Modelled on the coins used by the Canadian military to recognize special achievements, the College Coin is designed to honour some of the unsung heroes in family medicine – the family physicians we admire for their ongoing commitment to family medicine and dedication to good work.
College Coins are peer-nominated and can be submitted at any point throughout the year.
If you are a BCCFP member and would like to nominate a BC family physician for the College Coin, please submit the form below. Nominees must be BCCFP members.
Nomination qualifications are based on the wide-ranging values that family physicians bring to practice, teaching, mentorship and health care improvement, including:
- Being a trusted advisor and friend to practice colleagues
- Leading activities outside of clinical practice that support family medicine
- Serving as a role model for residents and medical students
- Providing leadership in CPD
- Being a strong advocate for evidence-based care
- Working with a team to create a practice that is aligned with the Patient’s Medical Home model
- Demonstrating service and dedication to patients during a long career in family medicine
- Offering support and assistance to colleagues when needed (e.g. covering call while a colleague is away for a family emergency or other unexpected reason)
Learn more about our 2024 recipients below:
“I would like to nominate Dr. Fernandez for this recognition of the work that she has done on creating the longitudunal family practice model which was a tremendous amount of dedication and advocacy and has been very successful, I do not believe that the rollout and implementation of this model would have been successful without her insight and deep knowledge of family practice and I would like to recognize her in all possible ways, Dr. Fernandez has long had a commitments to family practice and generalist care and I would greatly appreciate your supports and recognizing her in as many ways possible.”
"Dr McBeath is in the final lap of his medical career. He has committed a ton of time and energy into the medical community of Fernie. He has been a champion of the emergency department, he has managed our office for years, and does all of this on his own time. He is a great teacher to many med students, residents and colleagues, a mentor, and an outstanding rural family physician. Fernie has been extraordinarily lucky to have him here and younger physicians have been lucky to learn under him. The medical community will lose an important member when he decides to remove his shingle."
"Dr Swanson has recently completed two years as chair of the Nanaimo Division of Family Practice During this time he worked tirelessly to uplift and support family medicine within the community and in in-patient settings. Dr Swanson was integral in achieving support funding and logistic support to save Nanaimo's GP in-patient care service from collapsing. I wish to recognize his service to the community and its positive impact on Family Medicine"
"I would like to acknowledge Dr. Thompson's work on the longitudinal family practice model, this was a huge amount of investment of personal time and dedication and I do not believe that the creation and implementation of the model would have been as successful had not been for his understanding of the healthcare system and his passion for primary care, Dr. Thompson's investments in primary care/family practice is invaluable and has resulted in a model of remuneration and support that has breathed life back into found practice and I would like to acknowledge him for that"
"Dr. Michael Vaughan has had a long career in Family Medicine in Victoria. He practiced cradle to grave medicine after his internship in Victoria in the 1970s until the in the late 2000s when he retired from his community practice to concentrate his work in LTC. Since then, he has been a pivotal member of the LTCI providing medical care to thousands (literally) of frail complex LTC residents. As medical coordinator in LTC homes he has led care conferences, medication reviews and educated staff and families in the dignified care of patients. At one point he supported more than 10 different facilities as medical coordinator and had patients at over 15 LTC homes while providing 24/7 on-call coverage prior to the LTCI. He has taught medical students and family medicine residents his whole career in clinic, hospital and LTC. His energy and passion for LTC care is boundless and he is a committed advocate for the high quality of care of frail elders."
"Amanda has been an amazing support to me in my first 1.5 years of practice. Upon graduating she was quick to notify me that she was available for any clinical question advice and other family medicine mentorship. I can text her anytime of the day, and even have on late evening shifts and she typically responds within the hour if not within 5 minutes. Once I was working alone at a walk-in clinic and needed imminent patient care advice, I called the RACE specialist but unfortunately they did not get back to me. I texted Amanda and she was travelling internationally, I think in an airport in Australia and she invited me to call her to review the case and get advice. That was amazing! Also her recommendations are of evidence based calibre and feel confident following her guidance patients are receiving best possible care. She also has supported me in times when I received a negative comment from one my colleagues when asking new grad questions. And again re-emphasized I could go to her anytime as needed for advice. She has been a wonderful aid in making the steep learning curve of new to practice more manageable. She is also just a wonderful person and she delivers excellent timely evidence based care to her patients. I hope you consider this outstanding physician who will literally take case review calls internationally to help new grads feel safe and supported.”
"Dr. Jessica Wilder is one of the most impressive new to practice physicians I have ever had the pleasure of working with. She clinically is as strong as many of our specialist colleagues (often she is providing education and consultative advice to many Royal College Specialists). Jessica has taken on two critical and difficult leadership roles already in her career (she is the head of our hospital addictions medicine service in Nanaimo and physician lead for harm reduction and education for all of island health). She works regularly in the Northwest Territories providing comprehensive hospitalist care. Dr. Wilder also works as a hospitalist in Nanaimo and is a key consultant on the NRGH Addictions medicine service. Jessica maintains a busy community family and addictions medicine practice at AVI in Nanaimo where she also provides HIV care. Dr. Wilder is a passionate advocate and has saved many lives and provided compassionate care for the most vulnerable in our communities. Dr. Wilder is also a favourite preceptor for many our the Family Practice Residents. "