Northern Medical Program medical student Sukhmeet Singh Sachal has been honoured with the 2022 Sandra Banner Student Award for Leadership (SBSAL) from the Canadian Resident Matching Service (CaRMS).

The annual award recognizes the exceptional leadership of one undergraduate medical student and one postgraduate medical trainee. Each of this year’s recipients will received up to $3,000 in leadership development funding.

Sachal, a student in the NMP's Class of 2023, is an award-winning social entrepreneur, speaker, author and humanitarian. As a UBC medical student, he serves as the Health and Wellness Ambassador for the Canadian Medical Association, and a member of the Council of Health Promotion for Doctors of BC. He is the co-founder of Break The Divide Foundation, an international organization which connects youth globally with one another to discuss climate change and mental health, and drive local solutions to global problems.

He is also the founder of the Sikh Health Foundation, which aims to improve health interventions in South Asian communities across Canada. During the pandemic, this charity made waves globally for creating awareness about COVID-19 in a culturally effective manner. Through his advocacy, research and innovations, he received $175,000 in funding to help bring an end to COVID-19 and inform policy changes at the national level.

Sachal was named as one of Canada’s Emerging Leaders, recognized by Dr. Theresa Tam in helping keep Canadians safe, and was recently honored as one of ten COVID-19 Commonwealth Youth Heroes worldwide.

“I dedicate this award to my family, friends, mentors and all the physicians and allied health workers who have helped shape me into the person I am today. Leadership is an ever-evolving journey and I hope that this award can inspire youth to use innovative thinking to help drive change in their local and global communities,” says Sachal. “As I continue in the field of medicine, I hope to continue working towards improving surgical care and access in rural and remote areas through a community-based holistic approach.”