Sarah Fraser and Michael Slater, second-year Southern Medical Program (SMP) students have been recognized for excellence in academics, leadership, and community service with the 2017 Reichwald Family Foundation Southern Medical Program award.
Born in Ontario and raised in Nanaimo, Fraser attended Vancouver Island University and earned BSc in molecular biology before joining UBC medicine. Through her medical studies and research interests, she has worked with the Sexual Assault Response Team at Kelowna General Hospital, CONNECT Communities for Acquired Brain Injury, and Sport Concussion Lab at UBC Okanagan. She serves as chief copy editor for the UBC medical journal and president and cofounder of the Institute of Health Improvement Open School UBC Okanagan Chapter, an organization that provides opportunities to learn why errors happen, how to prevent them, and how to become agents of change in patient safety, quality improvement, and the culture of medicine
Growing up on Vancouver Island, Slater earned a BSc in Kinesiology at the University of Victoria and work as a personal trainer prior to entering medical school. Serving as SMP Class Vice President for the past two years, he serves as advocate for his classmates on all curricular matters. With a research interest in social media and medical education, he co-presented a one-hour interactive workshop for health profession students at the Universitas 21 Health Science Group annual meeting in Birmingham, UK. Slater has also participated in numerous community outreach events including the Talk to Your Doctor workshops, UBC Okanagan Pre-Med Club events, and the recent MD Admissions information session for Okanagan high school students and parents.
Both students will receive $10,000 towards their medical education. Fraser will soon begin her third-year clerkship at Kelowna General Hospital while Slater will be relocating to Chilliwack for an integrated community clerkship.