REGINA — Dr. Nasim Alibhai has touched the lives of thousands of patients during her career in family medicine, which spans more than 40 years, including 37 in Regina.
Dr. Alibhai is the recipient of the 2024 Saskatchewan Medical Association’s (SMA) Physician of the Year Award.
The award was presented on Friday, Oct. 25, during a ceremony held in conjunction with the
SMA’s 2024 Fall Representative Assembly in Regina.
Dr. Alibhai began practising in Regina in 1987 and works at the Northgate Medical Clinic. She is described as a gifted physician who connects with her patients with grace and ease.
“I am deeply humbled and profoundly grateful to receive this recognition,” Dr. Alibhai said. “It is an honour that fills me with immense joy, not just because it acknowledges my work, but because it comes from esteemed colleagues, peers, and the patients who have been at the heart of my life’s mission.”
Dr. Alibhai was born and raised in Tanzania, went to a convent school in Dar-es-salaam, and was awarded a scholarship to pursue medicine at the Pahlavi University in Shiraz, Iran. After graduating, she was matched for an internship at the University of Manitoba. She started practice in Roblin, Man., 80 kilometres east of Yorkton, where she practised family medicine and did obstetrics, emergency medicine and anesthesia for minor procedures. Dr. Alibhai got married in 1987 and moved to Regina that year.
“Thinking back, it was a scary thought pursuing family medicine in a rural area without backup,” she said. “The closest referral was Yorkton, three-quarters of an hour away. It seemed like a lifetime when transporting a baby in distress. It was a challenge.”
Dr. Alibhai considers the SMA Physician of the Year Award as recognition of her lifetime commitment to family medicine, “a journey that has spanned over 40 years of dedication, compassion, and service. It is profound acknowledgement of the countless hours, the sleepless nights and the unwavering resolve to stand by my patients through every twist and turn of their health care journeys.”
An award nominator notes Dr. Alibhai is well-loved by her patients and truly deserves the honour: “I am one among thousands who have been touched by her compassion. This is exemplified by the generations of patients' photos covering her visiting room walls, including plaques of her sponsorship of children and community groups. Dr. Alibhai is among the greats in my book.”
Another patient had just one short comment: "Who can really say they love their doctor? I can."
Dr. Alibhai calls it a “privilege” to have made a difference in her patients’ lives, and not just medically.
“My role has extended far beyond that of a doctor,” she said. “I have been a companion, a confidante and, at times, a part of their families. By caring for patients across generations, I have come to understand the profound impact that true, personalized care can have. It is the kind of care that offers hope in the darkest of times and celebrates the triumphs, however small, along the way.”
Dr. Alibhai says she believes human connections are the essence of family medicine. These connections “transcend the boundaries of conventional medicine” by allowing family physicians to be present during some of the most difficult moments of their patients’ lives.
“It is a calling to serve humanity in its most vulnerable states – to provide care, guidance, and unwavering support from birth to end-of-life, irrespective of race, gender, or socioeconomic status,” she said. “In family medicine, every patient encounter is an opportunity to affirm our shared humanity, to serve with grace, and to practice medicine in its most holistic form.”
Dr. Alibhai dedicates the 2024 SMA Physician of the Year Award to her father, a driving force in her career.
“I hope that this legacy of service continues to inspire future generations of physicians to lead with empathy, to serve with integrity, and to never lose sight of the promise we make to care for humanity.”
The SMA also recognized outstanding achievement in leading Saskatchewan’s medical community by presenting three leadership awards. for more on the Leadership Award recipients. They are:
- 2024 SMA Physician Leader of the Year: Dr. Marilyn Baetz
- 2024 SMA Resident Leader of the Year: Dr. Adedamola Bello
- 2024 SMA Student Leader of the Year: Brock Weston
The SMA also presented the 2024 SMA Service Award, which recognizes contributions to the SMA on committees, the board or in other activities that support the SMA and its mission. The recipient is Dr. Peter Butt. for more on Dr. Butt and the Service Award.
- Submitted by SMA
