Caring and sharing in the community Dentistry can be an all-consuming profession, but that doesn’t stop many of our dentists taking the time to volunteer for various causes in the West Australian community.
Dr Amanda Phoon Nguyen
Dr Kathryn Braysich
MAKING KIDS SMILE
PATROLLING OUR BEACHES
Dr Amanda Phoon Nguyen is a regular volunteer for various dental causes, but she also gives her time as a mascot for the Perth Children’s Hospital Foundation.
Away from the practice, you’ll find Dr Kathryn Braysich at the beach, volunteering as a life saver and patrol captain with Geraldton Surf Life Saving Club.
“I had been volunteering with the Perth Children’s Hospital Foundation for several years, and I initially got involved with this charity when I was an Oral Medicine registrar,” she recalls. “It was a cause close to my heart and I knew their work was something I wanted to support. The Foundation is the official and largest funder of PCH and the wider child and adolescent health service after the government.” Amanda says initially she started volunteering at the play areas and at fundraising drives, but then there was a call-out for volunteers to be the mascot. “There are specific height and weight requirements for the role due to the costume size, and I fell in that category. I figured it was a sign, and never looked back!” Dressed in the mascot costume, Amanda has attended a primary school, Christmas fundraiser and a City of Perth event, as well as hospital rounds (although the amount the mascot is used has been reduced due to COVID, which she hopes will change soon). In addition to volunteering as a mascot, she also volunteers several times a year in different roles within the Foundation, including giftwrapping at Christmas and tin-shaking. For Amanda, the volunteer work has been very rewarding. “I love seeing people smile,” she says. “I can be really silly and ham it up; it’s really rewarding to see the joy on people’s faces, both adults and children. Sometimes when I am in costume, I go up to my colleagues at PCH, and of course, they have no idea that it’s really me in there! Stitches doesn’t talk. That’s a bit of fun as well.”
Kathryn first became involved in her local surf club in 2012, when she decided to do a surf lifesaving Bronze Medallion course. Now, during the summer, she patrols one morning every second weekend. “The most rewarding part is giving back to the Geraldton community,” Kathryn says. “Often I see my patients down the beach.” Kathryn says she has a great patrol team, and it’s a good social atmosphere with people from all walks of life. “I love the beach, so when I volunteer, I get to hang out there, which is so different to my dayto-day work,” she adds. To others considering volunteering, Kathryn says she highly recommends it. “You get as much personal satisfaction as you give to the community and your fellow patrol members,” she says.
Amanda also says volunteering in a capacity so different to her day-to-day work is great because she likes variety, and doing this brings her joy. “Through volunteerism, I’ve also made many friends,” she adds. “Many of the other volunteers are wonderful people whom I would have never met otherwise.” Dr Amanda Phoon Nguyen as the mascot at Perth Children's Hospital
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EDITION 3 | 2022 WESTERN ARTICULATOR
