Matthew's Career Journey at MGH

Tell us about yourself!

Hi, my name is Matthew Grandison and I am a Supervisor on the Prolonged-Ventilation Weaning Centre/Inpatient Respiratory Unit at Michael Garron Hospital (MGH). I have been working at MGH for about 5 years now!
What motivated you to join MGH? I did my pre-grad RPN clinical placement on the General Internal Medicine unit at MGH in 2016 and it was such an enjoyable experience. The culture was great, I developed great relationships with the staff members and the unit leadership was supportive. The team dynamic and my experience on the unit fit really well with how I envisioned nursing to be and I knew I would love to come back to work there after my graduation. After I graduated, there was an opening on the same unit and I emailed the manager and asked if I could interview for the position. I got the interview, was successful and started my career journey at MGH on January 8, 2017.

What types of learning, mentorship or professional development opportunities have you had the opportunity to pursue since joining MGH?I spent three years with the General Internal Medicine unit and in that timeframe was a behavioural care champion. The role was set up to understand the complexities of behaviors our patient population could present with and how we, as healthcare workers, can support our patients and team members.

In October 2020, I was recognized as a leader within the organization and was part of the Emerging Leadership Program (ELP), where I was partnered with Jane Harwood, Director of Surgery, Ambulatory and Virtual Care. This mentorship program helped me hone my leadership skills, expand my knowledge, open up learning opportunities and meet an amazing set of colleagues throughout the organization.

I’ve always felt supported by my leadership team throughout my journey and the culture of support and family I experienced as a student was always felt through my development at MGH.

Can you share your career path at MGH?2017 – 2020: I was a Registered Practical Nurse (RPN) on the General Internal Medicine Unit.

October 2020: I became a site lead at our Community Outreach Centres, which at the time was supporting the Thorncliffe Park and Taylor Massey neighbourhoods with COVID-19 testing.

November 2020: I became the Coordinator for MGH's COVID-19 Assessment Centre & Outreach Centres.

April 2021: I became the Supervisor of the COVID-19 Assessment Centre & Outreach Centres.

November 2021: I became the Supervisor of the Prolonged-Ventilation Weaning Centre/Inpatient Respiratory Unit.

What motivates/inspires you?I love working with people – I love the team I work with, the patients I interact with and the relationships I’ve developed while working at MGH. MGH fosters a great sense of community and culture that I enjoy being a part of. Work doesn’t feel like work and it feels like I’m committed to serving a purpose. I’ve always wanted to serve my community and help people, and MGH allows for me to really feel like I do that every day.

If you could share one memorable moment from your time at MGH, what stands out to you?All the unit potlucks with my colleagues. One thing that I’ve truly missed during the pandemic is sitting down with my colleagues and enjoying food together. I can’t wait to have some Pancit with my team members!