William Yip, BMLSc’20, MASc’22

Dr. Taran J. Main is the 2022–23 UBC Alumni Builder Award – Southern Medical Program Recipient.

Dr. Main (he/him) is an addictions medicine specialist and family physician in the Okanagan and a dedicated alumnus of the Southern Medical Program and clinical instructor. He devotes his career and spare time to advocating for those experiencing homelessness, substance use, and mental illness, and he helps patients make connections within the community.

What drew you to the MD program at UBC?
I grew up in BC and wanted to stay local, so I was excited to be a part of either Victoria IMP or the Kelowna SMP program for my medical training and I am so grateful I was accepted into the Southern Medical Program in Kelowna where I now live and practice.

What is your favorite memory from your time at UBC?
My favourite memory at UBC-O was honestly just sitting in the lunch area on campus laughing with my colleagues alongside the SMP physician and admin staff and joining in the fun. These special moments show how intimate and connected the program at SMP was and still is.

What has been your journey since graduating from the MD program at UBC?
Since graduating from the SMP, I completed my family medicine residency at the Kelowna rural program and then my enhanced skills in Addictions Medicine in Kelowna and Victoria. I am now working as part of the Addiction Medicine Consult Service at Kelowna General Hospital and in the community as an addictions provider. I also locum as a family physician.

Since your graduation, tell us about your connection with the SMP community.
I have always enjoyed teaching and wanted to integrate it into my career as soon as possible. I wanted to get connected with SMP to contribute to this incredible program. I have been thrilled to have students join our service at the hospital as well as facilitate sessions at the campus around physician burnout, mindfulness, and academic sessions.

Why are you inspired to give back to your communities?
I had some incredible mentors/preceptors in the SMP and my family practice program that had a very big impact on my medical training and were a big part of my passion for addiction medicine. I feel pulled to give back to Kelowna and hopefully inspire and leave lasting impressions on the next generation of medical students as my mentors did for me.

What advice would you give to alumni who want to get more involved with UBC?
Do it! Reflect on what you are interested in or how you would want to contribute and there are great opportunities to get involved or, from my experience, they will create opportunities if there is a need/interest.

How has your identity affected your perspective in your practice, community involvement, and/or your future pursuits?
My identity and who I am have greatly influenced who I am as a physician, colleague, husband, father, and friend. It influences what I prioritize in my practice, my schedule, my time at home, how I want to be remembered, how I want to be seen, where and who I make a stand against or with, where I look to make change, how I choose to interact with patients and who I choose to trust and associate myself with in this profession.

What is one thing you hope to accomplish in the next 10 years?
Increase medical student awareness and knowledge of trauma-informed care for patients with substance use disorders.

What does a healthy society mean to you?
That is a big question. The short answer, I think a healthy society is one that is present.

The long answer, I find that this is incredibly hard to achieve and something that I work hard to attempt to do daily. So many people are swept away in the busyness of life while all the important things pass them by as it insidiously impacts the individual’s mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being. The ripple effect of being present can be so profound. From appreciating your walk to work and the robin who made a nest in the tree by your house, vs looking at your phone; to being present with your patient instead of worrying about how behind you are in the clinic; appreciating the food available at the grocery store and what you could make with it that night, and how I can include my family in the kitchen with music and laughter and quality time, instead of scarfing down the take out with the TV on in the background; to appreciating the little moments in your life like my daughter and cat having a special moment on the couch as the sun sets behind them instead of scrolling through social media on my phone; to taking a pause in your busy to-do list for the day to sit on a bench with stranger who is grieving. Working in palliative care, I have never heard anyone say they wished they worked more, spent more time on their phone, wished they had more money or wished they had done more with their careers. Every single person wished they poured more time into their friends, their spouse, their kids and the ventures and hobbies they enjoyed.

Not only will being present benefit you as an individual but to those around you. To be present to your emotions and needs, gives you the space and time to develop the skills to work through your own hurt, personal trauma and everything in between. This then, allows you to be present for your children and all of their needs, who in turn would be present for themselves and their children. This would combat and reduce the impact of intergenerational trauma, reduce the growing number of individuals turning to substances to cope through so much hurt and pain. If we are to slow the tide that is the opioid crisis, or the insidious and overwhelming alcohol consumption so normalized by society and many other substances we need to change. This is only one piece of the 1000 piece puzzle, but to be present is to be aware of yourself and everything around you, and to be aware allows you to take first steps to making change towards a healthier you and a healthier society.

