Dr. Andrea Mazurat is a nephrologist who has been working with the Manitoba Renal Program since 2017.

“I actually wanted to be a nephrologist right from the second year of medical school,” explains Dr. Mazurat, medical director of hemodialysis at Seven Oaks General Hospital.

As a life-long Manitoban, the doctor completed all her schooling and training – undergraduate degree, medical school, residency, and fellowship – in Manitoba. She says medicine was always a clear choice for her and she was quickly drawn to the nephrology specialty.

“As I got to know more about it, what really drew me to towards it was the specialist knowledge. But we still practice, probably more than any other subspecialty, primary care as well. I get to have a really close, longitudinal relationship with my patients which is my favourite part of it.”

Dr. Mazurat explains the ability to distinguish and address varying needs and issues with different patients keeps every day interesting and new.

“There is a science to it but there is also a little bit of an art. It is neat sometimes to make suggestions to patients, or decide to try something with them, and they feel so much better when you see them a week later. They are so happy and that is so rewarding.”

One of the bigger challenges of her career was this past year as hospitals faced the uncharted territory of a global pandemic. As the medical director for hemodialysis at Seven Oaks General Hospital, Dr. Mazurat was at the forefront of implementing newly developed pandemic plans.

“Having to apply it to our dialysis units – having all these new protocols in place that had to evolve – as our knowledge evolved and as the situation evolved was really challenging. But in the end, I think it was really rewarding to work with the whole team on it and get protocols in place for something that we never had to go through before.”

While challenging, Dr. Mazurat acknowledges the situation forced her to gain new experience which has been valuable.

“I don’t have a public health background – I didn’t have any of that training. Having to learn it all fresh and implement it was a new challenge, but I also learned so much.”

About Dr. Andrea Mazurat, MD, FRCPC :

Medical Director, Hemodialysis, Seven Oaks General Hospital, Winnipeg Regional Health Authority & Assistant Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, Max Rady College of Medicine, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba