May 7, 2012 - The Professional Association of Internes and Residents of Ontario (PAIRO)held its awards dinner on Friday night. They gave awards to individuals and programs for teaching and for being especially sensitive to the needs of doctors in training. This was the first time that patients were represented on the PAIRO jury so it was a big step for PAIRO and also for the Patients’ Association of Canada.
The jury process was pretty much the same as PAC’s process for the Patients’ Choice Awards. There were numerous letters of nomination that had to be read and discussed. All the nominations came from medical trainees, and the quality of the nominating letters was the most critical part of deciding who would win. Because there were many outstanding nominees, the jury debated long and hard to decide on the winners.
The Awards Dinner was a formal affair with parts of the letters of nomination read out for each winner. We at the Patients’ Association congratulate the winners, and we hope that some of them will later be nominated by their patients for the Patients’ Choice Awards.
The Patients’ Choice Awards will be presented on June 9th. We look forward to celebrating the most patient-friendly doctors in Ottawa at the ceremony which is sponsored by the Ontario Medical Association.