FEATURE
INTERVIEW WITH INTERVIEW WITH IMMEDIATE IMMEDIATE PASTPAST PRESIDENT PRESIDENT DAVID KIM DR. DAVID KIM is the second president in the history of Resident Doctors of BC to stay on for two consecutive terms. For this issue, we spoke with him about his thoughts on leadership, getting involved, and personal experiences leading Resident Doctors of BC.
RDBC and my residency program which made it much easier.
To start off with, could you tell us a little about yourself?
It certainly was easier the second time around. I think having the knowledge and experience of with working with the staff and the various stakeholders involved made things much easier. Of course, the great executive team and board I was fortunate to work with was a big help as well. For me, I wanted to build on what I worked on in my first term. Since a lot of our initial vision was around strategic planning, I am glad I had the opportunity to implement the strategic changes in my second term.
I’m currently a PGY-3 emergency medicine resident and grew up in Nanaimo on Vancouver Island. I was also the president of Resident Doctors of BC from 2016-2018. During my spare time you’ll likely find me out on the golf course or spending time with my family and friends. I also love trading stocks and am currently learning French! What inspired you to run for the position of President of Resident Doctors of BC? I had always been involved in student government and non-profit organizations in the past and naturally wanted to get involved at the residency level to contribute what I could to help the organization and to advance residents’ interests in the healthcare realm. What was the most difficult part, in your experience, of coming in as President, while also working hard in your residency? It was definitely time management for me! The number of meetings especially during regular working hours made it really tough to manage residency and being president at the same time. Luckily, I felt well supported by the staff at
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You stayed on for a second term as President, becoming the second President to do so. How did your experience, and approach to the position, change over time?
Do you feel that Resident Doctors of BC changed overtime as an organization, from before you were involved to now? In the 2-3 years I have been involved with RDBC, there have been such tremendous changes that I am really proud of! Firstly, our strategic decision to move our office from the downtown area to now the same building that Doctors of BC operates in, is not only cost savings but a tactical move that will pay dividends for years to come. Internally within our organization, our Executive Director Harry Gray how now been with us for over a year and has been a very positive leader for the staff and our strategic direction. Additionally, as a board we looked inwards at how we can best minimize organizational risk long term.