[3] Shanks career started with work in northern parts of Canada providing healthcare to Indigenous communities.
[1] She joined Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in 1994[1] and was sent to Yugoslavia to lead humanitarian health responses the Bosnia War.
[1] She subsequently led MSF's response in Zaire (now Democratic Republic of the Congo) supporting refugees fleeing the Rwandan genocide, later managing a tuberculosis program in Sudan.
[8][9] She is currently the medical advisor to the OCA council of the MSF Operational Center Amsterdam and temporary member of the International Board of MSF, https://www.msf.org/international-board She has worked as the medical director at both the Sherbourne Health Centre in Toronto providing care to trans patients,[10] and also at Inner City Health Associates, the Toronto organization that provides care to people experiencing homelessness.
[citation needed] Shanks been critical of the United States military, specifically their role in the Kunduz hospital airstrike,[5] and has participated in public awareness campaigns highlighting the plight of refugees.