Staff Spotlight
Katrina Jenkins, Speech Language Pathologist
May is Speech and Hearing Month, which raises awareness of speech and hearing issues as well as recognizes the impact Speech Language Pathologists (SLP) and Audiologists have in health care. The theme for this year is Connecting through Communication: SLP and Audiologists Empower You.
Meet Katrina Jenkins, a SLP in the community for children ages 0 to 5 years old on the North Shore. She is a part of North Shore Public Health, serving North Vancouver, West Vancouver, Lions Bay, Eagle Island and Bowen Island.
While Bowen Island has always been a community of care within Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH), there were major barriers that families experienced when accessing services. With support from managers and leaders at VCH, there are now services available on the island every week. Katrina has been serving clients there since September 2022 and now works there once per week.
A day in the life of a Speech Language Pathologist
In a typical day, Katrina would see five clients together with their parent(s) or caregiver. “We could be doing anything from coaching parents how to shift their communication style to help support their child’s early language development, to helping a child learn how to speak more clearly, to developing a child’s social communication skills or providing alternative methods of communication.”
Katrina has earned the nickname ‘the lady with the good toys’ from some of her clients as she ensures each session is fun and engaging. “If the child can forget they are doing hard work, then it is a win.”
“One of the things I enjoy most about my role is that I have the opportunity to provide family-centered care,” Katrina says. “Parents are the experts on their child and I value collaborating with them as we determine goals and priorities for their child’s communicative development. Given that the children we work with are so young, oftentimes parents are the ones heading home with ‘homework’ rather than the children! Parents and caregivers are key players in the success of our speech-language therapy.”
Many wonderful moments take place during her workday and Katrina enjoys celebrating the big and small wins. Recently, Katrina worked with a young patient who was unable to say his brother’s name. “The day he said his brother’s name was very exciting and the entire family celebrated and cried with joy. Moments like these are truly special.”
A dream job and dream team
Katrina worked with the North Shore SLP Team during her practicum and would later join the team as a casual employee once she completed her Master’s at UBC. Six months later, she secured a temporary full-time position, which later became a permanent role.
“This is my dream job and I have been with the team since I graduated. I have stayed not only because I love what I do, but more importantly, because I am lucky enough to be part of an incredible, collaborative, hardworking and supportive team.”
The positive team culture has made Katrina feel supported within her role. “Our practice lead works tirelessly to advocate for us and the clients we serve,” Katrina says. “She always has our best interest in mind. For example, she is innovative and finds ways to ease our administrative workload so that we can focus on our clinical work.” Additionally, Katrina praises her colleagues for their knowledge and willingness to discuss challenging clinical cases.
“We recently formed working groups across the region to digest the latest research in our field to update our service delivery model as part of our regionalization project. This is one example of how we SLPS are always learning and striving to be better.”
Fun fact: Katrina can read and transcribe English using the International Phonetic Alphabet.
Join our team
Explore the current career opportunities for Speech Language Pathologists at Vancouver Coastal Health.