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Miranda Noyes
Miranda Noyes, Peer Mentor for Electronic Clinical Documentation

IHealth Perspectives: Miranda Noyes, Peer Mentor for Electronic Clinical Documentation

Miranda Noyes works as an Occupational Therapist in the Emergency Department at Victoria General Hospital. Coming up on three years with Island Health, Miranda’s curiosity was piqued when she heard that departments were calling for volunteer Peer Mentors to support the transition to Electronic Clinical Documentation.

As a first time Peer Mentor, Miranda wasn’t sure what to expect. We talked to Miranda about her experience, and whether she would recommend being a Peer Mentor to others.

What was it like, was it what you expected?

Miranda: It was learning alongside people, I didn’t ever feel like an expert. Colleagues were understanding of that, too, which I think made it less intimidating for all of us – it was more like we were all learning together.

Did you feel prepared and supported?

Miranda: Definitely supported. As prepared as I could be, I would say. I felt prepared for each day as we went along. 

What really helped was that my physio counterpart and I got pulled from our case loads. I would really recommend this, if at all possible. Thanks to Caryn Mackay who advocated for us to be dedicated to the role of Peer Mentor.

And I have to give a lot of credit to Christa Robertson [physio Peer Mentor counterpart], it was great to have her there working side-by-side together.

Was there anything that surprised you?

Miranda: What surprised me was how ready we felt by the week leading up to go-live, we felt ready to actually do the real thing, not just in “play domain” but with real patients. I expected more nervousness.

What were your key takeaways from the experience?

Miranda: For me, personally, really getting to know other staff I haven’t worked with before. Colleagues I don’t always get to work with or hang out with…seeing other learning styles and learning from them.

We were all learning new things at once, I was so impressed by how people took it on and took it upon themselves to learn other ways, or found tricks and wanted to share them with everyone.

There was real value in doing the training, then everybody in the room trying it, then people giving tips and tricks to the whole room.

What advice do you have for others who might be considering being a Peer Mentor?

Miranda: Just try it, I think they might like it more than they think. It’s a short period of time. Think of it less as teaching other people, more as learning alongside your colleagues.

Would you volunteer as a Peer Mentor again?

Miranda: Definitely.

For more information, or to express your interest in being a Peer Mentor supporting the change to Electronic Clinical Documentation, please speak with your Manager.

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