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RCCbc’s Dr. Stuart Johnston (far left) and Leslie Carty (far right) award the 2023 BC Rural Health Award recipients (from left to right): Dr. Charles Helm, Dr. Robert Fox, Pam Beech and Janet McLean Senft (on behalf of the community of District of Sicamous), Dr. Trina Larsen-Soles and Dr. David May.

Nominations open for 2024 BC Rural Health Awards

The Rural Coordination Centre of BC (RCCbc) presents the BC Rural Health Awards each spring to recognize and honour rural physicians, communities and residents for their inspiring contributions to improving the health of rural people and communities across BC. This year, we are delighted to introduce a new category, the Resident Leadership Award. Residents are invited to submit a self-reflection essay on how their involvement in rural and remote health has influenced their practice.

 

Here are the nomination categories and objectives:

 

  • Rural BC Community Award: Honouring a BC rural community for the work being done to support local rural healthcare service delivery
  • Award of Excellence in Rural Medicine: Lifetime Achievement: Recognizing BC rural physicians for an extraordinary body of work and service provided over the span of a career
  • Resident Leadership Award (new category): Highlighting a resident who has demonstrated a sustained interest in rural and remote medicine in BC

 

We invite you to nominate exceptional colleagues, mentors, peers, and communities for acknowledgment and for residents to share a self-reflection on the impact of your experience being involved in rural and remote health.

 

Award winners will be recognized on May 24, 2024 at the BC Rural Health Conference in Whistler, BC.

 

 

DEADLINE FOR NOMINATIONS IS WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2024. 

 

Award Categories & Guidelines

Rural BC Community Award

The Rural BC Community Award honours a community that has developed innovative and collaborative approaches and/or solutions to local healthcare issues, or supported and enhanced the sustainability of the rural healthcare services and/or providers within their community. A community may nominate itself or be nominated by a third party.

Criteria for Rural BC Community Award

Innovation
Has the nominated community:

  • developed or adapted a solution locally to address healthcare issue(s)?
  • developed or adapted a solution to address local social determinant of health issue(s) that directly impacts local patient/community health outcomes and/or access to care?

 

Collaboration
Has the nominated community:

  • used a collaborative and/or team-based approach to addressing local healthcare issue(s)?
  • engaged broadly with local, regional and/or provincial agencies, organizations, healthcare providers and/or patients?
    • *Please provide a list of people/organizations engaged

 

Primary Care
Do local rural health care providers and/or administrators:

  • focused on establishing, strengthening, or maintaining primary healthcare services in the community?
  • facilitated team-based healthcare service delivery?
    • Please attach a list of the different providers working to provide primary care supports in the community (include allied health supports)

 

Rural Generalism
Do local rural health care providers and/or administrators:

  • stepped in to provide secondary and/or tertiary healthcare services as needed to mitigate transport risks and other holistic rural healthcare[1] considerations?
  • engaged with rural, regional and urban specialists to provide local delivery of specialist services/telehealth visits to allow for ‘closer-to-home’ care when appropriate?

 

[1] Holistic rural healthcare considerations includes things such as costs incurred by a patient seeking care for travel and accommodation in regional/urban centre, missed employment day(s), allocation of child and/or elder care to another adult, etc.

 

 

Award of Excellence in Rural Medicine: Lifetime Achievement

RCCbc’s Award of Excellence in Rural Medicine: Lifetime Achievement honours a rural physician who has dedicated their career to serving one or more rural communities and has significantly impacted and/or influenced rural health provincially, nationally and/or internationally. The physician must be nominated by a third party.

Criteria for Award of Excellence in Rural Medicine: Lifetime Achievement

Innovation and Transformation

  • developed or adapted a solution, or engaged in research or teaching that transformed healthcare service delivery at a local, provincial, national and/or international level?
  • developed or adapted a solution, or engaged in research or teaching that transformed healthcare systems and/or policy provincially, nationally and/or internationally?

 

Primary Care

  • focused on establishing, strengthening, or maintaining primary healthcare services provincially, nationally, or internationally?
  • facilitated or enabled systems or methodologies that enhance team-based rural healthcare service delivery at provincial, national, and international levels?

 

Rural Generalism and Collaboration

  • embodied, supported, and promoted a generalist approach to rural healthcare service delivery, as well as rural health system innovation, and policy development.
  • formed and/or led a(n) (interdisciplinary) team of colleagues, relevant stakeholders, and supportive organizations to engage in activities to innovate rural healthcare practice and/or transform healthcare systems?
  • engaged broadly with agencies, organizations, healthcare providers and/or patients to enable service delivery and/or healthcare system transformation?
    • Please attach a list of people/organizations engaged.

Resident Leadership Award (new category)

This will be the inaugural year where we will be hosting a rural essay contest for residents. Resident Leadership Awards are presented to Medical Residents in good academic standing who have demonstrated a sustained interest in rural and remote medicine in BC. Residents are encouraged to share a self-reflection essay on how being involved in rural and remote health has impacted you. We welcome creativity and encourage you to add imagery/art/song into your submission.

Criteria for Resident Leadership Award (new category)

Residents, please share a self-reflection on how being involved in rural and remote health has impacted you. We welcome creativity and encourage you to add imagery/art/song into your submission. This could be a story around your electives in rural and remote areas, your involvement in rural and remote health groups, volunteer or community-based projects, or your promotion of rural and remote health initiatives.

 

Along with your essay, please also include a letter of support from a peer, preceptor, or community member.

 

Tell us a great story and share your experience. We look forward to reading your submission.

 

Essay Format and Rules:

  • One essay per Resident
  • Must be a Resident in good academic standing
  • Length 500 – 1000 words
  • Option to include imagery/art/poetry
  • Collate everything into one Word document file

 

If the winner is already receiving funding support from the Rural Education Action Plan (REAP) to attend the conference, they can receive an extra night hotel plus an additional ticket to the Saturday Social dinner.

Nominations for the BC Rural Health Awards are now closed.

Prizes

Rural BC Community Award and Award of Excellence in Rural Medicine: Lifetime Achievement

Recipients will receive a plaque, presented at RCCbc’s BC Rural Health Conference, and a $2,500 cash prize for a celebration in their home community. Any remaining funds from the celebration should be used within the physician’s practice or within the community (e.g., equipment purchase, medical journal subscription, community donation).

 

Resident Leadership Award (new category)

Receipients of the winning essays will be added to our website. Winners will receive complimentary registration, two nights hotel stay and one ticket to the Saturday Social dinner to attend RCCbc’s BC Rural Health Conference in Whistler, BC on May 24-26, 2024. If the winner is already receiving funding support from the Rural Education Action Plan (REAP) to attend the conference, they can receive an extra night hotel plus an additional ticket to the Saturday Social dinner.

Questions about the BC Rural Health Awards?

Any questions about the nominations process and/or the award criteria, please contact Bree Loeffler at [email protected].

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