Past Locums | VEP Medical Society

Catherine Hagen
About Catherine - most recently working at CDH ER, formerly of the Northern Medical Program, and soon to be locum with VEPA - she says of herself “a stubborn lover of the profession in spite of it all”. She has past experience as TTL and ATLS instructor, discipline specific site lead for the ER component of the northern medical program, and long time member of the Prince George Emergency Group. Outside interests focus on paddling boats; a love of outrigger canoes and sea kayaks led to the move to Vancouver Island. Catherine’s husband, Christian Fibich, is a medical oncologist at BCCA/RJH.

Navpreet Sahsi
Nav Sahsi. Toronto raised and living, Calgary trained. Love the West Coast. Avid biker, hiker and novice surfer. Lots of global health experience with MSF/ICRC. Excited to come and check out the Island for a few weeks. Please say hi and give me your best restaurant and hiking recommendations.

Vivian Tam - March 2024

Vivian is in her second year of practice after graduating from the University of Ottawa's CCFP(EM) program. Since then, she's enjoyed a mix of practice settings through rural locums across the country, as well as in Ottawa's Level I tertiary care centre. She has special interests in the development of the field of Social Emergency Medicine and is this year's Vice-Chair of the Society and EM Track at CAEP. She's looking forward to learning exactly why Victoria is ranked the #1 city to live in Canada! In her spare time, she enjoys trying her hand at new hobbies, including cross-country skiing, scuba diving, and surfing.

Melissa Bousema - April 2024
Hi everyone it’s nice to e-meet you! I’m Melissa, a grad of the Queen’s EM where I also did the Resuscitation and Reanimation focus in my R5 year. Currently I fill my working hours as a Prehospital and Retrieval Medicine fellow with Ornge / University of Toronto, and adjunct physician and assistant professor with Queen’s EM. Outside of work I like to be outside whenever possible (this photo is from some casual exploring around Thunder Bay in the fall when I was up that way for a fixed wing rotation), whether that be on a paddle board, a hiking trail, a patio, or something else that allows me to get some sunshine and social interaction into my day.

Jamie Blicker - May 2024
Hi, my name is Jamie Blicker. I will be doing some Locum work for your group in May 2024. In a way, this will be a homecoming for me as I worked for VEPA from 2006 to 2009. For those of you who don’t yet know me, allow me to introduce myself. I was born and raised in Montreal and completed medical school at McGill (Class of 1999). I finished my Emergency Medicine residency in Winnipeg (Class of 2004). After residency I worked in Cleveland, Ohio for two years. Upon my return to Canada I initially settled in Victoria and have many fond memories of the three years that I spent there. I moved to Toronto in 2009 for family reasons and have been practising here ever since. I work full time at North York General Hospital which is a busy community hospital. My medical interests include airway management, procedural skills and point of care ultrasound. I have two sons Connor (18) and Callum (14). I also have two step-children Estora (20) and Parker (18). Outside of work I enjoy spending time with my wife Chantel. My hobbies include playing guitar, reading, cycling, and photography. I look forward to returning to the island and working with old friends again!

Muhammad Sultan - July 2024

Jamie Fox - October 2024
I'm originally from Calgary, and since finishing my residency in Vancouver, I came back home and I have worked for the past 14 years at FMC and RGH, 2 of the major centres in Calgary; I also worked for 12 years as a transport physician for STARS (Alberta Shock Trauma Air Rescue Service). I really love BC and my wife and I are always travelling there with our two kids, aged 5 and 7. My main passions are outdoor sport and adventure: backcountry skiing, mountain biking, hiking, and when I can't get away from the city, I love running. I also love travel, music (I play acoustic guitar and sing), dance (fun fact: I was a teenage swing dance champion); hip hop (also ask me about the first dance at my wedding), cooking healthy food (and eating it!) and especially family - specifically taking my kids to every beach, pool, playground, park, hike and ski hill in the vicinity. My wife loves gardening, and growing her own food is one of her favorite ways of connecting with nature. She dreams of how easy it would be to do that in Victoria! Also is it legal to have chickens there? Looking forward to getting to know you all better as a locum. Sincerely, Jamie

Emma Ferguson - November 2024
Dr. Emma Ferguson completed her FRCPC Emergency Medicine training at the University of Ottawa, where she also completed fellowships in both Simulation Education and Acute Stroke Care through the Canadian Stroke Consortium. She is the chair of the CAEP stroke committee and her academic interests focus on residency education, acute stroke care and simulation-based training.

Nels Grauman - February 2025
Hello! my name is Nels and I have 2 last names and usually go by Dr. Grauman but I am also technically Dr. Neander which has led to some confusion throughout my career. I am also fine with Nels! I was born in Edmonton and did Med School in Oregon and EM residency in Rochester, NY. Attached is a photo of my wife (Keeley) and son (Foster, who is now 5mo) riding the ferry with me. I love cooking gadgets, sci-fi books, corny jokes and cosmic crisp apples. Looking forward to meeting you and excited to be working in Victoria!

Anson Dinh - June 2025

Sapna Pawa - October 2025