Mentorship Matters October 2022: Dr. Sharon Walmsley

October's Mentorship Matters column features Dr. Sharon Walmsley, recipient of the 2022 Robert Hyland Award for Excellence in Mentorship. Through the voices of her mentees below, you'll hear about Sharon's approach to mentorship through the theme of "feeding it forward", passing learnings and opportunities forward to the next generation of internists. For Sharon, her mentorship journey began with Dr. Robert Hyland, as one of her first mentors and allies:

“Bob Hyland was one of my initial mentors when I was an intern at the Wellesley hospital.  He and I saw the first case of HIV in Toronto together at that time, and his support and encouragement helped to change my career trajectory for life. I would be proud to receive such an award in his honour.” - Dr. Sharon Walmsley, Recipient, 2022 Robert Hyland Award for Excellence in Mentorship

Whether it’s giving me a much-needed pep talk before my first week of service as a staff physician, providing feedback on dozens of research applications or helping me figure out how to navigate my career as a new parent, Dr. Walmsley has helped me accomplish things I didn’t know I was capable of. Seeing the way she’s paved the road for female physicians like myself, working tirelessly to improve patient care while creating opportunities for trainees to succeed and advance their careers has truly inspired me.” - Dr. Alice Zhabokritsky, Clinician Investigator, University Health Network

“Sharon has been a trusted source for neutral, unbiased guidance. When I was choosing between community and academic medicine Sharon encouraged and empowered me to take a more holistic view about what I wanted from my career and how it would balance with the rest of my life. She was able to help me realize my own values and priorities. What’s so powerful about the incredible gift Sharon has given to each of us is its multiplier effect: we all aim to be the role model to others as she has been to us as we understand how important her mentorship was to our journeys.” - Dr. Melody Ren, ID Staff, Southlake Medical Health Centre