Ontario’s Anesthesiologists’ Distinguished Service Award

Do you know an Ontario anesthesiologist who goes Beyond the Mask to provide significant service to our profession? Consider nominating them for Ontario’s Anesthesiologists' Distinguished Service Award! Presented during the Ontario Anesthesia Meeting, our Distinguished Service Award is the highest honour our organization can bestow.

Our Distinguished Service Award recognizes anesthesiologists who have provided significant service to the promotion of anesthesiology and/or its respective subspecialties in the Province of Ontario by having had an active role in:

• Clinical Service or Excellence

• Administrative and Leadership

• Education and Teaching

• Research and Scientific Work

• Humanitarian and Altruism

To be eligible for nomination, the candidate must be an anesthesiologist who has been an active member in good standing in the Section on Anesthesiology in the OMA or has practiced anesthesiology in Ontario for a minimum of 10 years.

Nominations are now closed for 2025.

2025 Distinguished Service Award Recipient

Dr. Joel Parlow from Queen’s University

The Ontario’s Anesthesiologists’ Distinguished Service Award (DSA) is our highest honour, recognizing members who demonstrate exceptional leadership in our specialty. Few physicians embody that standard as naturally as Dr. Joel Parlow, the recipient of the 2025 DSA.

His colleagues nominated him for many reasons, including having a career that “...was one of empowering and inspiring others, and ensuring the future of our specialty, clinically, academically, and administratively.” Although Dr. Parlow retired from clinical practice in the spring of 2025, he continues on in his research and global health education initiatives.

While Dr. Parlow is as closely linked to Queen’s University as limestone is to Kingston, his medical journey started at the University of Toronto. Following an internship at McGill, he moved to Kingston, where he completed his anesthesia residency at Queen’s and then a Master’s in Pharmacology and Toxicology. He would go to complete a fellowship in cardiovascular clinical research in Lyon, France, and training in Perioperative Transesophageal Echocardiography in New Zealand. Extensive travel to teach anesthesia worldwide would follow, but Dr. Parlow always returned to Queen’s, where he shaped the department right down to its name.

A Leader in Administration
Dr. Parlow joined the Queen’s faculty over three decades ago and went on to teach in both the Department of Anesthesiology and the Department of Biomedical and Molecular Science.

In 2008, he began an 11-year appointment as head of what was then called the Department of Anesthesiology, which he soon rechristened the “Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine.” It was an apt renaming that reflected the department’s evolving role in medicine and put it in sync with the world-class research it was producing, including contributions by Dr. Parlow.

This act also showed how Dr. Parlow led his department: with vision, precision, and progressive thoughtfulness.

Respected for his collaborative and inclusive leadership, he has a remarkable talent for recognizing potential in others, even when they doubt themselves. He has supported colleagues and nurtured their development, advancing excellence in clinical care, education, and research. He has also played pivotal roles on dozens of hospital, university, and national committees, where he established himself as a leader skilled in empowering and inspiring others.

A Leader in Research and Clinical Work
Like any respected administrator, Dr. Parlow’s reputation is built on excellence in hands-on research and clinical work. Recognized as a skilled cardiac and general anesthesiologist, Dr. Parlow is also held up as a model for the highest standards of care.

Dr. Parlow is never satisfied with the status quo, and because of that, he is often the first to make the effort to innovate. A great example of this was during the pandemic, when he was instrumental in introducing virtual care for postoperative patients in the Kingston region.

As a result of this forward-thinking approach to medicine, Dr. Parlow’s research contributions to the field of anesthesiology include over 100 peer-reviewed publications and as a co-investigator on multiple CIHR-funded studies.

Notably, he served as co-chair of the group that established the 2017 Canadian Cardiovascular Society Perioperative Guidelines, and co-authored landmark trials such as POISE-I, POISE-2 and POISE-3 that, respectively, studied the use of perioperative metoprolol, aspirin and tranexamic acid, and were published in The Lancet and the New England Journal of Medicine.  

