I interviewed Desiree Vanderstar from our Chinook Centre Calgary Location.
Laurie: Hi Des! Tell us a little bit about yourself.
Des: I’m a native Calgarian. I graduated from AZCOPT, in 2017 followed by a Peds/VT residence at SCO. While working at a VT oriented private practice in Calgary I started working extra days as an associate at the Kensington Bailey Nelson. I found myself truly enjoying myself at work and in October 2019 when the opportunity arose to become the Lead OD at Chinook, I took it. This has been a really positive decision in my life & I have been very happy since.
Laurie: What makes you love working here?
Des: There is the Culture. It is a great culture of inclusivity. BN encourages me to be myself at all times, which has been wonderful. There is a feeling of Community. Having a large number of authentic & personable colleagues is a good feeling. It's nice to have other OD's in a parallel role to talk to about work & life. We have had several social events (previously to COVID) and it’s been really enjoyable to get to know the Calgary OD's. I feel Supported. The feeling that I'm not an island because of the support from BN’s support office & the support from my local team. We each have goals & work in tandem to achieve them. I really appreciate when I hear them asking customers if they've had a recent eye exam. It's awesome to know they also view customers as potential patients for me. Lastly, BN is constantly trying to improve & grow.... because of this, I feel like feedback is taken seriously, valued and used to make positive change.
Laurie: Thank you Des.
Des: My pleasure!
For opportunities with BN contact
laurie.lesser@baileynelson.com