The value of appreciation

November 25, 2021

Dr. Vesta Michelle Warren, AMA President

After many months of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are physically and professionally tired. Let’s take opportunities when they come to lift ourselves up by celebrating accomplishments. These are things that can unite us! In that spirit, I hope this letter will allow you to feel appreciated – while offering a chance to honor the efforts of some amazing colleagues.

Albertans say thank you

As part of our exploration of the COVID-19 care deficit, we have been gathering video testimonials from Albertans about how the pandemic has affected them. In the course of that work, we also collected some messages of gratitude and satisfaction for the care that health care teams – and doctors in particular – have provided through the pandemic. We’ve compiled some of these in a short video. The videos have been edited to remove the names of individual physicians who were identified, but we’ll be sending individual videos to those physicians so that they know their service was particularly recognized. We hope that you all enjoy seeing the simple and sincere messages contained in this little compilation. 

AMA recognizes achievement and service

One of the highlights of the AMA year occurs when we bestow our highest honors for long service and distinguished achievement. The 2021 AMA Achievement Awards were presented at the virtual Annual General Meeting, held September 28. This year’s awards carried extra meaning, given that in 2020 the program was placed on hiatus due to the COVID-19 disruption. We were pleased to receive an excellent set of nominations from which our Committee on Achievement Awards selected honorees for approval by the Board. 

Please enjoy viewing this video highlighting the AMA Achievement Award winners and Alberta-based honorees of the Canadian Medical Association. For thoughts from these individuals and more recipients of other AMA honors, please review the awards booklet.

These award recipients are a wonderful reminder to all of us that there are no finer physicians anywhere in Canada! It is an honor to celebrate what you have achieved – and continue to achieve – daily and throughout the course of your careers.

I’ll be in touch again soon. You can reach me any time in the following ways:

  • Communicate with me privately and directly by email if you would like a reply: president@albertadoctors.org.
  • Comment publicly on this President’s Letter (please be aware that comments are public, i.e., not members-only, even if you are logged in as a member). 

Sincerely,

Vesta Michelle Warren, MD, CCFP, FCFP
President, Alberta Medical Association

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Alberta Medical Association Mission: Advocate for and support Alberta physicians. Strengthen their leadership in the provision of sustainable quality care.