The Alberta College of Family Physicians Announces Honorees for Excellence in Family Medicine
EDMONTON/CNW/ – The Alberta College of Family Physicians (ACFP) is pleased to announce that Dr. Margaret Churcher is Alberta’s Family Physician of the Year for 2015. Recipients of this prestigious award are chosen by their peers for making significant contributions to the health and well-being of their communities, dedicating themselves to the education of future generations of family doctors, and most importantly, for providing exceptional care to their patients.
“As a colleague, I admire her commitment to her patients and ability to provide them a very highly-functioning medical home. As well, her passion extends beyond the local level to the provincial level where she sits on a number of groups and committees providing feedback from a family physician perspective.” says colleague Dr. Oliver David. “She leads by example and is a model physician whom others, myself included, should try to emulate.”
Originally from Ottawa, Dr. Churcher received her medical degree from Queen’s University. She then went to Dunedin, New Zealandfor a one-year housesurgeon position and returned to Alberta for a stint in Internal Medicine, finally settling in Calgary to complete a fellowship programme in anaesthesia. She completed a practise-eligible route to family practice and has been in a team-based care practice for more than 20 years. Dr. Churcher has been married for 27 years to husband Nelson and is very proud of their daughter, Rachel, a kinesiologist and talented artist and writer. Dr. Churcher is also an accomplished and certified yoga teacher.
Along with Alberta’s Family Physician of the Year announcement, the ACFP is pleased to honour the following recipients for this year’s Awards programs:
Recognition of Excellence
Dr. Pawel Niemczewski, Calgary
Dr. Brigitte (Tania) Lemay, Calgary
Outstanding New Professional Award
Dr. Robert Warren, Sundre
Student Leadership – Rising Star Award
Rabia Bana, University of Alberta
Sara Porisky, University of Calgary
Family Medicine Resident Leadership Award
Dr. Jackson Chu, University of Alberta
“Just as our recipients have a fundamental role in patients’ lives, so do they contribute to the health care team and throughout their communities,” says ACFP President, Dr. John Chmelicek. “We are very proud of these of individuals who demonstrate the compassion, dedication, and leadership found in primary care.”
The ACFP’s Awards program reviews nominations on an annual basis and recognizes dedicated students, family medicine residents, and family physicians. The Call for Nominations for 2016 is now open. Visit www.acfp.ca for more details.
About the Alberta College of Family Physicians
The Alberta College of Family Physicians (ACFP) is a professional, voluntary organization representing more than 4,300 family physicians in Alberta. Established more than 60 years ago, the ACFP strives for excellence in family practice through advocacy, continuing medical education and primary care research. The ACFP is a Chapter of the College of Family Physicians of Canada(CFPC), a nationwide organization with more than 32,000 members. For more information on the ACFP, visit www.acfp.ca.
SOURCE Alberta College of Family Physicians 