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SOGC Annual Clinical Meeting, Vancouver, June 22-27, 2006

Maternal Fetal Medicine pioneer awarded SOGC’s prestigious President’s Award

Vancouver – For his tremendous lifetime contributions in establishing the discipline of Maternal Fetal Medicine in Canada, Dr. Sid Effer will be awarded the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada’s (SOGC) prestigious President’s Award today. The president’s award, presented annually at the discretion of the current SOGC President, is the highest award offered by the SOGC. It is given to a Canadian healthcare professional who has substantially enriched the lives of Canadians and the specialty of obstetrics/gynaecology throughout his or her career.

“It is a great honour to present this award to Dr. Effer,” said Dr. Michael Helewa, President of the SOGC. “As a professor a doctor and a role model, Dr. Effer has substantially improved the way we practice medicine. There is no doubt that his efforts throughout his career continue to resonate today, in the form of the improved health of Canadian women and children.”

Throughout his career, Dr. Effer’s dedication to his work and to the evolution of ob/gyn care has made him a role model among his colleagues. Under the tutelage of such notable physicians as Dr. Robert Kinch and the renowned Professor Roberto Caldeyro-Barcia in Uruguay, Dr. Effer amassed substantial experience and expertise. It was this expertise that established Dr. Effer as one of Canada’s foremost scientific minds in the emerging fields of perinatology and Maternal Fetal Medicine.

Dr. Effer’s zest for knowledge and research has taken him across the globe. He has presented research findings at the Kremlin, and taken associate professorships in Hong Kong. On sabbatical in New Zealand, Dr. Effer witnessed the first groundbreaking studies of using intrauterine steroids to accelerate fetal lung development in sheep.

Dr. Effer was also instrumental in the early development of the Society’s International Women’s Health Program. In 1998 Dr. Effer participated in a needs assessment exercise for the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics’ (FIGO) Canada-Uganda Save the Mothers Initiative, a program designed to reduce the number of Ugandan women dying during childbirth. He has also been an active participant in the SOGC’s Partnership Program designed to improve emergency obstetrical care in Guatemala.

The President’s Award will be presented to Dr. Effer at an Awards Ceremony at the Westin Bayshore Resort and Marina in Vancouver. The award ceremony is to take place as part of the SOGC’s 62nd Annual Meeting.

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About The SOGC:

The SOGC is one of Canada’s oldest national specialty organizations. Established in 1944, the Society’s mission is to promote excellence in the practice of obstetrics and gynaecology and to advance the health of women through leadership, advocacy, collaboration, outreach and education. The SOGC represents obstetricians/gynaecologists, family physicians, nurses, midwives and allied health professionals in the field of sexual reproductive health.

 

Last Updated April 19, 2007