DFCM Postgraduate Program Awards

Faculty, residents and staff affiliated with the DFCM Postgraduate Department are eligible for nomination for the awards listed on this page during two nomination periods throughout the residency year (Winter Awards & Spring Awards). The award nomination process is coordinated locally by Site Chiefs, Site Directors and the Enhanced Skills Director twice a year and submitted to the DFCM Postgraduate Award Committee for review by the deadlines listed below Please read the following details and contact dfcm.pg.awards@utoronto.ca if you have any questions.

External Winter Awards: Deadline November 11th

DFCM residents are eligible for nomination for the following external awards run by Postgraduate Medical Education (PGME). In order to strongly support nominations from the DFCM Postgraduate Department, there is an internal nomination process, which is facilitated by each Teaching Site and within the Enhanced Skills Programs as follows:

Each Teaching Site (Chief and Site Director) will receive an email from the Postgraduate Department in the fall eliciting nominations in a fillable spreadsheet database. Site Directors will complete the spreadsheet database and submit back to Postgraduate in order for the DFCM Postgraduate Award Committee to review all nominations and select which nominees will be put forward to PGME.

The Enhanced Skills Director will receive an email from the Postgraduate Department in the Fall eliciting nominations in a fillable  spreadsheet database. The Enhanced Skills Administrator will send out a notice to the Enhanced Skills Program Directors and related Division Heads eliciting nominations for these awards. The Enhanced Skills Awards Committee will review all nominations and select up to 2 nominations, one for Category 1 (resident) and one for category 2 (resident) to put forward to the DFCM Postgraduate Award Committee to review alongside those from each hospital teaching site.

Teaching Sites and Enhanced Skills Programs that have nominees selected by the DFCM Postgraduate Award Committee to receive a supported nomination by the DFCM Postgraduate Department for an external award, will be notified to create a full nomination package in time for the actual award deadline as listed on the PGME Website .

Nomination Process

• The Nomination Process for each Teaching Site and Enhanced Skills Program will be determined by the Site Chiefs/Site Directors or the Enhanced Skills Director respectively.
• Nominations must be submitted by November 11th in a fillable spreadsheet database that will be circulated to the Site Directors and Enhanced Skills Director prior to the deadline.
• Each Site and Enhanced Skills Program may nominate a maximum of one resident to the above external award.
• Submissions will require the full name, base site and email addresses for both the nominator and nominee.
• Nominators will be asked to provide a clear and concise statement (200 words) which explains why the nominated individual is a deserving recipient of the award.
• Nominators whose nominee has been selected by the DFCM Postgraduate Awards Committee to be put forward to PGME should be prepared to put together a complete application by the deadline listed on the PGME website, when notified by the DFCM Postgraduate Department (full criteria for nomination is available at the PGME Website
• Nominations for residents must be submitted or pre-approved by the Site Director, Division Head or Enhanced Skills Director.
• Preference will be given to nominees who have not received the same award in the last three years.

Internal Spring Awards: Deadline April 1st

A. DFCM Postgraduate Awards

DFCM Faculty and Residents are eligible for the DFCM Postgraduate Awards. Each Teaching Site (Chief and Site Director) and the Enhanced Skills Director will receive an email from the Postgraduate Department early in the calendar year, eliciting submissions.

Each Site will determine locally one faculty and one resident to receive an award in one of the categories as listed below. The two selected winners determined by each site will be forwarded to the DFCM Postgraduate Awards Committee for formal recognition.

The Enhanced Skills Director will solicit nominations from the Category 1 and Category 2 Program Directors for one faculty and one resident per Category (total four awards; two resident and two faculty) to receive an award in one of the award categories. Through an internal process, the two winners per Category will be selected to be put forward to receive the awards for the Enhanced Skills Programs.

FACULTY Categories
1.  New Teacher Award
2.  Excellence in Teaching
3.  Role Modeling Clinical Excellence

FACULTY & STAFF Categories
4. Program Leadership
5. Innovation in Education
6. Resident Advocacy

RESIDENT Categories
7. Leadership
8. Teaching Excellence
9. Advocacy for Patients
10. Clinical Excellence

External Spring Awards: Deadline April 1st

DFCM Residents are eligible for the following external awards. Each Teaching Site (Chief and Site Director) will receive an email from the Postgraduate Department early in the calendar year, eliciting nominations for the following two awards.

