Hello, fellow MDRTs,

I hope that you all had a wonderful summer and that you were able to take a vacation with your family and friends. Now that September is here and almost over, we are getting ready for colder weather and the beautiful colors of autumn.

For those of you who did not know, every second year, MDRAO hosts a conference. This year was a conference year, and it was held at Hilton Toronto Airport Hotel and Suites September 22nd to 24th.  I want to especially thank MDRAO’s Executive Director, Ryan Acayan, for the wonderful job he did at organizing everything for our conference!  The conference was a great success as usual. We all learned a lot from the educational sessions and had a great time listening to several motivational speakers. The vendor’s exhibition was a huge success, and I want to personally extend my gratitude to all the vendors that supported MDRAO by being present again this year. We could not have done it without you! The event provided us with many opportunities for socialization, and we all made lots of new friends and new contacts for business. Finally, the Gala event was a blast, and we all had so much fun together. If you did not make it to the conference this year, I strongly encourage you to plan to attend our next conference, which will be held in 2025. You will not regret it and will be left with memories that you will never forget.

With the month of October almost here, I want to also take this opportunity to wish you all a happy MDRD week. As you know, Medical Device Reprocessing Week is always the second full week of each October.  This year, it falls the week of October 8-14th. Take advantage of the activities that will be planned by your workplace to recognize the importance of the work you all do. You are so important; I do not know if everyone realizes it. The hospitals and clinics would not be able to perform their activities without you. If nothing is planned during MDRD week in your workplace, I encourage you to plan something special with your colleagues, like a potluck, an outing after work or just to recognize each other by saying thank you! 

Best wishes to all.

Nathalie Legault
MDRAO President

This has been an exciting year for MDRAO. In addition to growing MDR courses and recertification exams, we are excited to report on some exciting new initiatives.

MDRAO recently started offering a French-language exam for its MDR Techniques course. Preparations are underway to launch a full French-language version of our in the coming months.

Our team of passionate volunteers and facilitators are currently updating our MDR textbooks and manuals with the new CSA Guidelines. We are expecting to have these materials out for purchase by the end of the year.

The board has been working with staff to start a pilot program that will give individuals taking our MDR Techniques course the option to have MDRAO provide clinical placement services. This is an excellent opportunity to provide our members/students with an important service and we will be asking for member feedback as we roll out this new feature next year.

from the Directors of Education,
Roch Landriault and Tamiza Samji 

I hope all members are enjoying the autumn season.

With this time of change, we look forward to MDRA week. I hope all MDRA’s in the Theta chapter have a chance to celebrate and recognize the importance of the work being done to keep our patients safe.  

The Theta Chapter was represented by seven people at the September MDRAO conference.

The presenters and exhibitors were passionate about MDRAs, and they left all of the attendees with inspiration and ignited us with innovative ideas, creative solutions and valuable insights.

Thanks to everyone at MDRAO!

— Monique Marshall RN

Good day everyone!

What a great time at the MDRAO conference in Toronto, September 22nd to 24. It was great to network with so many members old and new. The information, speakers and vendors truly show how important the MDR role is. Vendors were proud to show some innovative products that are being created, thinking of the MDR tech, easier ways of cleaning, proper ergonomics, etc. It is great to see and meet with all the vendors as they want to hear our feedback to improve their products for us.

I hope you all had a great summer, knowing what that means in the MDR world: It is going to get busy! The strongest takeaway I had from the conference was the importance of creating a work-life balance. There will always be work, but we cannot forget about the most important pieces in our lives: “our family” and “ourselves”! I reflected a lot from this speaker, as I realized I do want to put in my 100% every day, but changes need to be made after and before work; starting small can be a key to success.

Take some time in the coming weeks to look outside at the beautiful fall colors.

Thank you,
John McHardy
Gamma President

Summer is gone at a blink of an eye. Very soon, winter is back. Whatever season it is, learning and networking never stops.

The MDRAO Conference was a huge success — a very warm congratulations to everyone, attendees, speakers, vendors, most especially the people behind the scenes. At this year’s conference, most of them were first-time attendees and were grateful because they all learned a lot, met new friends and, best of all, were proud to be MDR techs.

It has been many years that MDR has always been ignored; we seldom get recognized or appreciated. This time, we are getting noticed. We all work hard and are resilient at what we do. The passion and dedication have always remained the same whether we are recognized or appreciated. We are just a number and can be replaced anytime.

Next month, October 8- 14, it’s MDR week. Let’s all celebrate, stand tall and be proud of what we do.

As ETA President, I salute and appreciate each and every one. Give yourselves a tap on your shoulder for the untiring, selfless work that you all do.

Kind Regards,
Maria Raj (ETA President)