The Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada (SOGC) has named Dr. Wendy Norman as the recipient of the inaugural SOGC Mentorship Award.
Dr. Norman, an associate professor in the UBC faculty of medicine’s department of family practice, is recognized globally as an expert in the field of family planning and was a leader in the model roll-out program for mifepristone in Canada. Dr. Norman currently holds a Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) Research Chair in Family Planning. She is also an associate member in UBC’s School of Population and Public Health, and the department of obstetrics and gynecology, and is an associate professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
She also serves on many SOGC committees, and runs the highly successful Canadian Abortion Provider Support (CAPS) program. She has been recognized by her peers for her leadership and supportive nature in the field of Family Planning.
“Wendy is an inspirational visionary in Family Planning and is recognized globally as a pre-eminent Canadian expert in the field,” said her nominator and mentee, Dr. Dustin Costescu. “From the beginning of our work in mifepristone, she created a program, tailored to Canada, that is unparalleled in the World that has been magnified by the pandemic.”
She has also played a direct role in oversight and mentorship for clinicians and academics, across a variety of professions and geographical regions, at every level of this project.
“One of the most joyful and rewarding roles over my twenty years as a UBC faculty member has been the opportunity to foster the curiosity of our students, trainees and early career academics,” Dr. Norman says. “As learned from my many mentors in our UBC faculty of medicine, extending these skills to help young clinicians and scientists at institutions across Canada has given back to me more than I could have dreamed. They are the true stars!”
The SOGC Mentorship Award was created to recognize outstanding commitment to mentoring at a national level. The nominees for this award facilitate and support the personal and professional development of others, contribute to mentoring advocacy, and serve as a leader at the national level.