Chantal Blais, Head of Nutrition
A long-term commitment to patient health
NB: This series of encounters highlights the diversity of the members of the IRCM community, the variety of their expertise and the depth of their commitment to their respective roles
In this unpretentious series of short portraits, you have the opportunity to meet members of our community from a wide variety of backgrounds, some of whom have been with us for only a short time, others for many years.
They all make a valuable contribution to the vitality of our institute.
Affable, dapper and lively, Chantal Blais, Head of Nutrition at our clinic, clearly falls into the second category, as the IRCM has been her professional family for almost forty years.
Forty years this year! I've seen almost every era, I've seen people come and go: doctors, professionals, colleagues, then leave, either to retire or to make other career choices. I'm very attached to the IRCM, because it's a stimulating place to work.
An environment in which this nutrition expert has been able to grow and broaden her skills, becoming an integral part of the care teams and participating in research.
From the outset, Dr. Davignon, a pioneer in the field of cardiovascular disease, believed in the discipline of nutrition. Then, as now, we nutritionists are an integral part of care, working to transfer knowledge. And today, we can still feel this appreciation of our expertise, at all levels.
Since her arrival at the IRCM, Chantal's expertise in lipids has focused on cardiovascular diseases and rare diseases, and she has seen the profile of the clinic's patients evolve, with the development of drugs that have enabled better control of cholesterol (thanks to the work of our scientists, among others!) and blood pressure. As a result, patient care has greatly evolved, to their great benefit.
We have developed expertise in cardiovascular disease, including the rarest forms. Today, cholesterol is no longer the predominant factor in our lipid clinic patients. Other risk factors, such as triglycerides, Lp(a), hepatic steatosis and insulin resistance, play a worrying role in chronic disease.
The patients to whom she devotes her undivided attention often suffer from several chronic illnesses. Taking these conditions into account, she strives to cultivate a positive, guilt-free dialogue, taking small steps at a time to guide each and every one towards healthy nutrition, according to the individual's abilities. The notion of pleasure must be part of everyone's food choices.
We're here to support and motivate. Taking a pill is easy. Changing eating habits is more complicated. Our approach to patients has changed a great deal over the years. It's not a matter of telling people to do this or that, but of establishing a dialogue. When we receive our trainees, our teaching is aimed at an inclusive dialogue, and knowing how to talk to people is essential.
Through it all, Chantal has cultivated a strong sense of belonging to the IRCM, its mission and that of the Clinic. Clearly, the flame of her passion for her work still burns brightly within her, as she constantly strives to keep up to date in her practice, a vast expertise from which she passes on to generations of up-and-coming nutritionists.
With her colleague Andréanne Fortin, whose work Chantal salutes with warmth, the clinic's patients are confident, as you'll agree.
Thank you, Chantal, for this professional marathon in the service of patients!
