Felicia Lotsios, Photo Provided
One of Ignace’s very own has been named the 2021 Medical Student of the Year by the Ontario College of Family Physicians.
The honour goes to Felicia Lotsios, a fourth year student at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine in Thunder Bay.
“I’m just truly humbled and honoured to be recognized, as well as the amount of love and support that I’ve received extending beyond my community of Ignace.”
The award recognizes a medical student who is an emerging leader and advocate for family medicine and has made contributions to family medicine and or primary care in areas such as patient care, advocacy, community service, peer support, research, and education.
The future doctor says she always knew rural family medicine was her calling, noting the community and advocacy work she did in her youth.
Felicia Lotsios, Photo Provided
“I had an interest in helping people and the medicine and medical background aspect of that. The difference that can be made by pursuing a career in medicine and giving back to my community in a medical role was kind of my guiding factor. Mary Berglund Community Health Centre Hub provided me with a lot of support and opportunity to be familiar with rural health.”
Currently, Lotsios is completing an emergency medicine rotation at the Dryden Regional Health Centre.
“I’ve been really enjoying my time in Dryden, exploring local trails and what the community has to offer here. I’ve been to Eagle Lake for a visit, as well as some of the local businesses.”
After completing med school, Lotsios tells us what’s next.
“I plan to pursue a rural family medicine training and I’m applying to programs across Canada but my goal is over all, my heart is in Northwestern Ontario. There’s no doubt in my mind, I hope to return back in the future.”
Lotsios is also the first medical student to serve on the College of Family Physicians of Canada’s Social Accountability Working Group, which advises family physicians on addressing social accountability in their practices.
Passionate about preventive health and addiction medicine, she has volunteered with the Northwestern Health Unit on a tobacco advocacy campaign and created “Escape the Vape” through Compass North, a student-led health outreach and education clinic.
