Dr. Megan Roberts Honorary Scholarship - Royal Columbian Hospital

The Dr. Megan Roberts Honorary Scholarship was established to recognize Dr. Roberts’ tremendous contributions to and impact on psychiatry residents, physician colleagues, and patients at Royal Columbian Hospital. This scholarship will be given annually to a psychiatry resident at Royal Columbian to assist with education costs.

Preference will be given to a Royal Columbian Hospital resident(s) who embodies the qualities Dr. Roberts is well loved and respected for:

Academic excellence
Leadership
Collaboration and relationship building
Mentorship

Fill out the form below to nominate a candidate.

Nominations forms must be received by May 15, 2023 for that nominee to be eligible for selection in the following month.

Dr Megan Roberts Honourary Scholarship

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Nominee Information

Name*

First Last

Department*

Phone*

Email*

Nominator Information

Name*

First Last

Department*

Role/Title*

Phone*

Email*

Academic Excellence*

Please list the accomplishments that you feel match/demonstrate the nominated resident in the field of academic excellence (for example, teaching excellence, research, creative education initiatives, knowledge sharing, conference presentations).

Leadership*

Please list the accomplishments that you feel match/demonstrate the nominated resident in the area of Leadership (for example, fostering learner cohesion and harmony, promoting resident education, providing consistent mentorship of fellow learners).

Collaboration and Relationship Building*

Please list the accomplishments that you feel match/demonstrate the nominated resident in the area of collaboration and relationship building.

Mentorship*

Please list the accomplishments that you feel match/demonstrate the nominated resident in the area of mentorship.

Additional Information

You may also include any additional comments that might help support this nomination.

2022 Recipients

Andrew McDonald

Andrew McDonald is a PGY-1 Fraser Track psychiatry resident. Andrew was born and raised in the Lower Mainland and began his post-secondary education studying biopsychology and jazz music at the University of British Columbia. He was ultimately inspired to pursue a career in psychiatry after spending nights volunteering with the Fraser Health Crisis Line, seeing firsthand how ubiquitous the need for more mental health workers and addressment truly was, especially behind closed doors on a university campus. In clerkship, he found the experience of being one of a patient’s most consistent daily confidantes to be intensely gratifying and humbling. Moreover, it was evident that for patients without a healthcare background, the hospital environment often offered harrowing unfamiliarity.

One of the greatest joys for Andrew throughout his medical school and PGY-1 years has been to learn to facilitate the dissemination of medical knowledge to patients, to make the unfamiliar more familiar, and to foster the connection between patient and provider. As a psychiatry resident, the first year of residency was a wonderful opportunity to develop foundational knowledge in many different fields – acute care, neurology, and internal medicine to name a few – and then share this knowledge in a compassionate manner with patients or in family meetings with their loved ones. Furthermore, Andrew’s psychiatric rotations taught him the importance of first sitting back and giving the patient the floor to tell their own story. This was particularly important in consult liaison psychiatry, where a holistic understanding about each patient’s narrative as well as their medical background was paramount to building the bonds of trust.

Looking forward, Andrew hopes to always keep earning that trust from future patients in his psychiatry residency.

Kelly Zerr

Kelly Zerr is a PGY3 Fraser Track psychiatry resident. Born and raised in Alberta, Kelly completed her Bachelor of Science at the University of Alberta. Growing up on an acreage, Kelly has always had an immense love for the outdoors and studied everything from oceanography to entomology. Her interest in psychiatry was sparked through volunteering at an outdoor camp for disadvantaged youth and leading arts and crafts at a Psychiatric Unit. This interest continued to flourish during her medical schooling at the University of British Columbia.

Amazing teaching, collegiality, and mentorship at the Royal Columbian Hospital motivated Kelly’s interest in the Fraser track and she has not looked back since! During her PGY1 year she was fortunate to have worked with Dr. Megan Roberts on Consult Liaison psychiatry. Kelly recalls Dr. Roberts as an exceptional role model, with compassion, patience, and clarity she fostered a wonderful learning environment. Kelly observed the opportunity that CL psychiatrists have to bridge the gap between psychiatry and medicine, creating a fascinating, multi-faceted understanding of individuals on the medical units. Furthermore, the fulfilling opportunity to collaborate and advocate within multidisciplinary teams, on diverse services, to optimize the patient’s path to recovery. Kelly’s experience on CL motivated her pursuit of related research in anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis.

Kelly is incredibly honored to have known Dr. Roberts and be a recipient of the Dr. Megan Roberts Honorary Scholarship. She extends many thanks to Dr. Robert’s family and the staff of Royal Columbian Hospital.