Dr. Parlow is currently involved in various other research projects, including those exploring prehabilitation, non-invasive continuous postoperative vital signs monitoring, and knowledge translation in resource-limited countries. 

His contributions have also led to roles as a reviewer for granting agencies and multiple high-impact anesthesia journals including Anesthesiology, and Anesthesia & Analgesia, and serving on the editorial board of the Canadian Journal of Anesthesia.

His work has directly influenced perioperative cardiovascular care and pain management practices across this country and has a daily influence on Canadian anesthesia practices. 

A Leader in Global Medical Education
Dr. Parlow has also had a transformational impact on global medical education, particularly in East and Central Africa, where he has mentored and inspired the next generation of global health leaders.

Following the 1994 Rwandan genocide, there was one remaining Rwandan anesthesiologist in the country of 10 million people! In 2006, the Canadian Anesthesiologists’ Society International Education Foundation (CASIEF) helped establish that country’s first anesthesia residency program. Having been inspired by Canadian colleagues who had worked in Rwanda, and after attending dynamic speeches by humanitarians such as Stephen Lewis and Romeo Dallaire, Dr. Parlow became involved with CASIEF in 2008, when he made the first of many teaching trips to Rwanda. 

Dr. Parlow has also been a force in Ethiopia. Since 2018, he has led the Queen's–Haramaya University Global Health Partnership, supporting that school’s postgraduate program in anesthesiology. Under his leadership, Haramaya's anesthesia residency program has now graduated two cohorts of anesthesiologists and is currently training 15 more. Reflecting on this impact, Dr. Sirak Worku, Chief of Anesthesiology at Haramaya University, writes:

"Joel has played a foundational role in helping us establish the anesthesiology residency training program in Harar. His mentorship, guidance, and unwavering support have been transformative. We have had two new generations of anesthesiologists graduated now, and this has brought a lasting impact to patients in Ethiopia.”

When it comes to global medical education, Dr. Parlow’s hallmark is establishing collaborative partnerships built around capacity building, sustainable academic development, and learner exchanges. He has consistently championed the inclusion of Queen’s residents in international education programs, and participants in these programs have described them as transformative professional experiences. He and colleagues also established the first Knowledge Translation Fellowship for Rwandan anesthesiologists, who then return to their home country to create new clinical and educational programs. 

As an exceptional leader, Dr. Parlow understands that long-term planning is essential for making a lasting difference. Having been a member of the CASIEF Board of Trustees since 2009, he stepped forward to chair CASIEF from 2021 to 2024. He is still active with CASIEF as the lead for the Haramaya site.

A Leader in Teaching
Dr. Parlow’s skill at nurturing the next generation of anesthesiologists also thrived during his time at Queen’s University. He has shaped scores of residents, students and colleagues, many of whom have pursued academic careers advancing Canadian anesthesiology. Dr. Parlow is known for instilling a passion for global medical education, inspiring many of his trainees to contribute worldwide, while other graduates were inspired to take on leadership positions across Canada.

One nominator wrote, “Dr. Parlow doesn’t just teach medicine; he teaches perspective, empathy, and how to make the world just a little bit better.”

Another testament to his impact as a teacher, as well as on global health, was present at his recent retirement celebration at Queen’s. One of Dr. Parlow’s first Rwandan mentees, Dr. Gaston Nyirigira, now head of postgraduate medical education at a new medical school in Kigali, traveled to Canada to attend this event and express his gratitude at the transformative impact of Dr. Parlow’s mentorship.

Dr. Parlow’s career is one that exemplifies outstanding service across clinical care, education, research, leadership, and global humanitarianism. He had inspired generations of anesthesiologists, advanced the practice of our specialty in Canada and abroad, and left an enduring legacy.

On behalf of Ontario’s Anesthesiologists, we thank him for his extraordinary contributions and are proud to present Dr. Parlow with the 2025 Distinguished Service Award.

Past Recipients