To be eligible for the Sandra Banner Student Award for Leadership (SBSAL), applicants must be undergraduate medical students or postgraduate medical residents/trainees enrolled full-time in a Canadian medical education program, and residing in Canada as Canadian citizens or permanent residents.
Each year, an undergraduate and a postgraduate winner will be selected based on the strength of their individual submissions and accompanying letters of support. Proposed leadership training and/or volunteer activities will be considered in the context of supporting the applicant’s submission. Please note that individuals who serve or have served on the CaRMS Board of Directors or any of its Committees are not eligible to apply for this award.
Application adjudication
Applications are adjudicated in March – April by the Awards Committee* of the Canadian Resident Matching Service (CaRMS). Winners are selected in May – June and all applicants are notified of the status of their submissions. Applications are evaluated based on the following criteria:
- Academic and work leadership experience
- Volunteer leadership activities with community impact
- Supervisor support
- Proposed leadership training and/or volunteer activity
For the 2025 SBSAL application cycle, the Committee’s evaluation, scoring, and selection criteria will align with the LEADS in a Caring Environment capabilities framework. The LEADS framework represents the key skills, behaviours, abilities, and knowledge required to lead in all sectors and levels of the health system. It presents a common understanding of what good leadership looks, feels, and sounds like across all levels of service provision in healthcare.
Winners are announced in June via CaRMS’ social media channels.
Winner’s report
Winners will be asked to submit a report to CaRMS within 30 days following completion of the activity for which this funding is awarded. The report should be 1 page long and include 1-2 photos related to the funded activity. If a winner does not complete the activity for which this funding is awarded, the winner will be required to repay the full amount of the award to CaRMS.
* Please note that members of the Awards Committee are not eligible to make nominations or provide letters in support of award submissions.
