Department Spotlight - Meet Sarah Bakhit
An important part of the Department of Medical Imaging is its esteemed fellowship program that attracts candidates from around the world. The Medical Imaging team member steering the successful program is Sarah Bakhit, Diagnostic Radiology Fellowship Program Coordinator.
Originally from Sudan, Sarah spent her formative years prior to post-secondary education in the United Arab Emirates before moving to the United States of America to complete her B.S. in Business Administration at Eastern Connecticut State University. Once she moved to Canada, Sarah began her over 25-year career in banking, working at Royal Bank of Canada and Toronto Dominion (TD) Bank, among others.
Before moving to medical education, Sarah worked at the Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario, focusing on dispute resolutions. “As much as I enjoyed working with the public, disputes were not the environment for me,” she recalls. “Once I started in Medical Education at SickKids, I quickly realized that getting to work with the fellows and residents was where I really thrived.”
In 2013, Sarah started in the Department of Diagnostic Imaging at the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) as the Residency and Fellowship Program Administrator where she oversaw trainee schedules, clinical rotations, teaching rounds, finances, events and accreditation for the Postgraduate Medical Education (PGME) Office and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, among others. While her plate was always full, Sarah’s commitment to her role stemmed from the connection she had to the trainees.
“Getting to celebrate their joys and successes, listen to their struggles, support them through their education and meet their beautiful families was truly the best part of my job,” Sarah says. “I treasured every moment I spent with my dear fellows and consider them my extended family.”
The passion Sarah had for her trainees made her a perfect fit for the University of Toronto’s Department of Medical Imaging working on the Diagnostic Radiology Fellowship Program, the largest such program in Canada. In her role as Diagnostic Radiology Fellowship Program Coordinator, Sarah oversees 140 fellows in 14 different subspecialties across four University Hospitals in Toronto. She manages everything from fellowship applications, appointments and reappointments to POWER rotations, end of year requirements and completing trainee verifications. Sarah also participates in the interview and selection process as well as assists in filling vacancies and liaising with hospitals and the PGME office.
Despite her heavy workload and unprecedented challenges of starting her role at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 – including additional medical requirements, quarantine protocols, closed borders, lockdowns and outbreaks – Sarah persevered through the ups and downs with a little help from her predecessors.
“I’m extremely grateful to Amy Shea and Ayethida Walker for supporting me in the transition to my new role,” she says. “They really helped me overcome the constant pandemic challenges and set me up for success.”
Since beginning her role, the fellowship program has grown from 110 fellows to 140 fellows in the 2023-24 academic year. This extra challenge has only pushed Sarah’s drive to make the program run as efficiently and seamless as possible. From creating a robust FAQ section for applicants, developing new processes and timelines for new fellowship positions, collaborating with IT on a new fellowship application system and managing documentation for Fellowship External Reviews, Sarah is constantly working on new ways to better run the program.
“As the fellowship program continues to grow, I’m excited to continue finding new ways to improve as we take on more fellows,” she explains. “And now that the pandemic and lockdowns are hopefully behind us, I’m looking forward to meeting the fellows in person and putting faces to all my files!”
