MONTREAL, April 17, 2016 /CNW/ - Dr. Christopher Charles and Dr. Ashley Miller were recognized today for their outstanding leadership skills, as the 2016 recipients of the Sandra Banner Student Award for Leadership. The award, which recognizes the exceptional leadership of one undergraduate medical student and one postgraduate medical trainee, was presented to Dr. Charles and Dr. Miller at the Canadian Conference on Medical Education (CCME) on April 17, 2016 in Montreal.
The Canadian Resident Matching Service (CaRMS) Board of Directors launched the Sandra Banner Student Award for Leadership (SBSAL) in 2013 with the aim of encouraging the development of future leaders in medicine. Each of this year's winners will receive up to $3,000 in leadership development funding.
Christopher Charles, PhD, the 2016 undergraduate SBSAL recipient, will soon begin his residency training in Anesthesiology at the University of Toronto. He is an epidemiologist with extensive experience in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of large public health nutrition projects aimed at improving the lives of disadvantaged rural women and children in Asia. Dr. Charles' research interests are related to healthy equity and social justice, food-based approaches to improving nutrition, maternal and child health, and innovative methods of improving food security.
"I'm so honoured and delighted to receive the Sandra Banner Student Award for Leadership. Throughout my training, I have always strived to be a voice for marginalized populations, advocating for social justice and health equity," said Dr. Charles. "In receiving this award I will be able to continue this work, now with the backing of CaRMS and the broader medical community. I am thankful to my nominators and to all of those people who have supported me over the last few years."
Dr. Ashley Miller, the 2016 postgraduate SBSAL recipient, is a fourth year resident in General Internal Medicine at Memorial University of Newfoundland, where she completed her core internal medicine residency training. Her clinical interests include complex chronic disease and end of life care. She aspires to cultivate a career that will combine generalist practice with health policy leadership and administration. Dr. Miller's journey through medical school and residency has been defined by her multiple contributions to the Canadian medical education and health policy environments.
"It is an incredibly exciting time to be a physician, as technologic advancement and increasing subspecialisation collide with growing public demand for accountable, community-based comprehensive care. As expectations of our health care system evolve, it will be essential that front line providers, including physicians, are empowered to lead change towards enhanced quality, access, and cost effectiveness," said Dr. Miller. "This award will assist me in obtaining the formal education necessary to participate meaningfully in health systems reform throughout my career."
"This year we received applications from future leaders across the country and each submission demonstrated the unbelievable talent, commitment and ambition of this generation of medical learners," said Dr. Willa Henry, Chair of CaRMS Board of Directors. "The submissions reflected both a level of understanding of the broader issues of health care and a level of leadership which is sure to transform, strengthen and enrich the Canadian health system in the years to come."
For information on the Sandra Banner Student Award for Leadership, please visit CaRMS.ca/sbsal.
BACKGROUNDER
CaRMS
The Canadian Resident Matching Service (CaRMS) is a national, independent, not-for-profit, fee-for-service organization that provides a fair, objective and transparent application and matching service for medical training throughout Canada.
Undergraduate winner of the 2016 SBSAL: Christopher Charles, PhD
Christopher Charles, PhD is an epidemiologist with extensive experience in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of large public health nutrition projects aimed at improving the lives of poor rural women and children in Asia. Christopher has a PhD in Biomedical Science and Population Medicine from the University of Guelph, Canada and is currently completing a medical degree at the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine, McMaster University, Canada.
Christopher is the inventor of the Lucky Iron Fish™, a novel, in-home iron fortification technique currently in use in over 75,000 households around the world. He has worked as a public health and nutrition consultant for various NGOs and UN agencies in the region, and advises the Cambodian Ministry of Health in the development of national nutrition policy. His research interests are related to healthy equity and social justice, food-based approaches to improving nutrition, maternal and child health, and innovative methods of improving food security. Christopher will begin his residency training in Anesthesiology at the University of Toronto this summer.
Postgraduate winner of the 2016 SBSAL: Dr. Ashley Miller
Ashley Miller is a fourth year resident in General Internal Medicine at Memorial University of Newfoundland, where she completed her core internal medicine residency training. She is a graduate of the MD program at the University of Ottawa, where she was selected as an inaugural participant in the leadership curriculum. Her clinical interests include complex chronic disease and end of life care, and she aspires to cultivate a career that will combine generalist practice with health policy leadership and administration.
Ashley's journey through medical school and residency has been defined by her multiple contributions to the Canadian medical education and health policy environments. As Vice President of Advocacy for the Canadian Federation of Medical Students, she lobbied for enhanced socioeconomic diversity through medical school admissions. In her various roles on the board of Resident Doctors of Canada, most recently as Vice President, Ashley has been a strong advocate for socially accountable physician resource planning. She is a longstanding member of the Canadian Doctors for Medicare board, where she has been privileged to learn from inspiring champions for evidence based health care reform. She is an active contributor at the local level, as resident board member for the Newfoundland and Labrador Medical Association and key contributor in the development of her newly accredited subspecialty training program.
SOURCE Canadian Resident Matching Service (CARMS)
Lisa Turriff, Manager, Communications, 1.800.227.6742 ext. 5900, [email protected]
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