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Dr. Sara Dunsmore grew up in Dauphin, Manitoba where her parents still reside. She admits she stumbled into medicine without much planning or forethought. After completing her undergraduate degree in Engineering in Toronto she moved to Winnipeg for medical school and residency in internal medicine. After further nephrology training in Toronto, Dr. Dunsmore spent two years in Brandon before settling in Winnipeg.

Based primarily at Seven Oaks General Hospital, Dr. Dunsmore does a mixture of inpatient and outpatient nephrology, including peritoneal dialysis, home and in-centre hemodialysis, and hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis catheter insertions.

Frustrated with the bureaucracy that kept peritoneal dialysis patients from Nunavut far from home to receive life-saving treatment, Dr. Dunsmore lobbied to have the treatment accessible in the region of Kivalliq, Nunavut. The program, which is delivered at less than a third of the cost than when offered in Winnipeg, allows patients to be dialyzed close to home by Manitoba nurses licenced to work in Nunavut, while doctors in Manitoba monitor patients from afar. Her advocacy and tenacity made front page news of the Globe and Mail in December 2022.

Dr. Dunsmore enjoys the human connection of medicine and strives to make an impact in the lives of her patients. She feels most rewarded when she can clearly help people feel better and improve their quality of life. Colleague Dr. Navdeep Tangri says Dr. Dunsmore’s work and advocacy ​“goes above and beyond to break down the barriers to care that are often created by the bureaucracy we work in.” Dr. Dunsmore worries that our system lacks enough health care professionals to meet the current needs in Manitoba. She is also frustrated by how difficult it seems to be to enact change in the system.

While living in Brandon Dr. Dunsmore met her husband, with whom she shares 2 young boys aged 5 and 3. They all enjoy swimming and recently took a trip to Elkhorn resort to take advantage of the pool and waterslide. They are all eagerly anticipating their upcoming spring break trip to a water park.

Her favourite book series is The Wheel of Time, by Robert Jordan. Not being a ​“foodie”, Dr. Dunsmore enjoys a simple pizza, loves the movie the Princess Bride, and enjoys watching trashy TV with her husband.

Dr. Tunji Fatoye continues to follow the advice he received from his parents when he first started medical school 35 years ago in Lagos, Nigeria: ​“Remember, it’s not about you. Treat everyone the way you would want to be treated”. 

His full scope medical general practice in Nigeria was a great foundation for the career he has built since coming to Canada. As a Family Practitioner in Oncology (FPO) at CancerCare, he leads the education of practitioners in an urban family medicine teaching unit, manages detection and care of patients diagnosed with various malignancies and leads the primary care oncology program for the province. A patient-first practitioner, he is described as ​“friendly, approachable, and level-headed” by colleague Dr. Pam Skrabek.

While many physicians dream of becoming doctors from a young age, Dr. Fatoye ​“went into medicine out of curiosity and fell in love with the profession.” He treasures the relationships he has built over his career and says, ​“the best part of being a physician is caring for the patient in front of me first as a person, then helping to manage their ailment, illness or disease as best I can.” His career in medicine has touched him in ways he didn’t expect, and he feels his work as a family physician and now in oncology are a good fit for his personality. 

Dr. Fatoye worries about the looming shortage of physicians especially in primary care, particularly as it relates to physician burnout. He believes that investment in healthcare by various levels of government has been reactionary and investing in health care should be proactive and preventative. 

A home body, Dr. Fatoye likes spending time at home with his proudest achievement: his family. He loves a good steak and good company. To ground himself and gain perspective after a hard day, he listens to Christian gospel music. If you’re looking for him, you can find him on a pickle ball court with friends at 5am on weekdays. 

Born in South Korea and raised and educated in Saskatoon, Dr. Daisy Jihyung Ko moved to Manitoba in 2022 to complete her residency in plastic and reconstructive surgery. While passionate about plastics, she also has interests in surgical education, mentorship in medicine, and queer health advocacy.

