ST. PAUL – Sonography exams are sometimes not readily available in rural areas, and often people seeking the examination have to travel to the City of Cold Lake or outside the region to get the test done.
As someone who grew up in the St. Paul area, Amy Bespalko recognized this could be a challenge for patients navigating the health care system. The 24-year-old sonographer earned her credentials in 2020 and started working with Insight Medical Imaging in Edmonton. She then worked for Alberta Health Services (AHS) for a couple of years in Grand Prairie before moving back home.
Just last year, she brought the first outpatient medical imaging clinic to St. Paul, calling it Lakeland Diagnostic Imaging. St. Paul is considered as a hub for many services, and this means the diagnostic imaging centre serves not only the town, but several surrounding communities as well.
2023 Early Professional Achievement Award
Annually, Sonography Canada provides awards in recognition of the accomplishments of sonographers across Canada. Among those awards is the Early Professional Achievement Award.
The award honours junior sonographers “who distinguish themselves at the beginning of their careers,” through demonstration of leadership, desire to improve, and their “active participation” in their profession, reads the association’s website.
Lee DuBois, chair of the Diagnostic Medical Sonography program at Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT), Bespalko’s alma mater, reached out to Bespalko to see if it was okay to nominate her for the award, seeing her as a perfect candidate.
DuBois said Bespalko was an “outstanding student,” and so it was no surprise to her that Bespalko had already accomplished a lot during her career. Since Bespalko graduated from NAIT, she has continued her education in sonography and mentored students, in addition to starting her own imaging clinic.
Bespalko agreed to be nominated, and at the time felt it was “really cool to be nominated,” especially since nominees come from across nation. Bespalko provided her information and left it at that, with little to no expectations of the results.
Months later, she got an email from Sonography Canada, congratulating her as the winner of this year’s award.
“I was speechless... I couldn’t even believe that I got the award,” she said. “I was pretty excited when I found out, especially you know, being so young.”
It took a while for the fact to sink in.
DuBois congratulated Bespalko for the award, stating, “Amy is an advocate for lifelong learning, she demonstrates leadership, and she believes in giving back to the community.”
In addition, “[Bespalko] continues to make a positive impact on the profession of Diagnostic Medical Sonography (DMS)... The NAIT DMS program team is so happy that she was chosen for this award.”
Why Sonography?
There are many reasons why Bespalko chose to pursue sonography, and among those reasons are the unique challenges that come with the job.
What they see, the doctors see. What they miss, the doctors may also miss. So, “the [doctors] have to have a really big trust in the technician, and we have to be very confident in what we’re doing,” said Bespalko.
She finds the challenge to be both interesting and intriguing. “I like a challenge... and I like to do that [type of] work [where] there’s a big trust in me to do what I do well and competently,” said Bespalko.
Why come back to St. Paul?
Sonography is a growing profession, according to Sonography Canada. Canada’s Job Bank also classifies the job prospects in sonography as “good” in provinces like British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, Saskatchewan, and Alberta – particularly Edmonton and Calgary.
Due to the demand in the profession that is continuously growing, when asked what prompted Bespalko to move back home and open her own clinic, rather than find a job in a bigger city, her answer was simple: “St. Paul is my hometown.”
“All of my family is here... I wanted to be closer to family and friends,” and to build a family. She also wants to offer a service that is sometimes difficult to access for people living in the region.
“It breaks my heart to know that there are some people in this town that could absolutely benefit from these imaging modalities or these tests they need to get done for their health,” but, they sometimes need to drive to as far as Edmonton or Cold Lake to get that service.
Challenges
While she is now busy offering her services in St. Paul, there have been challenges to overcome. When she was attempting to get approval to open her clinic, she recalled getting a loan for the necessary equipment and just needing the final approval from the College of Surgeons and Physicians of Alberta (CSPA) to get things going.
CPSA at the time was reviewing the standards of clinics in the province, causing delays.
For Bespalko, months passed, and nothing. She was jobless. She wasn’t making money. She felt uncertain. She contemplated not doing it and moving elsewhere to find a job. It was a stressful time.
But with the support from the community, she stood strong and patient.
Bespalko is thankful to all those who have supported her, such as Town of St. Paul Mayor Maureen Miller, who helped her get the needed approval.
Miller told Lakeland This Week that at the time, the local Health Attraction and Retention Committee, which includes representatives from municipalities in the St. Paul region, sent a letter of support to CSPA outlining the need for ultrasound in the community. Saddle Lake Cree Nation also gave their support.
Along with the community’s support, Bespalko is also thankful to her partner, friends, and family, who continue to support her.
“If I didn’t have all the people supporting me. I probably would have decided not to do it,” she admits.
There will be more challenges in the future, acknowledged Bespalko, but she hopes to keep pushing, and also expand her clinic to offer more diagnostic imaging in the future, if the opportunity presents itself.
What is Sonography?
Sonography is the diagnostic medical examination that uses high-frequency sound waves, or ultrasound to assess organs, tissues, and blood flow inside the body, as defined by Sonography Canada, which is the nation’s only credentialing body for diagnostic medical sonographers.
“Ultrasound exams provide key diagnostic information to doctors about a patient’s medical condition and assist in their treatment and care,” reads information from Sonography Canada.
