Dr. Rachel Bethune, President
Rachel is thrilled to be this year’s PARIM President. She is a PGY-3 Resident in Pediatrics. Originally from Calgary, she completed her Master of Public Health at the University of Saskatchewan before returning to the University of Calgary for medical school. Last year, Rachel was elected to the PARIM Board of Directors as a Medicine Group Representative, and served as Chair of the Governance Committee. She reflects that joining PARIM in her PGY-1 year was one of the best decisions as it not only allowed her to join a strong community engaged in resident advocacy, but to meet and learn from residents across specialties and across the province.
In addition to the intersection between child health and public health, Rachel is particularly interested in elevating resident voices, creating opportunities for residents, and strengthening supports available. She wants to thank everyone for all their hard work and dedication to patients through the COVID-19 pandemic in the face of the added stress and challenges it placed on residents and the system.
You can reach her at [email protected].
Dr. Sabrina Lee, Vice-President (she/her)
Sabrina is excited to be serving her peers as this year’s Vice-President at PARIM. Originally from Gatineau (Quebec), Sabrina completed her undergraduate degree and medical school at the University of Ottawa. Moving to Winnipeg in 2017 for her residency training, she is now in her 4th year of Obstetrics & Gynecology. With a strong interest in reproductive rights, she supplemented her clinical training with the Clinician Investigator Program (CIP) during which she completed an integrated curriculum at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (MSc Sexual and Reproductive Health Research) and the University of Toronto (MSc Health Services Research).
Passionate about social justice and health equity, Sabrina believes in the continuous growth we can achieve in changing the system to better serve the people within it. Occupying a unique position within our system, residents represent the present and the future of healthcare. As the 2021-2022 Peri-operative Delegate, Sabrina has greatly enjoyed representing and advocating for residents so as to ensure that we continue to have our contributions recognized and our interests considered at every opportunity.
Outside of work, Sabrina loves spending time with her pets, enjoying good food with friends, playing volleyball or cycling, watching the latest television series, and travelling locally or abroad.
Thank you all for your diligence and hard work! Please reach out to Sabrina any time at [email protected]. She looks forward to working with all of you!
Dr. Kaien Gu, Treasurer
Kaien is a PGY-4 in Adult Rheumatology. He is thrilled to be taking on the Treasurer portfolio and continuing PARIM’s longstanding tradition of fiscal responsibility. Despite the pandemic’s impacts on healthcare and beyond, Kaien aims to continue advancing PARIM’s financial position while ensuring that PARIM has adequate resources to support its mission of empowering residents in providing exemplary patient care and championing their personal and professional development and well-being. His involvement in PARIM dates back to the beginning of his residency as a member of PARIM’s Finance, Audit, and Risk Committee and has continued to grow year by year.
Originally from Winnipeg, Kaien is no stranger to medical education, healthcare, and residency in Manitoba, having completed both medical school and his Core Internal Medicine training in Winnipeg. He has also spent significant periods to date both east and west of Winnipeg.
Beyond his duties through PARIM and residency, Kaien enjoys trying new restaurants, riding his Peloton bike (a necessity due to the former!), and playing with his two cats. He looks forward to addressing your questions, hearing your ideas, or just chatting with you. You can reach him at [email protected]
Dr. Rueben George, Secretary
Reuben is excited to be a part of PARIM this year as secretary. He is a PGY-1 Resident in Obstetrics and Gynaecology. Originally from Toronto, he traveled to Australia and completed his medical school at James Cook University. Throughout medical school, he advocated for international medical students and medical graduates on various issues ranging from increasing access to rural placements for international medical students to improving the odds for international medical students to secure internships following their graduation. Following graduation, Reuben has worked throughout Australia gaining significant experience in rural and remote health as well as indigenous health. During this time, he advocated to improve healthcare access to these areas while also providing obstetrics and gynaecology care.
Now as he returns to Canada as a PGY-1 resident, Reuben hopes to bring the same passion to advocate for our residents.
While not in the hospital, Reuben is an avid Toronto Raptors fan and loves to play basketball and volleyball in his free time. He looks forward to this role and hopes to help in any shape he can.
You can reach him at [email protected]
Dr. Joshua Aquin, Past President
Dr. Aquin is a PGY5 Resident in Public Health and Preventive Medicine, having also completed Family Medicine training in 2020. He had the honour of serving 2 terms as President of PARIM in 2020/21 and 2021/22, and is excited to step into the Past-President role this year! Josh is consistently inspired by the hard work and dedication of his colleagues. He strongly believes that resident doctors provide a valuable, essential service to Manitobans, and is committed to advocating for civility and resident wellness across all working and learning environments. Don’t hesitate to reach out to him at [email protected]. Your voice matters!