The Canadian Association of Medical Radiation Technologists (CAMRT) is pleased to announce the appointment of Irving Gold as its new Chief Executive Officer.
Irving comes to CAMRT with two decades of experience in research environments, government relations and advocacy, and association leadership. His career has been defined by an unrelenting commitment to education in healthcare and the health of Canadians.
From 2015 to 2019, Irving led Resident Doctors of Canada, representing over 10,000 resident doctors across the country. Prior to joining Resident Doctors of Canada, he held Vice President roles at two healthcare organizations, the Canadian Resident Matching Service (CaRMS) and the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada. Irving has also served on several Boards of Directors as both President and in other executive roles.
Irving holds three post-secondary degrees: a Bachelor’s in Sociology from McGill University, a Master’s in Sociology from the University of Ottawa, and a Master’s degree in Applied Criminology, also from the University of Ottawa. He also holds the status of PhD (ABD) in Sociology from McMaster University.
“We are excited about having Irving lead our organization. His diverse experience, extensive professional network and palpable enthusiasm will serve us well into the future”, said Gailyne MacPherson, CAMRT President.
Irving was born and raised in Montreal and is fluently bilingual. When he is not working, Irving spends his time raising and going on adventures with his two amazing children, Samuel (15) and Eliana (13).
Dear Mr. Irving Gold:
I just read your op-Ed in the Record newspaper, Thursday January 7/21. I am a retired MRT (guess I’m not to use those initials anymore ). I worked in healthcare as an X-ray tech (. 40 yrs) as well as an ultrasound tech (20 yrs) often combining the two as I worked in a small hospital. Every year when I renewed my membership, I asked the powers that be , to please give us some recognition and let the general public know what we do. We are not button pushers! Never any response. Nurses unions advertise all the time on TV and radio about their profession. Silence from The CAMRT. Even in your article you say “ unfortunately, there is a widespread lack of awareness of MRTs and what they do. Very few know about the professionals responsible for their diagnostic imaging and radiation therapy. This lack of knowledge is unfortunate and understandable “. Seriously?? UNFORTUNATE?? UNDERSTANDABLE?? Well then DO SOMETHING ABOUT THAT! Make people aware. We are taking chest X-rays on these COVID patients and deserve the protection and hourly pay increase that comes with it! This is a field of medicine that is advancing very quickly and staff are learning new equipment at a steady pace. They need to be recognized for their education! People know who RNs and DRs are. What’s an MRT? They don’t know!
I would ask that you use your position as the chief executive officer of the CAMRT to promote the profession. Tell people what we are about and that we deserve the same respect and recognition as other members of the health care family! Take out a full page ad in the newspaper like the nurses do! We all work together as a team for the better good of the patient!
Thank you for your time
Sincerely
Janet West
Thanks Janet,
I hope you know that this is a big priority for us at CAMRT. Our Strategic Plan for 2019-21 identified Profile and Influence of the profession as a top priority, and led to us investing in a large national advertising campaign including posters for clinical sites and online advertising. We have been submitting pieces and opinions to newspapers nationally, as well. It is a long road. As you know, the national association has made a big investment in this before as well. From 2010-2015, the association built and supported the Image of Care campaign that included similar advertising and advocacy activities. Despite it being a long road, we feel we are making good progress, and hope that it will continue in the months and years ahead.
Hello there Mr. Gold,
I just recently had the pleasure of reading your article titled “Health care workers need our help” in the Peterborough Examiner. I just wanted to say thank you so much for not only recognizing the stress and burn out issues in healthcare currently but also addressing diagnostic imaging specifically in your article. It feels so nice to be included I could cry. I don’t think a lot of people realize how seriously stressful the last 2 years have been working in a healthcare career and how scary the future looks for Ontario healthcare system. We will continue to do our best as we always strive to do but I believe what you said is exactly right we deserve to thrive not just survive and again I thank you for saying that.