Advocating for Indigenous health and working with traditional knowledge holders, teachers and elders, Sarah Konwahahawi Rourke,听Ed.D. is one of our Family Medicine Heroes.
Indigenous Health and Community Outreach
Bio: Director of the Indigenous Health Professions Program (IHPP) and Faculty Lecturer in the Department of Family Medicine.
Year: Joined the Department in 2022.
Award category: Community
Nominated by Joelle Majeau,听Outreach Administrator for the Indigenous Health Professions Program (IHPP) colleague at the IHPP.
鈥淒r. Rourke works tirelessly to support Indigenous staff and students within the Department of Family Medicine. She goes above and beyond in the level of care and attention she gives to each individual she works with. She is passionate about Indigenous health, and is doing the important work of educating non-Indigenous staff and students about the barriers Indigenous people face when interacting with the health care system.鈥�
Congratulations Dr.聽 Rourke!
About Prof. Rourke
Sarah Konwahahawi Rourke who is聽Kanien鈥檏eh谩:ka from Akwesasne, leads the IHPP in the ongoing implementation and evolution of its long-term action plan to increase the number of Indigenous students in all health-related professional programs. Her work is based on needs and priorities identified by Indigenous communities, in particular within the 不良研究所聽R茅seau Universitaire Int茅gr茅 de Sant茅 et Services Sociaux.
Prof. Rourke brings more than 15 years鈥� experience to her role. She has worked with traditional knowledge holders, teachers and elders, and has extensive expertise in strategic planning, policy development and representing Indigenous communities. She has a Master鈥檚 in Educational Leadership from St. Lawrence University, Canton, NY. In 2021, she completed the Executive Leadership Doctoral Program in Social Justice at St. John Fisher College, Syracuse, NY.
Read more about Dr. Rourke here: /indig-health/article/conversation-sarah-konwahahaw...
The Department of Family Medicine is celebrating its 50th anniversary and over the course of this year, we will tell the stories of our people, our places and our partners who have worked with us to serve our communities by leading in Family Medicine education, research and care. As part of our celebrations, we are asking faculty, clinicians, researchers, residents, students, and admin staff to nominate heroes who have greatly helped shape the community. Please nominate using .