In medical school Dr. Ko found purpose in participating in and creating community with other people who are traditionally underrepresented in medicine. She values finding commonality with other women interested in surgery and has advocated locally and nationally for changes to promote safer culture for queer learners and staff. She looks forward to using her ​“potstirring skills” to bolster these underrepresented communities in Manitoba.

Dr. Ko’s favourite part of residency is working with and learning from medical students. She has ​“very recent memories of feeling small and unhelpful as a medical student, but from the other side, the curiosity and eagerness of learners is critical to team dynamics.” Medical student Tegan Turner values learning from a bright and approachable resident physician like Dr. Ko and appreciates that Dr. Ko is ​“kind, funny, makes everyday work exciting and is always available for any questions.” An efficient and positive team member, Dr. Ko can approach difficult topics with humour and always provides thorough instruction on relevant topics. 

Despite being in a busy surgical residency, she has been extensively involved in the Doctors Manitoba mentorship program, going above and beyond to make her mentees feel comfortable and supported.

Dr. Ko has experienced micro- and macro-aggressions targeted at her ethnicity and gender but says she also has ​“experienced closeness and advocacy among my female and gender-diverse colleagues and felt the unique hope and inspiration of meeting Asian doctors to look up to.”

Dr. Ko loves ramen and with her busy schedule finds it difficult to eat anything else. She has sung in choirs her whole life and would love to return to singing. Each day, Dr. Ko and her family race to finish the New York Times sudoku puzzle. She is currently undefeated.

Medicine runs in Dr. Eric Lane​’s blood. Both of his brothers are physicians – one an ophthalmologist, the other an intensivist. From an early age, Dr. Lane’s grandfather, who was an ENT surgeon, encouraged him to pursue medicine. He grew up in Port Elizabeth, South Africa and attended medical school at the University of Cape Town. He completed a housemanship in Kimberly, SA, followed by six months of paediatric training at the Red Cross Children’s Hospital in Cape Town. With his mother being Norwegian, moving to Norway and receiving his medical licence there felt like a natural fit. He spent nine months there practicing medicine on an island off the west coast.

He has worked in Winkler at the C.W. Wiebe Medical Centre since his arrival in Canada in 1989. Being a rural family doctor has allowed Dr. Lane to participate in all aspects of hospital and clinic care. He finds the variety in his job both challenging and exciting. In his 33 years here, he has been involved in the care of many multi-generational families. He has delivered more than 750 babies, some born to patients he delivered decades ago. Practicing in a rural setting means he gets to see these families in the community. He is proud to have been involved in establishing a community-based clinic which grew from 6 doctors when he first started to more than 40 physicians today. 

Dr. Lane finds being a part of the clinical teaching unit and precepting family practice residents very rewarding. He is extensively involved in the training of learners in health care, including medical students, family medicine residents and physician assistants. Long-time colleague and friend Dr. Don Klassen calls Dr. Lane a ​‘consistent presence’ and says, ​“physicians like Eric often go unrecognized but are the heart of our profession!” He values Dr. Lane’s willingness to ​‘go beyond’ what most situations dictate.

Dr. Lane has significant concerns about the physician shortage that has made it ​“challenging to meet the needs of the patients and prevent physician burnout.” 

Married for 33 years, Dr. Lane and his wife have three adult children and two granddaughters, Olivia (3) and Laura (3 months) who live three hours away, south of the border in the U.S. He was thankful for facetime in the first few years of COVID, as the border closure kept him from meeting Olivia for 18 months.

In his down time, Dr. Lane enjoys running for exercise and relaxation, having run 12 marathons and countless half marathons. Some races have been destination runs, including the ​‘original marathon’ in Greece. He loves cooking, especially with the sous vide method, and has been enjoying experimenting with the smoker he received at Christmas. He loves a good glass of red wine, golfing and traveling, particularly to Norway and South Africa to visit family.