Megan MacGregor (she/her) is a third-year Health Sciences student. She discusses her role at Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre and gives advice on asking your co-op supervisors for help when you’ve hit a roadblock.


Megan’s co-op journey


Work term one: Megan’s first work term was at Intragrad Inc. as a healthcare business development student. She supported small and medium sized medical clinics by helping recruit candidates and updating databases for outreach and consultation with family physicians and other healthcare providers.

Work term two: Megan worked as a research assistant with the University of Waterloo’s International Tobacco Control Project under the department of Psychology. In this role, Megan liaised with a multidisciplinary research team to manage a four country (United Kingdom, United States, Canada and Australia) cohort study evaluating WHO tobacco control policies. She also contributed to national reports and dissemination materials to translate scientific findings to policymakers.

Work term three: Her last co-op was at Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH) as a people safety co-op student. Megan led RVH’s Respiratory Protection Program by co-ordinating N95 mask fit testing for all patient-facing staff at the hospital and providing respiratory protection education. She contributed to training modules on proper patient handling, workplace hazards and RVH’s Internal Responsibility System for ensuring a safe workplace.

Megan MacGregor smiling in front of a sign for the Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre

Q&A with Megan


What were your day-to-day responsibilities at your last co-op?

“A large portion of my day was dedicated to completing appointments for mask fit testing. I was also required to follow up with employees that had expired fit tests to promote compliance since it is a requirement of all clinical staff to be fit tested every two years. This sometimes meant I would be required to travel to different units or connect with leaders so they could support their staff to be able to attend an appointment.”

“I completed qualitative fit testing for RVH staff which relied on staff’s sensory response (taste) to ensure the disposable N95 style provided a proper seal. I also completed quantitative testing for reusable respirators which used a machine to measure the concentration of sodium chloride in the air relative to the inside of their mask. Both tests ensured that the staff member is fit into a respirator that will protect them from any airborne or droplet contaminants they may encounter in their role.”

“When there were no appointments, I supported several projects over my co-op term. For example, I created a form for RVH’s Joint Health & Safety Committee members to complete department inspections and report hazards to leaders so corrective action can take place. I also supported the exemption process for non-patient facing staff and helped support patient handling education sessions with other members of the People Safety team.”


What was your favourite part of the position?

“A highlight of my co-op last term was the opportunity to interact with so many different departments around the hospital.”

“I am a Health Sciences student and I'm still exploring which areas I'm most interested in. In this role I had the opportunity to meet so many talented health professionals and hear what makes them passionate about their job. On any given day, I could complete fit testing for a pharmacist, physician, physiotherapist, registered nurse or laboratory technologist to name a few.”

“I also witnessed so much collaboration across the People Safety and Occupational Health teams and felt really supported in my role. There was constant knowledge sharing across departments and it was inspiring to be in this environment where everyone had a shared goal of promoting safety and quality patient care.”


Did interacting with those departments give you a better idea of what you want to do in the future?

“Yes, my manager was super supportive and set up many shadowing opportunities that allowed me to visit different units I was interested in. I shadowed pediatric speech language pathologists at an outpatient clinic and care teams in the stroke and rehabilitation unit. Right now, that's where my interest lies and I’m grateful I had the chance to gain exposure to a variety of healthcare professions.”


Megan MacGregor working with health machinery

Do you feel that your last co-op helped you grow?

“I would say any new co-op has a learning curve because you’re adapting to a completely new work environment and company culture.”

“In terms of my last co-op specifically, I had to develop confidence in communicating with different leaders at the hospital. At times I would need the leaders' help to ensure their staff was complying with RVH’s standards for respiratory protection. Learning to be confident and how to ask for that assistance was a challenge, but it really helped me grow.”

“A word of advice for future co-op students, don’t be afraid to ask questions or admit that you could use additional guidance.”

“If you run into a problem, I suggest keeping an open dialogue with your leadership team, describing how you have attempted to solve the problem and where you're hitting the roadblock. Your managers can help you, but you need to advocate for yourself and highlight your problem-solving capability.”


What’s next for you?

“I will be going into my 3B term this fall taking classes on-campus and volunteering at a speech and behavior clinic to support children with ASD. In the winter I will be on an eight-month co-op work-term. I remain open to new opportunities and am excited to build on my knowledge from this work term and reconnect with my friends when I return to Waterloo!”