ACGME International Honors 2023 Awardees

03 November 2022, Chicago, Illinois — Recognizing individuals who have played an integral role in pursuing excellence in their graduate medical education (GME) programs, ACGME International (ACGME-I) is proud to announce the 2023 ACGME International Award recipients. Winners will be honored at the ACGME Annual Educational Conference in February 2023, to take place in Nashville, Tennessee.

“These recipients embody the mission of ACGME-I and are incredible assets to GME. They are role models in their fields, promoting high-quality physician education and patient safety, and demonstrate the very best in GME around the world,” said President and Chief Executive Officer James A. Arrighi, MD.

For 2023, ACGME-I is recognizing one individual each in its three award categories. These are:

Physician Leader
This award honors physicians who lead educational activities and promote values that underpin ACGME-I accreditation. The 2023 recipient is:

Hilal Ali Al Sabti, MD, MSc, FRCSC
Minister of Health, Sultanate of Oman
Former Executive President, Oman Medical Specialty Board (OMSB)
Oman

Dr. Hilal Al Sabti served as the executive president of Oman Medical Specialty Board from 2015 to 2022. He led the development of 19 residency programs, 16 of which are ACGME-I-accredited, and six local fellowship programs coordinating with Oman’s Ministry of Health to assess the health care needs of the country. His proficient leadership has directed OMSB to successfully achieve various significant milestones for the advancement of GME in Oman. Dr. Al Sabti is a renowned cardiothoracic surgeon at Sultan Qaboos University Hospital in Oman. Recently, he was appointed as the Minister of Health in the Sultanate of Oman.

Physician Educator
This award honors program directors and faculty members directly involved with teaching residents and fellows and caring for patients. The 2023 recipient is:

Kang Sim, MBBS, MMed (Psychiatry), MS-HPEd, FAMS
Programme Director
National Healthcare Group (NHG) Psychiatry Residency Programme
Singapore

In his position, Dr. Sim has mentored and trained psychiatrists with the utmost professionalism, compassion, and empathy. He has created a well-sought-after residency program in Singapore, in which residents have autonomy and support with a focus on competency-based education and training, evidence-based medicine, and patient-centered care. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Dr. Sim swiftly took action to ensure residents were able to meet their learning objectives, and worked hard to ensure resident wellness at the same time.

Staff
This award honors staff members who have provided extraordinary service to the educational process, to the residents or fellows, and to meeting the ACGME-I Requirements. The 2023 recipient is:

Fatima Msheik El Khoury, PhD, MBA, C-TAGME
Senior GME Program Coordinator
Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine
American University of Beirut Medical Center
Lebanon

Dr. Msheik El Khoury has been an invaluable member of the Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine at the American University of Beirut Medical Center in Lebanon since 2015. She continually goes above and beyond to implement new projects benefitting the residency program, and seamlessly handles the operations of the program. Dr. Msheik El Khoury completed her PhD in health services while maintaining her role and dedication to GME

The Call for Nominations for the 2024 ACGME-I Awards will open in early 2023. Learn more about the ACGME-I Awards program on the ACGME-I website.

ACGME International (ACGME-I) is an independent 501(c)(3) organization currently providing accreditation services to 180 programs in 20 institutions across 11 countries. Its mission is to improve health care by assessing and advancing the quality of resident physicians’ education through accreditation. ACGME-I seeks to improve global health by ensuring that physicians who care for individuals are well-prepared in all aspects required of their chosen specialty.