Times they are a-changing…

Time has us all in its grip, no escape, no mercy. An objective fact, it plays into whatever we do, and moves on relentlessly. Our perception, however, is that bad moments last forever, and time flies when we like what we do. Fortunately, our memory is skewed to retain the good moments better than the bad ones. As a result, this year flew by, at least for me.

Yes, many things happened including “Manage to Budget” and “Consolidation”. They shaped and will continue to shape our environment. And the formation of “Shared Health Services Manitoba” adds another level of complexity and uncertainty to the mix. Everything seems changing. And that is by itself neither good nor bad. The qualifiers depend on what we make out of what comes our way. Changes always create new opportunities: Let’s take advantage of them!

Despite the (fiscal) constraints and all uncertainty, we need to build in some areas in order to adapt and stay successful.  We will, however, only be able to invest for these purposes what we saved somewhere else. There is, therefore, a continuing need to focus on what we agreed is our core business, delivery of tertiary care, education, and innovation.

I’d like to thank all of you for your engaged commitment to our Department. I commend you all for your individual contributions during the past year in working collaboratively towards our goals: caring for our patients, educating the next generation of internists and subspecialists, and innovating how we do business. I would also like to thank your partners and families for their support and for their understanding of the long hours you put into your work.

I hope you will be able to spend some time with your loved ones over the Holidays, and look forward to working with you again on the challenges 2018 will undoubtedly bring.

Happy Holidays and my best wishes for the New Year!

Department of Internal Medicine 2017 Teaching Awards

At the November 30, 2017 Department of internal Medicine Annual Faculty Dinner – two faculty members were recognized for excellence in teaching and honored for their significant roles and exceptional dedication to educating the next generation of physicians. Our Chief Residents, Dr. Kiran Jhinger and Dr. Kevin Brown, introduced this year’s awardees and handed out the awards:

  • to Joel Nkosi, MD, Section of GIM, the Barry J Kaufman Award for exceptional performance in the role of CTU attending physician, teacher and mentor.
  • to Colette Seifer, MD, Section of Cardiology, the Morley Lertzman Award for exceptional performance in the role of specialist consultant, teacher and mentor.

Another highlight of the evening was the announcement by Dr. Eberhard Renner of a new award, the Long-term Achievement Pin of the Department of Internal Medicine, created to recognize the long-term achievements of an outstanding senior faculty member. As stated by Dr. Renner, candidates for this award must hold a GFT or UMFA appointment in the Department and have a proven, exceptional track record as an outstanding academic role model in at least three of the following domains: clinical service, research, teaching/education, mentoring, and administration. While the inaugural awardee was selected by Dr. Renner, from now on each awardee’s task will be to select their own successor within a minimum of one and a maximum of three years, and to give Grand Rounds on a topic of his/her choice illustrating, in particular to junior faculty and residents, what the awardee thinks has been pivotal for them to become an academic role model.

The announcement of Dr. Ken Van Ameyde as the inaugural awardee of the Long-term Achievement Pin of the Department of Internal Medicine was followed by a long standing ovation of all attending the faculty dinner. Dr. Renner complimented Dr. Van Ameyde for his thirty years of dedicated service as a GFT in the Section of General Internal Medicine, during which he has made significant contributions to our Department in many different roles. Dr Van Ameyde was recognized, in particular, for the training and mentoring of physicians capable of practicing both, the art and the science of medicine. In fact, Ken Van Ameyde has shaped and continues to shape an entire generation of Internists in Winnipeg, throughout the province and beyond. Dr. Van Ameyde has won many teaching awards, has held numerous leadership and administrative positions, has made significant contributions to medical care, and has inspired and mentored a long list of physicians and trainees.

Please join us in congratulating Drs. Ken Van Ameyde, Joel Nkosi and Colette Seifer.