Chris initially chose Neonatology as her preferred area of practice (always
the champion of the underdog) and started her career in 1989 as a staff
physician in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at SickKids. Doing
double-duty, she spent four years at Toronto General Hospital as Division Head
of Neonatology where she and others provided care to sick and tiny babies,
oftentimes born to very sick mothers. In 1996, Chris returned full-time
to SickKids as the Clinical Director of the NICU.
During her time in the NICU, Chris began to reflect
that there must be a better way to care for children who would ultimately die
from their underlying illness. After learning more about palliative care, Chris
left the NICU in 2003 to become the first physician to hold a permanent
position on the SickKids Palliative and Bereavement Care Service. In so doing,
Chris joined the ranks of a trailblazing first wave of paediatric palliative
care physicians across the world.