CAEP 2009 awards

News

CJEM 2009;11(4):399

The Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians (CAEP) is committed to and understands the critical importance of research in the emergency medicine community. CAEP’s scientific abstracts for 2009 were published in CJEM’s May 2009 issue and some of the best have been honoured with prestigious awards.

PRESIDENT’S AWARD

The CAEP President’s Award recognizes a CAEP member who has made a significant contribution to CAEP and its members. Our fourth annual President’s Award was presented to Dr. Andrew Affleck from Thunder Bay, Ont. Dr. Affleck, who likely needs little introduction to most CAEP members, has been a long-standing member of CAEP, is a past president and is currently co-chair of the public affairs committee.

RESIDENT AWARD WINNERS

The CAEP EM Teacher of the Year and EM Resident Leadership awards were created to recognize excellence in both resident education and resident contributions to emergency medicine residencies in Canada. Nominations, received from CAEP resident members and program directors, are evaluated and recipients selected by the CAEP Resident Section. These awards were presented at CAEP’s annual conference to current and future leaders in emergency medicine.

Dr. Amanda Hanson of the University of Alberta is CAEP’s EM Teacher of the Year. Her contribution to resident education has been phenomenal, and she is owed a tremendous debt of gratitude. In a short time she has developed a remarkable ultrasonography program for learners, and has rallied numerous other staff physicians around her to pitch in and make it thrive. Not only does she formally teach ultrasonography courses to residents and staff physicians, but she also gives a significant amount of her personal time to helping residents learn to scan at the bedside and review their work.

Above all, her greatest contribution to the program has been her outstanding attitude and her patient, encouraging demeanor. Dr. Hanson’s enthusiasm for passing along her considerable knowledge in emergency medicine is infectious, and her ability to explain concepts and details in a way that promotes understanding and confers confidence is remarkable. For these reasons, she has quickly established herself as one of our top role models and clinician-educators. Through her example we all are motivated to strive for the highest levels of excellence.

Dr. Jatina Lai of the University of Alberta is the recipient of CAEP’s CCFP EM Resident Leadership Award, which is presented to someone who identifies and repairs issues to the betterment of the entire group. Beyond her clinical ability, she has a passion for the political side of administration. She is currently a member of the CAEP Resident Executive Committee and a section editor for CJEM.

Dr. Lai acts with confidence, and yet is very open to feedback. With her recent publications and past international presentations, and her political involvement in medicine, as well as her involvement in competitive athletics, her very high-level musical achievement and her burgeoning collection of academic awards, she is immediately impressive in her knowledge base, her clinical skills and her enthusiasm for emergency medicine practice.

Dr. Isabelle Bertrand from Laval University is the recipient of the CAEP FRCP EM Resident Leadership Award. This recognition by her peers comes as additional energy to brilliantly finish her fifth year of her FRCPC residency. Dr. Bertrand’s involvement began years before she began her residency. She was involved in many committees, always focusing on high-quality training in a healthy climate. She completed special training on medical direction in emergency medical services in Phoenix, Ariz. Dr. Bertrand also participated in numerous training sessions on medical education, a background that she puts into practice in her daily supervision of students and junior residents. As for education, through her many presentations at conferences, training days and journal clubs, she contributed to the development of knowledge for emergency physicians and for residents in the emergency program of the University Laval. Through her accomplishments and her enthusiasm, Dr. Bertrand is a model to follow throughout one’s residency.

THE GRANT INNES RESEARCH PAPER AND PRESENTATION AWARD

The Grant Innes Research Paper and Presentation Award is presented to the top-ranked abstract submitted to the annual CAEP research abstract competition. The 2009 recipient of this award is the University of Western Ontario Emergency Medicine Sedation Research Group led by Dr. Amit Shah. The winning abstract is entitled “A prospective, blinded, randomized controlled trial to evaluate ketamine-propofol versus ketamine alone for procedural sedation in the pediatric emergency department.” This abstract was presented at CAEP 09 and was published in CJEM’s May 2009 issue.

SUMMARY

CJEM and CAEP congratulate these award winners for their efforts. They are all leading lights in the growth of our specialty. We will watch carefully for even greater accomplishments from these physicians in the future.