2021-2022 RDoC Outstanding Volunteers of the Year
Four RDoC volunteers were announced as RDoC Outstanding Volunteers of the Year at the June 11, 2022 meeting of the Board of Directors. Through their efforts, each of these exemplary individuals has played a key role in advancing RDoC’s work on behalf of our members. Thank you Drs Ahmad, Aquin, MacGillivary, and Silverberg!
Dr. Tehmina Ahmad
Tehmina hails from London, ON where she completed her medical training at the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry at Western University. Her residency journey began 5-years ago in Internal Medicine at the University of Toronto, where she then sub-specialized in Endocrinology and Metabolism. She finishes her graduation year as Chief of Endocrinology and Metabolism, and will continue to further specialize as an Endocrinology Fellow at Women’s College Hospital in Women’s Health and Transgender Medicine.
Throughout four elected terms at RDoC, Tehmina has served on the Wellness committee, helped lead the National Resident Survey in 2018 and again in 2020, led the Finance Audit and Risk committee, helped build foundations for the EDI committee and served on the executive as Board Chair. She has also served on numerous liaison committees such as the IM/GIM Task Force and contributed to RDoC’s Anthology of resident stories.
Tehmina says that “the biggest win to highlight, was helping to gather data and mobilize stories to provide evidence of the antiquated Royal College rule that obstetrical emergencies prior to a Royal College exam would count as a failed attempt at writing the exam. Channeling this information through our former President Emily Stewart, we were able to partner a big win for residents by having this rule changed.”
To her fellow residents, Tehmina says, “this is an opportunity to build your leadership skills, see how medicine is enacted across the country, and make lifelong friends, while advocated for residents on multiple fronts. The RDoC staff and Board members will give you energy to keep fighting the good fight, so that residents that come after us can join the view. We are the National voice for Residents, and the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”
Dr. Joshua Aquin
Josh is the Chief Resident for Public Health and Preventive Medicine at the University of Manitoba. He also completed residency training in Family Medicine in 2020. Since 2020, Josh has served as President of PARIM and is a member of the RDoC Board of Directors.
Josh has been privileged to represent Canada’s resident physicians through RDoC liaison positions with the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, most recently as the RDoC representative to the Accreditation Standards Improvement Committee. He also served previously on the Royal College’s Indigenous Health Committee, Credentials Committee, and has participated on an accreditation survey team as an external reviewer. Internally, Josh is currently the Chair of RDoC’s Finance, Audit and Risk Committee.
Josh says that he has “greatly enjoyed collaborating with medical education leaders from across Canada. Volunteering with RDoC has provided an opportunity to advocate for high-quality education and better workplace cultures for all residents.”
Josh feels that future RDoC volunteers “should know that they are in a unique position to share ideas, voice concerns and advocate for changes that may improve residency training for all.”
Dr. Michael MacGillivary
Mike is originally from North Sydney, Nova Scotia and has a BSc (Hons) Biology and an MSc Biology from Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick. He worked for 3 years as a marine biologist before entering into medical school at Dalhousie University, Halifax campus. He is now at Dalhousie completing a Dermatology residency (PGY4).
Mike has served as a member of the RDoC Board since 2019. During this time he has served as a member of the Governance and Nominating Committee, the Succession Planning Task Force, the Executive Director Search Committee, and the Awards Committee. He has also represented RDoC as a member of the Canadian Medical Association’s Virtual Care Task Force and the Royal College Assessment Committee.
Mike says “the major highlight for me was meeting and collaborating with residents from across the country to tackle a myriad of issues related to resident education and wellness. It has been a true privilege to work with such a diverse and talented group of people over the last three years.”
To future volunteers, Mike says, “I would offer the following two pieces of advice: 1. Have an incredibly open mind and be willing to listen, learn and engage. I have learned so much about leadership, governance, finances, and the power of collaboration. 2. Buy into the RDoC brand and display those traits not only when representing RDoC, but also when caring for patients. One of the pillars of the brand is a solutions-oriented approach, it’s amazing how far this will go in any situation.”
Dr. Sarah Silverberg
Sarah is originally from Toronto. She completed a Bachelors of Arts & Science at McMaster University prior to completing her medical training at the University of Toronto. She has just completed her postgraduate training in pediatrics at the University of British Columbia and will be starting a fellowship in Pediatric Infectious Diseases at SickKids in Toronto in July.
Sarah has been working with RDoC for three years, interested in health systems and health human resources planning. Sarah joined the Board of Directors in 2019, and since then has led the Resident Transfers file and worked on Entry Routes. She proceeded to sit two terms on the executive as Vice President and has led a number of health human resources files. Over the last two years, Sarah has co-chaired, along with the AFMC, the Lab Medicine Entry Routes Harmonization Task Force, represented residents on the Canadian Post-MD Education Registry and the Royal College Health and Public Policy Committee, and represented resident voices at various physician resource planning working groups and roundtables hosted by Health Canada and the Canadian Medical Forum, ensuring RDoC’s priorities are built into collaborative work with our stakeholders.
Throughout her time with RDoC, Sarah has contributed to a number of files and projects, including the hiring of an executive director, governance and nominations, awards, and working on the numerous challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic on resident exams.
Sarah says that “the biggest highlight of my time at RDoC was the amazing advocacy achieved by our executive team and board over the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure unnecessary examinations were not pursued and residents were given safe and fair opportunities to sit high-stakes exams without penalty. I have been so lucky to learn what it means to work in a high-functioning team of residents and staff and to learn what different styles of leadership look like.
To future volunteers, Sarah says, “Resident leadership is an incredible opportunity to learn about the health system we all participate in, to learn about leadership, to learn from other amazing colleagues, and for personal growth to develop skills we don’t always get to practice day-to-day in the hospital and clinic!”
Previous Residents recognized as Outstanding Volunteers by RDoC
2020-2021
Dr. Alexandra Manning, Dr. Ramona Neferu
2019-2020
Dr. Tehmina Ahmad, Dr. Meghan Bhatia, Dr. Bernard Ho, Dr. Vivian Tam
2018-2019
Dr. Aditi Amin, Dr. Michael Benusic, Dr. Brandon Tang
