Each year the Banting & Best Diabetes Centre (BBDC) presents one award to a diabetes educator who has demonstrated outstanding efforts and achievements in his/her role as a diabetes educator. This award is meant to recognize those who educate at the patient/client and community/professional levels. Candidates must be nominated for the award by a health care professional. The award will be presented to the recipient at the Toronto Diabetes Association Annual Meeting to be held in late April/early May 2012 at the Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto.

• The nominee must be a full-time or part-time diabetes educator or health care professional employed by a University of Toronto-affiliated institution. (See appendix below for complete list of eligible institutions.)
• Eligible nominees include full-time or part-time nurses, dietitians, physicians and other allied health professionals
• The candidate must have a minimum 3 years of full-time or part-time experience as a diabetes educator.
• The nominee must have direct contact with patients/clients.

• Previous recipients of the award cannot be nominated for another 5 years. Previous award recipients are:
  2005 - Helen Jones, Mount Sinai Hospital
  2006 - Marcia Frank, Hospital For Sick Children
  2007 - Anna Brundage, Women's College Hospital
  2008 - Lynn Baughan, Toronto General Hospital
  2009 - Carolyn Lawton, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre
  2010 - Rose Dumsha, North York General Hospital - Branson Division

Nominators who are uncertain if their candidate would be considered eligible for an award should contact the BBDC prior to submitting a nomination form.

The following criteria will be taken into account when reviewing nominations:

• Direct impact on patient/client care
• Organizational or community improvements
• Development of innovative or visionary diabetes care programs
• Impact at the local, regional, and national level (provincial or national impact is not an absolute requirement for receiving the award)
• Advocate for best clinical practice
• Opinions of peers; role model qualities
• Leader in educating other health care professionals

The nominee can, but is not required to excel in all categories above. It is not necessary for the nominee to have a publication record.

One award valued at $1,000.  Award use is unrestricted.

The nomination must be submitted by a health care professional.

New Nomination Procedure:
If the candidate has never been nominated for this award, or if it has been more than three years since the candidate was first nominated, submit a completed nomination form and requested attachments to the Banting & Best Diabetes Centre by the deadline date. Submit only one nomination form per candidate. Please contact the nominee to inform him/her of the intent to nominate, to obtain the necessary information to support the nomination, and to obtain the candidate's up-to-date CV.

Download the 2011 Diabetes Educator of the Year Nomination Form (PDF)

Re-nomination Procedure:
Past nominations are kept on file in the BBDC for three years after the candidate's initial nomination. Those who wish to re-nominate a candidate are not required to submit a new nomination form if the candidate was nominated within the last three years. (Example: If a candidate was initially nominated for the 2007 award year, the nominator is not required to submit another nomination form for the 2008, 2009 or 2010 award years, but is required to submit a nomination form for the 2011 award year.) Those who wish to re-nominate a candidate must submit the following by the deadline date:

1. A letter indicating the intent to re-nominate the candidate. The letter must include the nominator's name, professional title, complete mailing address, phone number, and e-mail address. If applicable, highlight any new diabetes-related achievements or activities that the candidate has been involved in since the initial nomination.
2. The candidate's complete and UPDATED CV. Please contact the nominee to inform him/her of the intent to re-nominate, to obtain the necessary information to support the re-nomination, and to obtain the candidate's up-to-date CV.

If the nominator is uncertain when the candidate was first nominated, please contact the BBDC.

Nominations must be received by 5 p.m., November 22, 2011.
Late or incomplete nominations will not be considered.

All nominators, nominees, and the award recipient will be notified in March 2012.

Contact the Banting & Best Diabetes Centre:
Phone: (416) 978-4656     Fax: (416) 978-4108
E-mail: diabetes.bbdc@utoronto.ca