Dr. Sara Jones, PGY1, OBGYN resident at LHSC
February 7, 2022
Each February, Resident Awareness Week is celebrated across Canada in appreciation for the role of medical residents in the delivery of care. This year’s recognition week takes place February 7-11.
The week serves as an opportunity to raise awareness of who medical residents are, and acknowledge both the critical role these physicians play as health-care providers and their commitment to delivering high-quality care to patients.
Within London’s hospitals, there are currently 779 residents working in 16 departments and 70 sub-specialties. Beyond London’s hospitals, residents provide care throughout the region in both urban and rural communities.
“As a part of our frontline patient-centered teams, resident doctors are teachers, trainees, clinicians and researchers,” says Dr. Lois Champion, integrated director of medical education. “Many also sit on hospital committees providing input on improvements to quality of care for patients and families, the overall postgraduate training experience, ePractice workflows, technology, and more.”
The COVID-19 pandemic has placed resident physicians in a unique position where they have demonstrated their resilience and professionalism in balancing their duty towards patients, their education and managing their own safety and wellness.
“Resident physicians have been instrumental in pandemic planning, have revised patient care to a virtual environment and adapted to changes in their rotations, often missing clinical experience to fill in the gaps in busy clinical areas while maintaining a high level of patient care,” adds Dr. Champion.
For all they do, London Health Sciences Centre would like to recognize and thank our residents for their dedication, achievements and tremendous contributions to excellence in care across our organization.