Throughout her career, Sheena Bhimji-Hewitt (Michener class of Radiography ’78 & Ultrasound ’92) balanced a passion for learning with a desire to support others. After 25 years as a faculty member at Michener, she is now retiring to take on different adventures.
“I’m really thankful for the opportunity to be of service – not just to Michener, my students and my profession, but to be of general service to others,” she says.
Sheena graduated from the Radiography program in 1978, from what was then the Toronto Institute of Medical Technology. She worked as a Radiography and CT Technologist for 11 years at Toronto East General and Scarborough General Hospitals before she decided to branch out and explore other professions.
In the end she was drawn back to healthcare and completed an Advanced Diploma in Ultrasound from the Michener Institute for Applied Health Sciences in 1992.
Sheena was seconded from Toronto General Hospital, which led to a position as an educator at Michener. An interest in education and curriculum design led her to a Master of Medical Ultrasound, as well as a certificate with the Education scholars’ program at the Faulty of Medicine at UofT.
Sheena’s sense of adventure was a good fit with Michener, which she says helped encourage her to support her professional associations – from her work as Chair of Sonography Canada and Editor-in-Chief of the Canadian Journal of Medical Sonography, to volunteer work with Accreditation Canada, Ministry of Health, Habitat for Humanity, Learning for Hope and more. Sheena has been recognized with many awards and has multiple publications.
“I truly appreciate the defined Michener Values – those of innovation and the ongoing pursuit of learning”, Sheena says. “Michener lives these values as you can see”
As she prepares to spend more time with family, travel and volunteer work, Sheena says her fondest memories from her educational and healthcare career are the moments she was able to make a difference for people – both directly and indirectly.
“I hope my service to my profession and students has impacted clinical practice in providing compassionate and caring competence at all times,” she says. “I am very lucky to have had a profession that was challenging, fun and allowed me to learn.”