Living our Values Award | School of Medicine

The 'Living our Values' award recognizes a Resident and a Faculty member from each Queen's Campus (Kingston and Lakeridge Health) who embodies and creates, through their words and actions, a positive, respectful, and inclusive learning and working environment. The award will be presented annually at the Postgraduate Convocation ceremony and will consist of an award and the addition of the winners’ names to the Living our Values plaque.

Resident and Faculty nominations will be sought from medical students, residents, and/or colleagues from other health professions. Nomination forms are available on the PGME Awards website, through a link on the Hidden Curriculum website, and through an annual request sent by email. The nomination form will ask for a description of how the person exhibited respectful behaviour, inclusivity, and/or notable collaboration, and how this impacted learners, the learning environment, and/or the clinical environment.

Selections will be made by the School of Medicine Hidden Curriculum Implementation Group based on nominations received. The awards will be granted based on the compelling nature of the nomination and not on the number of nominations received.

The deadline for nominations is April 15. Nominate someone today!

Past winners and nominees

Below are some examples of how our nominees are positively impacting the learning and work environment. We thank them and also want to thank our nominators for taking the time to recognize these positive contributions.

Dr. Maria Hussain (Faculty nominee)
“…well-known for maintaining positive morale in this challenging environment, setting a tone of mutual respect and inclusivity among the staff across health professions. She empowers the team through weekly interdisciplinary sessions for nurses, behaviour technologists, therapists and other interprofessional staff to learn and contribute to care decisions through collaborative dialogue”.

Dr. Anojan Kathirkamanayagan (Faculty winner – Lakeridge Campus)
“Through his actions, he promotes open dialogue and collaboration among residents and staff alike”.

Dr. Teaghan Koster (Resident nominee)
“Her participation in these committees has allowed her to advocate for the department of pathology and discuss strategies for change with other departments within Queen's”.

Dr. Andrew Mazurek (Resident winner)
“When the Pathology Assistants are overwhelmed and request help, they know Andrew will do his best to help. He has switched call-shifts or frozen-section duties on short notice to help out fellow residents”.

“This respect and inclusivity extend widely to colleagues in different disciplines”.

Dr. Steven Montague (Faculty nominee)
“…treats each fellow, resident, and medical student with respect during handover and uses probing questions which are non-judgmental to help us grow and succeed in medicine. In addition, he is respectful and kind to every member of the patient's care team including allied health, other specialists, patients and their family members.

Dr. Peter Szasz (Faculty nominee)
“Rather than steering me toward his own research interests, he supported me in exploring Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, a field outside his own specialty of General Surgery”.

Dr. Shahrukh Towheed (Resident nominee)
"…goes out of his way to make every member of the team feel comfortable, included, and important…always willing to lend a helping hand.”

Dr. Jessica Trier (Faculty winner – Kingston Campus)
“…creates a safe, welcoming space for learners, modelling humility and vulnerability”.

“…she fosters an environment where all voices are heard and valued. Her inclusive leadership strengthens team collaboration and morale.”

Dr. Laura Wells (Resident nominee)
“…consistently prioritized the wellbeing and success of those around her”.

Dr. Shaira Wignarajah (Resident nominee)
“…her day to day small actions have played a pivotal role in improving our program's culture. For instance, after a junior resident has a difficult call shift, even if Shaira was not on call with them, she will reach out to them to check up”.