ALEXANDRA
THOMSON
Neurophysiology Technologist​
&
Health Sciences Association Regional Director
ABOUT ME
I’m Alexandra Thomson and I’ve created this website to highlight my professional values, provide information about my education and training, and showcase curated content that I hope you find useful. This ePortfolio is a requirement for my Master of Health Studies through Athabasca University, which I am completing while working full-time at Vancouver General Hospital as a Neurophysiology Technologist.
My goal in completing my Masters is to further my education to improve my understanding of socioeconomic and cultural issues that impact my patients. Participating in this program will help develop my leadership skills and allow me to create health promotion strategies with healthcare leaders across Canada. My professional aspirations include a career in politics because my grandfather, Maurice King, was a mayor. He inspired me to consider making changes to systems, policies, and institutions to have big impacts on more people. I'm proud of my Irish, Scottish, and Manx ancestry which emphasizes family values, a growth mindset, and adventurous spirit.
I was elected to my union's board of directors to represent health science professionals at Vancouver Coastal Health Authority sites. As a proud member and director of the Health Sciences Association (HSA) of British Columbia, I aim to optimize patients' health outcomes, support healthcare workers, and lift equity-seeking groups. I serve on HSA's Committee for Equality and Social Action and I chair HSA's Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S) Committee. I also participate on the BC Federation of Labour's OH&S Committee.
My Master of Health Studies provides not only a strong foundation to my future career goals, but also my personal goals of growing as an individual. I'm a lifelong learner curious about the interconnection between place, identities, self-understanding, and relations to people. To me, allyship is working in solidarity and framing the systems of inequity as the problem instead of the people. I receive feedback as a way to gain insight and recognize implicit bias to help build a better future for all. I'm grateful for my mentors' guidance and believe that a person's accomplishments include not only their direct actions but also the positive changes they inspire.
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ELECTRONEUROPHYSIOLOGY
MY ROLE IN HEALTHCARE
As a Neurophysiology Technologist at Vancouver General Hospital (VGH), I perform Electroencephalogram (EEG) and Evoked Potential (EP) tests. I'm a Registered Electroencephalograph Technologist (RET) through the Canadian Board of Registration of Electroencephlograph Technologists (CBRET). I joined the Canadian Association of Electroneurophysiology Technologists (CAET) I’m on the education committee for the British Columbia Society of Electroneurophysiology Technologists (BCSET).
I work in a variety of settings at VGH, including the operating room, the laboratory, the seizure investigation unit (SIU), and various wards throughout the hospital. I complete EEG and EP tests, interpret the results, and write technical impressions. During surgeries, I monitor the central nervous system and inform the surgeon of changes. I provide intra-operative monitoring for vascular surgeries to help prevent strokes and other neurological deficits. I enjoy working as a team and generating solutions to problems from a multi-level, interdisciplinary approach. In the SIU, I help find the seizure focus for neurosurgery candidates. In addition to SIU patients, I also provide long-term EEG monitoring for patients in Intensive Care. The goal is to guide care and infusion changes. Often, a burst suppression pattern is targeted via a medically induced coma. This allows the brain to rest and it stops ongoing seizure activity. Given that VGH is the top neuro centre in the province, we see a lot of interesting and difficult cases.
Patient care is my top priority and I strive for optimal health outcomes by being professional, compassionate, and well informed. I'm fortunate to work with some incredible healthcare providers and being a part of many patients' journey to recovery.
Disclaimer: Opinions expressed are my own and do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of my employer or organizations that I am affiliated with.
"Happiness is the highest form of health."
-Dalai Lama
