Congratulations Dr. Anna Mierzwa – U of A’s 2022 Dr. Marnie Hinton Award recipient

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Dr. Anna Mierzwa, a third-year general surgery resident, humbly received the 2022 Dr. Marnie Hinton Award for Resident Physician Health on Aug. 26, 2022.

Despite all of the challenges and uncertainties faced during the COVID-19 pandemic, Anna has been working tirelessly to bring together likeminded resident colleagues to create a General Surgery Resident Wellness Committee (GSRWC), while staying on top of her academic program.

Some of Anna’s notable initiatives include:

• Formalizing the GSRWC through the Residency Program Committee (RPC) by drafting terms of reference and a program wellness policy to ensure increased leverage for resident wellness at the program level and improve funding opportunities;
• Advocating for wellness activities, through the GSRWC, to be incorporated into the academic half-day curriculum as protected time for all residents to attend;
• Improving staff-resident relationships by involving both staff and residents in the wellness events she organized, which made residents feel more appreciated and less burnt out; and
• Utilizing available funding to provide a variety of necessities to ensure residents’ needs are met, while continuing to secure long-term funding.

While Anna’s commitment to resident wellness has helped to improve program-wide morale and cohesion, she was quick to share the appreciation with her fellow peers and faculty.

“I want to thank you all for making it possible,” says Anna, “I couldn’t have done it without your support.”

Anna intends to continue building up the wellness curriculum in the General Surgery program and hopes to see the GSRWC continue to grow and serve the wellness of future residents.

Thank you, Anna, for looking after resident physicians’ health during these unprecedented times!