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Meet Jeanette McNalty, Occupational Therapist in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and Inpatient Medicine
Jeanette has always known she wanted to work in health care – her mom was a nurse, after all. So Jeanette went to Brock University intending to become a pediatrician.
Her time at school inspired her to become an occupational therapist (OT). She finished her bachelor’s and master’s, and then worked in schools for 12 years.
“It would be so cool to be an OT in the NICU. I love feeding, I have a passion for it and I would love to get to do that one day,” she would say to student therapists on placement.
In 2021, that’s exactly what happened. One of the students she told – who also worked at CHEO – told Jeanette about an available opportunity, which she got and so began her dream job!
There was a steep learning curve as Jeanette hadn’t previously worked with children this young, but luckily, Jeanette was mentored by Denise De Laat, an OT who had come out retirement to help train staff at CHEO. Alongside Denise, Jeanette did a lot of learning and continuing education to become the expert feeder she is today.
“In the two years I've worked here, I feel like I've already touched a lot of lives. Getting to play even a tiny role in a baby or child's journey is really fulfilling and rewarding.”
Jeanette notes that what’s unique about her job is that she gets to follow babies from admission to discharge. These babies may start in the NICU with a nasogastric tube before moving to the floors and learning to bottle feed. For some families, this journey can last weeks to several months, which means Jeanette gets to develop a strong relationship with them while their baby grows and learns to feed.
For Jeanette, what makes CHEO different is that the staff and medical staff are here because they want to be.
“There's lots of places you can work in healthcare, but if you want to work at a children's hospital, it means that you're here because you like kids, you care about kids and you want to help kids.”
CHEO is filled with passionate and caring people like Jeanette. Join us.