Honours and Awards
2021 Recipients
Saskatchewan Family Physician of the Year Award
Dr. Meredith McKague, MD MSc FCFPC
I am so honoured and humbled to receive this award.
My great grandparents were settlers to Saskatchewan from Scotland and Ireland, and I come from a family of teachers. When I was going through medical school (MD from U of S 1994) and post-graduate training (Family Medicine at Queen’s University 1996, and MSc in Health Care Research from University of Calgary in 2000), I never expected to become an educator myself. I first practiced at a community health centre in Calgary, working with a diverse patient population who experienced many barriers to accessing care. At that time, I started working with medical learners and discovered the joy that can come with teaching.
Working at the U of S since 2002, my educational roles have included Family Medicine departmental undergraduate director; course director for various undergraduate MD courses; phase chair; assistant dean academic; and now associate dean in the in the MD program. As well as actively teaching in the undergraduate program, I have the pleasure of teaching and supervising residents and clerks in the Saskatoon Family Medicine Unit. Working with learners helps keep me on my toes clinically and also challenges me and broadens my perspectives.
My goals in my current role are to help ensure that our province’s future physicians complete their medical education in a caring, inclusive environment, working with faculty and staff who are themselves supported and engaged in their trainees’ learning. I recognize the many advantages I have had as a white, heterosexual woman in terms of the opportunities that I have had in my career, and am working, personally, to broaden my understanding of other’s experiences especially in terms of anti-racism. With the undergraduate team, which includes many family physicians as faculty, I would like to support the role of the MD program in helping us work towards equity in the health care system, while educating skilled, knowledgeable, caring physicians.
My clinical work is through a continuity of care family practice. Working with colleagues and learners, my research interests include evaluation of undergraduate medical education and clinical initiatives in primary health care, including a recent project on supporting early childhood literacy. I am also interested in ecosystem approaches to health, and in the impacts of climate change on health.
My interests outside of medicine include spending time with my daughter, husband, and border collie (especially at the lake), hiking, cross-country skiing, canoeing and reading.
SCFP Dr. Michael Krochak Award
FOR CONTRIBUTIONS TO FAMILY MEDICINE IN SASKATCHEWAN
Dr. Stephen Britton, MD CCFP FCFP
I was raised in historic Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia, and obtained my medical degree through Dalhousie Medical School.
It is just over 36 years ago that I flew into Ile a la Crosse on a small plane to begin 5 months of work – the land of forests and rivers and home to Metis, Cree and Denes peoples. I am employed by Northern Medical Services (University of Saskatchewan) to service a network of communities and satellite nursing stations (some clinics fly-in). My first delivery on a plane happened that first month.
I was blessed to have arrived at a time when there was an interest among local docs in working together with communities in a partnership. This partnership aimed to recognize and respect the inherent knowledge members of our communities had of what well-being looked like to them. The interaction was framed as a dialogue and lived through community “talking circles”, school talks, drama, advocacy and the like. The road was rich in storytelling, visioning and healing. This engagement and role felt right and so I remained. The belief was that simply treating disease is just not enough if one wishes to see well-being.
For over 30 years, I have held a Community-Based Faculty appointment. I have held the positions of Chief of Staff and Senior Medical Officer through much of 1987 to 2018 – a period of great change in the north. I have been part of many initiatives and working groups – Sakitawak Group Home Board, Towards Healthier Babies program, Sexual Abuse Protocol Working groups and several Northern Health Strategy Advisory Committees (2004 – 2008) to name a few. And I have been gratified to work aside nurses I saw born.
Among the joys of my life has been travel – Paris, China, India, Machu Pichu, etc. In 2002, I walked the 780 km of el Camino de Santiago de Compostelo. Oil painting, gardening or just soaking in the wilderness all around me bring pleasure.
SCFP AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE
For Outstanding commitment to family medicine in the area of community adaptiveness.
Dr. Sarah McLaughlin, BSc MD CCFP
Dr. Sarah McLaughlin was born and raised in Regina Saskatchewan. She completed a bachelor’s degree in Anatomy and Cell Biology at the University of Saskatchewan in 2000 and graduated from University of Saskatchewan medical school in 2004. She completed her first year of family medicine residency in Saskatoon and the second in Winnipeg, Manitoba. After graduation Sarah returned to Saskatchewan where she undertook an extra month of training in obstetrics. She practiced family medicine and low risk obstetrics in Saskatoon for six years. Sarah and her family then moved to Regina where she has been in practice for the past 8 years.
Dr. McLaughlin has always been passionate about teaching and is an associate professor at the University of Saskatchewan. She enjoys teaching medical students and family medicine residents in her family practice. She also teaches year two ethics and Obstetrics and Gynecology sessions.
