in this area. So that’s how Symbiosis
started! We started very small and it has grown in the past ten years to three different
locations now.
Why did you choose
occupational therapy as a career?
I actually stepped into occupational therapy accidentally. I had no plans of
becoming an OT when I was still in school but then I took a course that was a
mix of occupational therapy and physiotherapy. I started talking to my professors about
occupational therapy and realized there is such a diverse range of work we
could be doing. That really pulled me to the career and it has just grown on
from there. Twenty years, no regrets!
What is your
personal philosophy on business ownership and leadership?
I think as a business owner you have to wear a lot of hats.
You are still an OT with your clients, but you have to be ready to mentor and
lead your staff, as well as see their strengths and areas they need to work on.
As a leader you have to be willing to take that into consideration and give your
staff room to grow in their particular area of interest. As well, you have to
look at what opportunities there are and find the service gaps. For example, we
found that very few people were actually doing public education. It’s not a
part of growing the business financially, but to address this need, we wanted
to get information out to parents. We have put on workshops and free talks for
parents about autism, down syndrome, and special needs, whatever the need is
out there. To be on the look for what are the gaps and what are the services
able to fill those gaps, while also making sure your team is prepared is part
of my philosophy.
What has surprised
you most about working as an OT?
I find the different kind of work you can do as an OT really
interesting. Even though I’ve worked mostly in pediatrics, through my
experience with talking to other OTs, whether they are working with elderly or
adults, from toddlers to infants, all the ranges that you can work with is what
has surprised me and what I find really interesting about occupational therapy. Also, the
different facilities you can work in - it doesn’t have to be just acute,
post-acute, or rehabilitation, you could be working in prisons, dementia
centres, pediatric clinics, or ICUs. All of the diversity in the profession is
really interesting to see.
What is your
favourite thing about CAOT-BC?
There are quite a few things I like about CAOT-BC, but two
specific things are 1) the Advisory Committee is always out there promoting occupational therapy as a profession. When you see the CAOT-BC blog or the news you know CAOT-BC is
out there talking to people about OT, meeting with MLAs and MPs. They don’t
have to do that; many of them are volunteers doing this for the profession and
I really appreciate that. 2) All of the Practice Networks, like the Pediatric Practice
Network, Private Practice Business Network, and adults in different categories.
You get to network with different people who are in the same profession and area
as you and learn so much from them. I really like that CAOT-BC has stepped up
and made sure the Practice Networks are happening regularly. I also really
appreciate all of the volunteers who have devoted their time to lead the Practice
Networks.
Tell me about
someone who has influenced your occupational therapy practice?
There are so many people out there, all the kids and
families that I work with, but the one person that stands out was in my second
year as an OT student when we had our placement. I was working in an orthopedic
hospital that my college was attached to and we had this bilateral amputee,
upper limbs. He was a teacher in a rural village, where in those years they
still had a chalk board and chalk he had to hold. He was in tears saying “I
can’t work if I can’t hold the chalk” and “I don’t know how to do anything
else, I can’t be a farmer back in my village, I am a teacher.” We worked with
him to get the prothesis for both sides. In those times we didn’t have all of
the high end prothesis, it was still the old fashioned simple hands and hooks.
Then we trained him to hold the chalk. It was so amazing to see him writing
with chalk on our boards in our class room. That is something I can never
forget. We changed his life. He came to us so disappointed as he was a working
adult with a family who depended on him and he was so disappointed he had an
accident that he couldn’t go back to his profession. But to be able to give him
that was amazing. I will never forget his face when he was able to write. He
was so thankful to us, but more than that, we were to thankful to him to have
this opportunity to learn and see first-hand how OT can make a difference to
someone’s life. He is one person I will never forget.
What do you think
will change/shape practice over the next five years?
I think the biggest thing is how much technology is coming
into practice. We see there are more apps, people are using iPads and phones.
On the positive side, how can we use technology to help in our therapy, how can
we integrate that? There is also the downside to technology. You have so many
kids with iPads and parents are worried about screen time; how do we develop a
balance? I think over the next few years more and more technology will come in
and we need to figure out how to best use that with whatever population we are
working with. Another way technology will shape practice is in remote areas. In
a lot of professions people are using Skype to provide services. Recently in BC
and in Canada we have been hearing about telehealth services. We haven’t done
that in pediatrics yet, at least not at Symbiosis. I wonder how over the next
five years that will change and if we can work with parents over Skype to
provide telehealth services, for example teaching strategies, especially in the
rural areas.
What would you
tell someone who is becoming an OT?
I would say welcome to the profession! It’s a huge, diverse
profession. I would ask them to keep an open mind. When new grads come out in
the job market the learning curve is very steep, and I would tell them don’t be
scared of that. Most people are very willing to give new grads the time to get
into the work and take it slow. Don’t get frustrated when you get out in the
field and you find so many challenges, there will be a lot of people out there
to help. Also, don’t be afraid to ask for help. In pediatrics, it could be
challenging in the beginning and the learning curve is quite steep, but once
you get there it’s so much fun! Eventually you’ll get there. Keep and open mind
and don’t give up!
What do you do
when you aren't working and volunteering?
I love to read. I also have two kids, 14 and 7 years old, so
I spend a lot of time with them. I was class mom for one of them last year and
have been volunteering at school a lot. For my older one’s high school I did a
career presentation about OT, spreading the word out there. As well, I like to
garden and hike, enjoying the beautiful outdoors when we have the sunshine!
Interview by Meredith Blinkhorn, fieldwork student with CAOT-BC.
#OT365
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