IBD Nurse of the Year Award

The IBD Nurse of the Year Award recognizes a nurse who has demonstrated exceptional dedication to the clinical care of patients living with Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis.

This award recognizes nurses whose compassion, expertise, and unwavering commitment have made a profound and lasting impact on the lives of their patients and families.

The IBD Nurse of the Year is celebrated not only for their clinical excellence, but for the trust, gratitude, and admiration expressed by those they serve. Recipients exemplify the highest standards of patient-centered care, advocating tirelessly for their patients, offering guidance and support often beyond the normal “office” hours.

This award acknowledges those remarkable nurses whose steadfast devotion elevates the quality of care across the field of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) nursing.

The IBD Nurse of the Year recipient will be recognized at the annual Meeting of the Minds conference in Toronto.

Nominations for this award close on August 14, 2026, 5:00 pm ET. The recipient will be notified by the end of September.

Nomination Criteria

Open to IBD nurses in Canada
Nominations may be submitted by patients or fellow healthcare professionals

Past Recipients

2025 Karen Bairan, Vancouver, BC
2024 Shauna Hill, New Westminster, BC
2023 Amanda Swain, Vancouver, BC
2022 Heather Bélanger, Ottawa, ON
2021 Kelly Chavez, Montreal, QC
2020 Krista Uusoue, Toronto ON
2019 Barbara Currie, Halifax, NS
2018 Joan Heatherington, Calgary, AB

Nomination Form

Nominee's Name:
Nominee's Role/Title:
Nominee's Organization:
Nominee's Email:
Nominee's phone number:	( ) - Second three digits Last four digits
Name:	Name of person nominating an individual
Relationship to Nominee:	e.g. Patient
Organization:	Organization of person nominating an individual
Email:	Email of person nominating an individual
Phone number:	( ) - Second three digits Last four digits Phone number of person nominating an individual
Exceptional contributions to clinical care:	Describe how the nominee has exceptionally contributed to the delivery of clinical care to patients with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. (max 250 words)
Patient advocacy:	Describe how this individual has advocated for their patients and has been a hero for them, often going "above and beyond" what is expected from a nurse. (max 250 words)
Additional Information:	Please upload any information you believe will be of assistance to the Selection Panel as it considers this nomination. If you have any additional supporting materials (e.g. letters of support), you may attach them as a pdf document below. (max 250 words)
Upload support file 1:	Please upload any information you believe will be of assistance to the Selection Panel as it considers this nomination. If you have any additional supporting materials (e.g. letters of support), you may attach them as a pdf document below.
Upload support file 2:	Please upload any information you believe will be of assistance to the Selection Panel as it considers this nomination. If you have any additional supporting materials (e.g. letters of support), you may attach them as a pdf document here.

Contact

For questions about Crohn's and Colitis Canada research grants or awards, please contact:

Research Grants Administrator
Tel: (416) 920-5035 ext. 252
Email: research...crohnsandcolitis...ca

Quick FactFaits en bref

Canada has among the highest incidence rates of Crohn's and colitis in the world.
1 in 140 Canadians lives with Crohn’s or colitis.
Families new to Canada are developing these diseases for the first time.
Incidence of Crohn’s in Canadian kids under 10 has doubled since 1995.
People are most commonly diagnosed before age 30.

Other Areas of Interest

Awards