Sarah enjoys the full scope of family practice with a special emphasis on women’s health, obstetrics and pediatrics. She is passionate about family medicine and considers family physicians to be the ‘stem cells’ of the system. She loves that she can meet the needs of her community by tailoring her practice in many ways. Recently Sarah completed the CanREACH mini fellowship program in children’s mental health and has been expanding her practice to include more child psychiatry for the past few years to help meet the current demand for children’s mental health services. Since March 2020 she has been working at the Regina Assessment and Treatment Centre to help with the current Covid-19 pandemic situation in Saskatchewan. Sarah has also been delighted to help with the Covid-19 vaccination effort.
Dr. McLaughlin is passionate about providing comprehensive care to her patients and is proud to work at a primary health clinic which offers psychology services, a nutritionist, diabetes educator and nursing services. She has been instrumental in developing a full-service approach to well baby care by bringing children’s vaccination services to the clinic as well.
Sarah is married and has 3 children, a dog, a cat and 2 birds. When she doesn’t have her nose in a book you can find her spending time with her family or enjoying time outdoors biking, hiking or walking.
Dr. McLaughlin is humbled and honored to receive this award and would like to express her gratitude for the nomination.
SCFP AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE
For her leadership in response to the community outbreak of COVID-19 in La Loche and surrounding communities in Saskatchewan.
Dr. Kendra Morrow, MD CCFP
Dr. Morrow is originally from Outlook, SK, and currently lives and works in Saskatoon with her two young children and her partner, Alex.
Dr. Morrow is currently a full-spectrum family physician at the Saskatoon Community Clinic. She has recently added trans health to the care she provides and is continuing her education in HIV care, ECG interpretation, and addiction medicine. She believes that practicing family medicine is a privilege and feels very lucky to work with and amazing team as part of a multidisciplinary clinic.
Outside of work, she very much enjoys spending time in nature with her family and they are trying to soak up the rest of summer camping in their new tent trailer. She also enjoys baking and trying out new coffee!
She is grateful to live in Saskatoon, home of Treaty Six and Traditional land of the Métis.
SCFP MY FAMILY DOC ROCKS AWARD
Nominated by a Saskatchewan patient who believes their Family Doc Rocks
Dr. Carly Conly, MD CCFP FCFP
Dr. Carly Conly completed her undergraduate and medical degrees at the University of Saskatchewan and went on to complete her family medicine residency in Saskatoon in 2008. Dr. Conly obtained her fellowship with the College of Family Physicians of Canada in 2020.
Upon completion of her residency, she worked as a family physician in Saskatoon and Calgary, where she provided care in both the community and hospital settings. Dr. Conly currently has a well established, full-service family practice in Saskatoon. She has a special interest in women’s health, low risk obstetrics, pediatrics, and mental health.
Dr. Conly is one of the medical directors of Cornerstone Medical Clinic. After identifying a gap in the care of newborns being discharged into the community without a family physician, she assisted with the creation of a newborn care clinic and a breastfeeding clinic to address the needs of this vulnerable population. Dr. Conly was a member of the Quality Improvement Core Team for Maternal Services and also holds an assistant professorship with the College of Medicine at the University of Saskatchewan where she participates in both undergraduate and postgraduate teaching.
Dr. Conly is married with two sons. She is honoured to be selected as a recipient of this award.
SCFP MY FAMILY DOC ROCKS AWARD
Nominated by a Saskatchewan patient who believes their Family Doc Rocks
Dr. Robert Haver, BSc MD CCFP
Dr. Haver is a family physician who has been in practice in Moose Jaw, SK for the past 5 years. He has a clinic practice, works out of the ER in Moose Jaw, locums monthly in Gravelbourg, SK, covers the WHL Moose Jaw Warriors with a group of other physicians, and takes on numerous learners from second year medical students to second year FM residents. He is also the Site Lead of Faculty Development for the Department of Academic Family Medicine.
Outside of his clinic I very much enjoys spending time with his family, golfing, cooking, and visiting the mountains.
SCFP MEDICAL STUDENT LEADERSHIP AWARD
This Award recognizes the leadership abilities of one outstanding medical student in their final year of study at the University of Saskatchewan
Dr. Zoë Phillips, BSc MPH MD
Zoë grew up in Victoria, BC, where she earned her BSc in Microbiology at the University of Victoria and moved to Saskatoon to complete her master’s degree in public health at the University of Saskatchewan. She then worked as an epidemiologist with the Saskatchewan Cancer Agency before attending medical school at the University of Saskatchewan. She is excited to now be doing her residency in family medicine at the University of Toronto.
She has broad interests in leadership, quality improvement, and medical education. Outside of medicine she enjoys yoga, cooking, connecting with new people, traveling, and finding ways to become involved in her community.