About Beth Campbell Duke & Navigating Healthcare

Beth Campbell Duke

Beth Campbell Duke, B.Sc., B.Ed.

Tony and I had no idea of how much ‘new work’ the healthcare system expects from patients and families. We thought healthcare in Canada was one system. One system that was able to communicate among its parts.

Wowee Wally! Were we wrong. Today’s patients are given more tasks and expectations than ever before. In a ‘siloed’ system we are still too often left to sort things out for ourselves. Before I found myself as a family caregiver, I was a science teacher. I couldn’t go through what we’ve been through and not try to help the people coming after us.

Beth Campbell Duke: My ‘Previous Lives’

Biotech/Regulatory Affairs. I worked for a decade in the agricultural biotechnology sector. One of my roles was as a Regulatory Affairs Officer. In this role, you help keep day-to-day operations in line with legislation. You learn to present complex information in a variety of ways, depending on the audience. This is where I started to think of myself as a ‘geek-speak translator’.

Teaching/Program Redesign and Delivery. After working in biotech, I became a high school teacher where I taught biology and chemistry. I also worked with colleagues in designing specialty programs in curriculum research. I am most proud of my work with colleagues in redesigning and delivering a program for at-risk youth where we focused on identifying and building on strengths.

Consulting. Since leaving formal teaching, my caregiving role has become more complex. Our struggles in the healthcare system weren’t limited to us. We have watched other patients and families struggle with similar issues.

  • I have experienced the steep learning curve of helping a family member through a critical illness
  • I am still a system navigator for Tony after his lung transplant and then car accident.
  • In the summer of 2020 we successfully moved my octogenarian parents across Canada and in with us.

Like you, we’re a regular Canadian family coping with all the changes in healthcare – from a system struggling to cope with the realities of medical advancements to COVID!

With NavigatingHealthcare.ca, I am using my teaching background to help other patients and families avoid some of the pitfalls we encountered.

Navigating Healthcare – Our Vision, Mission & Values