Take the time to be present, as time is our most precious resource, every single moment in life has value if you take the time to appreciate it.

Harrison Kettyls (he/him) is a recent graduate of the Master of Physical Therapy program at UBC. He grew up in Victoria BC and completed his Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology at the University of Victoria prior to starting the MPT program. As the Physical Therapy Student Society President, he represented the MPT program within the Faculty of Medicine and aided in advocating for students. Harrison loves being active and can find him outdoors playing soccer, hiking, camping, surfing, and snowboarding. He also enjoys photography and playing his guitar. He looks forward to starting his physiotherapy career in Vancouver and helping people in the community get back to the things they love to do.

What drew you to the Master of Physical Therapy (PT) degree at UBC?
Physiotherapy has played a big part in my life since my family and I were in a car accident when I was younger. I personally have seen the impact physiotherapists can have on improving someone’s quality of life and regaining function. To me physiotherapy is a profession that allows one to help others as well as build a genuine connection with people. It is incredibly rewarding helping people recover from illness and injury and seeing them reach the goals they may not have thought to be possible.

How has studying in the MPT program made an impact on you?
By far, the biggest impact the MPT program has had on me is introducing me to such an amazing group of caring and compassionate people. The hours spent in lecture, labs, and breakout rooms practicing our clinical skills brough the cohort close together. I am incredibly grateful for the two years I have spent at UBC and all the skills I have learned, but it is my classmates that have had the biggest impact on me.

What was something you learned in the MPT program that surprised you?
Coming into the MPT program, I had only worked in private practice and did not fully appreciate the breath of the physiotherapy scope of practice. Once starting the program, I became exposed to many different areas of clinical practice, such as the burns ward and the intensive care unit. On these placements I began to understand the importance of physiotherapists working in these settings. I was originally set on working with sports teams prior to starting the MPT program, but exposure to these different clinical settings changed my career path.

What is your favorite memory from your time at UBC?
My favourite memory from my time in the MPT program would be the six weeks I spent on clinical placement at the hospital in Daajin Giids, Haida Gwaii. I got the opportunity to work with an incredible community and explore the beautiful island. As a part of this experience, I was invited to support the local Haida Skidegate basketball team as a team Physiotherapist at the All Native Basketball Tournament in Prince Rupert. I am incredibly grateful to have had the opportunity to learn about Indigenous culture and culturally informed practice during this clinical placement. This experience would not have been possible without the support of the MPT clinical education team and my preceptor.

Where do you find inspiration?
I find inspiration with the interactions I have with my patients. Every patient has had such a different journey with a unique point of view. To see the resilience and perseverance patients have when facing hardship is moving. It encourages me to find different ways to grow and learn as a physiotherapist.

What does a healthy society mean to you?
Health is more than just the absence of illness or injury but a continual development of physical, mental, and spiritual wellbeing. A healthy society allows for equal and equitable access to resources to help meet those needs.

What are your plans after graduation?
I will be working part time at Oakridge physiotherapy and Vancouver General Hospital in the Emergency Department. I enjoy both these avenues of physiotherapy and the challenges that come with each of them. Some future goals include working in acute care units such as ICU and burns. In addition, I hope to at some point work in underserved areas locally and internationally.

Grace Shyng (she/her) is a Registered Audiologist and Hearing Instrument Practitioner. Grace is qualified to provide hearing assessments; hearing aid services; tinnitus management services; cerumen management (fancy word for earwax removal); custom noise, musician or swim plugs; and communication accessibility consultations, where she explores ways to help make employment, educational, and social listening environments more communication-friendly. (Think of the last time you were at a meeting or restaurant and couldn’t hear what everyone said. Grace can help with that!). She is a proud UBC alumna: B.A. (1991 – Speech Sciences) and M.Sc. (1995 – Audiology). Grace is also passionate about clinical education: she has been a Clinical Assistant Professor with the UBC School of Audiology and Speech Sciences since 2001, and in 2009 she was honored to be the inaugural recipient of the School’s Noelle Lamb Award for Excellence in Clinical Education.

Grace is a true Vancouverite, having been born and raised in Vancouver. She also loves creative writing, travelling, and hiking friendly trails with her family and Shiba Inu dog.

What drew you to the Master of Science – Audiology program at UBC?

I’ve always had an interest in sciences, language arts, and psychology, and at one point I considered a career in Law. But then I heard about Audiology which was a field that combined the background of science and communications, so I was intrigued. I was also very close with my maternal grandmother and I really enjoyed spending time with seniors. The field of Audiology was a perfect fit for this.

