CRAJ Summer 2023

Summer 2023 (Volume 33, Number 2)

Awards, Appointments, and Accolades

Dr. Sean Hamilton – CRA Master Award

I am humbled to receive a 2023 CRA Master Award and wish to thank the CRA and my local rheumatology peers in Newfoundland and Labrador (NL) for their nomination. It is my assumption this award recognizes my clinical contribution to the people of NL, and my educational contribution to the medical students and postgraduate medical trainees of Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador.

I’ll be retiring in June 2023 after thirty-six years in practice, and as I now pass the torch to my younger colleagues, the demographics dictate that there is much more to accomplish in rheumatic health care delivery in our province. The median age in NL in 1987 — the year I began practice — was 28 years, making us the youngest province in Canada, and as I leave in 2023, that median age is 48 — the oldest province in Canada. The total population is unchanged; the number of rheumatologists is the same.

I leave with confidence in the next generation, and locally I am witnessing strong leadership for the path forward.

To the Rheumatology Community, I wish you well.

Kristin Dillon and Anne MacLeod – Extraordinary Service Award
Co-winners

This award recognizes the contributions an Arthritis Health Professions Association (AHPA) member has made in advancing the mission, vision, and goals of our organization. This year there are two awardees.

Kristin Dillon is an occupational therapist at Arthritis Society Canada where she works as a primary therapist and part-time clinical practice leader. Kristin joined the AHPA board in 2019, taking on the role of treasurer in 2020. This already complex role became even more so with the move to electronic banking, the addition of the Advanced Clinician Practitioner in Arthritis Care (ACPAC) Special Interest Group to our organization, and the increasingly important role of cybersecurity. In addition, while her term as treasurer ended in February 2022, she spent the remainder of the year providing considerable hands-on mentoring to the current treasurer while working conjointly with her on several special projects.

Anne MacLeod works as an Extended Role Practitioner in a variety of clinical settings including a shared care/collaborative practice with the sole rheumatologist in Thunder Bay, and Telehealth collaborative care clinics with pediatric rheumatologists from Sick Kids and the Children’s Hospital at London Health Sciences Centre. Anne joined the AHPA board in 2019 as President-Elect, served two years as President, and in 2022 was the Past President. While too numerous to describe, her contributions include re-working the organizational structure of the board, shepherding the launch of the new AHPA website, and being the ever present go-to person for our professional and patient partners. This past year the board had five vacant positions and, as a result, Anne took on additional tasks related to Communications and Sponsorship & Marketing.

Noel Heath – Lifetime Achievement Award

This award honours an AHPA member who has made a significant contribution during their work career in the areas of clinical practice, research, education, academics and/or administration. This award is given to an individual who has demonstrated excellence through such characteristics as mentorship, initiative, quality, innovation, leadership, enthusiasm, and ongoing commitment to rheumatology.

As an ACPAC-trained occupational therapist, Noel has had the privilege of working in rheumatology for her entire 40-year career. During this time, she witnessed life-changing advances in treatment; learned from and mentored creative and caring colleagues; and was humbled by the grace and courage of the clients she served. She considers herself fortunate to work with a rheumatology team that values using ingenuity to deal with issues of access to care for a vast geographical area with limited resources.

Susan Bartlett – Carolyn Thomas Award

The Carolyn Thomas Award was established in honour of Carolyn Thomas, a founding member of the Arthritis Health Professions Association (AHPA) who supported research. It is given to the first author of the year’s best scientific abstract. The recipient of this award will also be presented with an opportunity to present their work as a plenary presentation at the annual Canadian Rheumatology Association-AHPA Annual Scientific Meeting.

The recipient of the 2023 AHPA Carolyn Thomas Award is Susan Bartlett, PhD, for her work entitled "More than Half of Canadians with RA with a Lifetime History of Mood Disorders were Anxious or Depressed during the COVID-19 Pandemic.” Dr. Bartlett is a clinical psychologist and Professor of Medicine at McGill University in the Divisions of Clinical Epidemiology, Rheumatology, and Respiratory Medicine. She is co-founder of the McGill Centre for Health Measurement and a senior researcher with the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, Arthritis Research Canada and the Canadian Early Arthritis Cohort. Her studies focus on patient-centred research, measurement development, treatment adherence, and psychosocial factors that impact treatment outcomes. She is a member of the Association of Rheumatology Professionals Executive Committee and President-Elect of the National Institute of Health (NIH) Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS).

Karine Toupin-April – Barbara Hanes Memorial Award

The Barbara Hanes Memorial Award was established in honour of her work as an Occupational Therapy Director at the Arthritis Society, Ontario Division, and her contributions as a teacher and a contributing author to the rheumatology textbook “Physical Therapy in Arthritis”. This award recognizes the best scientific abstract submitted by an occupational therapist.

The recipient of the 2023 AHPA Barbara Hanes Memorial Award is Karine Toupin-April, PhD, for her abstract entitled "Going Beyond Pain: Virtual Meetings and Survey to Expand the JIA Option Map with Other Symptoms and Functional Activities." Dr. Toupin-April is an Associate Professor in the School of Rehabilitation Sciences and with the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Ottawa and is affiliated with the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute. Her research in pediatric and adult rheumatology includes developing patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs), clinical practice guidelines, patient decision support interventions and self-management tools. She is Chair of the AHPA Research Committee.

Ellen Wang – Trainee Abstract Award

The Trainee Abstract Award was established to recognize research being done by allied health professionals in summer studentships, graduate programs or post-doctoral fellowships. This award is given for the best scientific abstract submitted by a trainee.

The recipient of the 2023 AHPA Trainee Award is Ellen Wang for her abstract entitled "Inequities in Arthritis Care in Canada: The Black, Indigenous and Person of Colour (BIPOC) Experience". Ellen is a MPT/PhD student under the supervision of Dr. Linda Li at the University of British Columbia & Arthritis Research Canada. She is also the Programs Coordinator at Arthritis Consumer Experts, and a patient herself. Her research is at the intersection of health equity and patient engagement. In specific, her work aims to uncover how best to reach and meaningfully partner with diverse and underserved groups/communities in health research.