Congrats to Fiona, Brenda, Jennifer and Karen!

They’re Best Work Buddies (BWBs) and they’re this week’s BWB Contest winners. Each pair has won a $10 coffee card and, along with everyone else who’s submitted a photo so far, they’ll be entered in the draw for the Grand Prize — a 1-hour private photo shoot with a professional photographer.

Vancouver’s BWB Contest is for everyone who calls one (or more) coworkers a best work friend. All Vancouver Community of Care physicians, staff and LMC colleagues working in partnership with us are welcome to participate — and the more you participate, the more chances you have to win.

For full contest details, refer to VCH News here.

To scroll through our BWB photo album, click the arrows below. You can also visit the BWB photo album directly on Flickr here.

BWB week 3 winners

Fiona Barratt and Brenda Rosenau

Fiona (left) and Brenda are working together again — to Brenda’s delight!

Where do you work?

“Fiona is a physiotherapist in Home Health in Kerrisdale where I’m a nurse case manager.”

How did you meet?

“Fiona and I met close to 15 years ago at the Three Bridges CHC.  She made a distinct impression on me then, and it never left me.”

 What do you admire most about each other?

“Fiona is an outgoing, caring very professional lady who really gives a lot to her clients. She has a lot of respect for others, and is just a delight to know and work with.  When Fiona was to retire it was a privilege, along with Dora Calvori and another staff member Helen Ko, another Home Health physio, to plan her retirement party.  She has had a life of adventure and curiosity. She worked at GF Strong for quite a long time and really knows her stuff.  Well, I was pleased as punch to know she was working a maternity line with us, because, she makes the day go by, and is always there with a smile and wonderful wisdom.  I am blessed at Pacific Spirit to work with such wonderful people.”

Jennifer Tse and Karen Sandhu

Jennifer (left) and Karen say they lunch together every day.

Where do you work?

Neuromuscular Disease Unit, VGH

How did you meet?

“We met at work in 2013 and have spent every lunch hour together since!”

What do you admire most about each other?

“The ability to make each other laugh, be goofy and de-stress during our lunch break workout sessions or out-of-work adventures.”

Meet more Vancouver BWBs

So many people are sharing so many great stories, we just can’t keep them all to ourselves. Meet some more of VCH-Vancouver’s Best Work Buddies. Perhaps you know them.

Rebecca Grey and Cynthia Ciezki

Rebecca (left) is an anesthesia equipment coordinator at VGH and Cynthia is an education program assistant with the Department of Surgery.

Rebecca writes: “It’s always fun to work with smart, capable, easy-going people and Cynthia is all of those things. I was very sad when she left VGH (and the country) to pursue her medical education; however, I admire her determination in making her dream of being a doctor come true. She’s authentic, fun, and thoughtful; our friendship easily transcended the workplace and international borders – but I’m very glad she’s back at VGH!

Cynthia writes: “Moving to a new city is hard; a new job AND a new city even harder. Rebecca welcomed me into the OR in 2007 and became someone I could count on, always – at work and otherwise. She is friendly, athletic (she runs 18 KM on a SUNDAY! – who does that?), kindhearted and genuine.  She pushes me to be better and strive to achieve higher in life and love. She even gets me off my butt for a daily walk over lunch (more like a sweaty exhausting workout). Educationally, Rebecca is hard working and went on to pursue higher education and follow her dreams whilst working. I feel extremely lucky to get to see Rebecca nearly daily now after having spent years out of country, back at VGH – and look forward to continued memories together!

Stephen Stuckey and Bansi Gandhi

Stephen (left) and Bansi are both program assistants at the Pender CHC where “every call is important to us, and we try to help the caller to the best of our ability.”

Bansi writes: “Stephen and I help each other out when needed. No problem is insurmountable for us since we can solve any problem by brainstorming together. Getting along together so well must be in our stars as we share the same birthday — March 5 — and we have the same interests; we share the same passion, a great sense of humour and we are the greatest team players.

As Steve Jobs, the former CEO of Apple said to the graduating class of 2005: ‘Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work and the only way to do great work is to love what you do,” and “[i]f you haven’t found it yet, keep looking.’ I am lucky I have enjoyed each day working at VCH for past 30 years and the past 6 years with Stephen.”