What is your favorite memory from your time at UBC?

I have many favourite memories, but it’s the year of firsts that stand out for me. As tough as first year at UBC was (First year Calculus and Physics – ouch!), I met amazing people and made lifelong friendships, including the one who became my husband. In my first year of my graduate Master’s degree in Audiology at UBC, my world expanded even more, setting me on a professional journey that continues to pay back and pay forward year after year.

What has been your journey since graduating from UBC?

Since graduation, I have worn many hats. Early on in my career, I participated in a very interesting project for Rotary International. In the summers of 1998 and 1999, I travelled to Zimbabwe with a Rotary International Hearing Health Care team where we provided audiology services across the country and trained local professionals on hearing health service delivery.

Two of my most notable and proudest positions have been for a non-profit hearing clinic based in Vancouver. From 1999 to 2018, I was their Head of Audiology, where I grew the department from 2 clinicians to an 11-member group of brilliant, stellar clinicians. Our team developed an excellent reputation, and we received many accolades for our clinical services and clinical education. From 2018 to 2020, I served as their Interim Executive Director and during that stint, I successfully led a $16 million capital project where we built the most accessible building in Canada, as awarded by the Rick Hansen Foundation.

From 2021 onwards, I worked for a private hearing clinic in Surrey, and also joined the Academic Coordinators of Clinical Education (ACCE) Team at the UBC School of Audiology and Speech Sciences, (SASS), Faculty of Medicine. As part of the UBC SASS ACCE team, I helped to develop and coordinate a very successful student-led hearing clinic that provided hearing assessments to clients from the UBC community and beyond.

Most recently, in August 2022, I founded a private practice hearing clinic with a longtime colleague and fellow Audiologist. Network Hearing Health is a dream come true for us, and we’re excited to build a modern hearing clinic that is true to our values and our 25-year working history together. We are both passionate about the profession of audiology and strongly believe that the management of hearing loss is not a quick fix, but it’s best supported over the lifetime with the help of knowledgeable and trusted Audiologists. My areas of professional interest include clinical education, hearing health and aging, amplification and aural rehabilitation and communication accessibility. I’m active on several professional audiology committees at both the local and national level.

What do you find most interesting about a career in audiology?

Audiology provides me the opportunity to combine my interests in the sciences, language arts, psychology, and counselling into one rewarding profession. Hearing is the less-noticed cousin to the other senses of sight and touch and is often overlooked. But hearing is what connects us to each other; it’s the conduit that creates the sense of belonging and inclusiveness with our social, family, educational or work networks. Audiology is a field where you can develop close bonds with your clients and share in their joys and successes. It is deeply moving moment when you switch on a hearing aid for someone who hasn’t heard for a long while, and to watch their eyes and face light up when they realize they are hearing the babble from their little granddaughter sitting across from them.

Where do you find inspiration?

I find inspiration in both my colleagues and my clients. My colleagues, with their patience and unlimited curiosity to query, seek, and find solutions to help people manage their hearing losses, and from my clients, particularly my seniors, who share inspiring stories of the trials and tribulations they have overcome in their life journeys.

How has your identity affected your perspective on the field of audiology and your future pursuits? 

Growing up as a Vancouverite, and as a first generation Chinese Canadian, I’ve realized the importance of that term, “it takes a village.” I attribute my successes in my personal and professional life to my sense of belonging with community from my family, friends, and colleagues. The field of audiology focuses a lot on connectedness with other people in one’s network, whether it familial, social, vocational or educational. When work with clients, I explore how their hearing loss has impacted any sphere of a person’s life and what we can do together to help them reconnect with their community and their network.

What is one thing you hope to accomplish?

I hope to raise more awareness of the importance of hearing health. We all know to get baseline tests for our eyes, our teeth, and we do annual physicals. But what about our hearing? Most people don’t even think about getting their hearing tested until they realize they are having trouble. Hearing is what connects you to another human being. You can look at a vacation photo and remember that fun moment fondly, but if you playback a video or an audio message, and hear the voices, the laughter, and the sounds of that moment, you will be transported right back to that place in time.

What does a healthy society mean to you?

A healthy society is one in which everyone has equitable access to health services and opportunities for growth and wellness, so that people can achieve their greatest potential regardless of their background or abilities and feel a strong sense of belonging and inclusiveness with their community.