B. CFPC Family Medicine Resident Scholarship & Val Rachlis Leadership in Family Medicine Award

Site Directors and Faculty at each site and the Enhanced Skills Program may put forth a nomination for one resident per site to the DFCM Postgraduate Department once they’ve received the email described above. The DFCM Postgraduate Award Committee will review all nominations and select which nominee will be officially selected as the nominee from the DFCM Postgraduate Department to the CFPC. Nominators whose nominee has been selected by the DFCM Postgraduate Awards Committee to be put forward to the CFPC should be prepared to put together a complete application by the deadline listed on the CFPC website, when notified by the DFCM Postgraduate Department.

C. Sam Leitenberg Award for the Humanitarian Practice of Family and Community Medicine

This award will be open to all PGY2 residents in the Department of Family and Community Medicine (DFCM). Site Directors and Faculty at each site may put forth a nomination package for one resident per site to the DFCM Postgraduate Department once they have received the email described above which will review the nomination criteria in detail.

• The Award has a monetary value of $3000.
• To be awarded annually to a Postgraduate PGY2 resident in Family and Community Medicine who best exemplifies the qualities Dr. Leitenberg embodied:
• Recognizes the central importance of the doctor-patient relationship.
• Provides exemplary care to patients.
• Treats patients and their family members with compassion, empathy, and respect.
• Demonstrates superior diagnostic and clinical skills

Larry Librach Award for Excellence in Palliative Care Scholarship

This award recognizes a Department of Family and Community Medicine resident or Temerty Faculty of Medicine undergraduate student who demonstrates excellence in palliative care scholarship and integrates principles, practices and philosophy of palliative care.

The awardee will be engaged in and have developed an academic project on a palliative care related topic under the supervision of a Department of Family and Community Medicine faculty member. Projects may pertain to any domain of scholarship i.e. discovery, integration, application or teaching & education. Examples of academic projects may include: quality improvement, clinical research, education scholarship, creative professional activities and leadership. The project contributes to an initiative or innovation that improves patient outcomes.

Annually, this award will support travel, conference fee expenses and accommodation, up to $1,000, to present scholarly work at a provincial, national or international conference.

Award: $1,000 per award annually, with a maximum of two awards per year. If there are suitable awardees from both postgraduate and undergraduate, one award will be granted to each.

Eligibility: To be considered for this award, the nominee must:

• Be a Family Medicine resident, Enhanced Skills resident or Temerty Faculty of Medicine undergraduate student
• Has completed or is completing a palliative care academic project
• Nominees will only be able to receive this award once during undergraduate training and only once during residency training

Selection criteria: An award committee of DFCM leaders will judge the nominations based on academic rigor.

The selection committee will consider the following:

• How candidates demonstrate excellence and commitment to palliative care scholarship and integrates principles, practices and philosophy of palliative care?
• How projects improve palliative care including the integration of principles, practices and philosophy of palliative care?
• How projects contribute to an initiative or innovation that improves patient outcomes? (examples of academic projects may inc.: QI, clinical research, education scholarship, creative professional activities and leadership)
• Project status: Not yet started/In progress/Completed
• Role of the candidate in the project: i.e. project design, implementation, recruitment, data analysis, write-up, etc.

Nomination Process

​​​​Nomination deadline: April 30, 2024

• Nomination Form to be completed by the faculty supervisor of the resident or student
• Nominations must be pre-approved by the site Residency Program Director or undergraduate Program Director
• Letters of support from the relevant division Head/Director, site Chief, site Residency Program Director or Undergraduate Program, Pre-Clerkship or Clerkship Director can be included that address how the academic project will contribute to Palliative Care.

Submission:

Submit a completed application package via email to dfcm.divisionpalliative@utoronto.ca

Larry Librach Award Nomination Form