Growing up in Winnipeg’s St. James neighbourhood, Cherie Murie [MOT/08] never imagined that she would spend her life working in the north.
But after a fieldwork placement in Thompson as an occupational therapy (OT) student, she took a position in the northern Manitoba city and has not looked back for the past 16 years.
Murie says she felt welcomed in the community and also appreciated the ability to use her OT skills in a variety of areas.
“Being a smaller team, we truly get to be part of an interprofessional collaboration. You don’t always see that in daily practice, but here we see it every day.”
Murie played a variety of sports in school and was interested in a career in social services. It was a family friend who worked in massage therapy who told her about OT.
“OT fit with my goal of wanting to help people and give them a better quality of life,” she says.
Today, Murie is the director of allied health and collaborative practice at the Northern Regional Health Authority. Her portfolio includes nearly 70 health professionals in OT, physical therapy, respiratory therapy, diagnostics, social work and more.
“At first, it was a bit daunting to move from a focused OT role into a broader leadership portfolio,” she says. “But the opportunity to support such a diverse group has really expanded my perspective on health care and deepened my appreciation for the unique contributions of each discipline.”
Murie stepped into her position in May 2020, as the COVID pandemic was hitting northern Manitoba. She says the interprofessional experience helped her adjust to the role at that uncertain time.
“Working as a generalist in that environment, you learn to be adaptable, to work across scopes and to collaborate with other professionals out of necessity. You also learn to approach challenges creatively because the resources are often limited,” she says.
Murie is also an advocate for allied health professionals at the provincial level through participation on several different bodies, including the Children’s Therapy Network of Manitoba’s provincial leadership committee.
“It’s important to have the allied health voice at some of the bigger provincial tables. We are not the people who save lives, but we are the people who give others their quality of life back.”
She is also a member of UM’s joint council rehabilitation science subcommittee.
“It’s amazing to go full circle. I had some phenomenal professors, and it’s great to work alongside them on program planning and things like that.”
While Murie has embraced northern living, she understands it’s not for everyone and acknowledges that it has its challenges.
“Staffing is tough, but we’re coming up with some innovative ideas to support people in the north to remain in the north,” she says.
Those ideas include working with UM and University College of the North to support community members in completing master’s degrees or diploma programs in the future.
“A key part of my advocacy work has been educating others about what the north has to offer — highlighting the uniqueness of our region, the resourcefulness of our teams, and the creativity required to overcome the complex challenges we face in delivering care.”
BY ALAN MACKENZIE