Dr. Sam's Health project mission is to promote health and self-improvement through research and education.
There is an ocean of information on health, training, nutrition and well-being. In fact, there is so much data and the key facts are at times so distorted that it is virtually impossible for a non-professional to form an accurate and realistic approach to their living. As an MD and a researcher I have the skill set necessary to find and to properly analyze these data and to give you the answers to the questions that are important for you. At the same time, as a mental health professional I often find myself in a situation when I don't feel fully comfortable giving advice on nutrition and talking about physique as there is a lot of information that is either not strictly medical or not fully endorsed by mainstream medical regulating bodies and professional audiences such as low-carbohydrate diets or intermittent fasting. On top of that, there are millions of people who seek professional advice and guidance and it is simply impossible to consult them all individually. Even if I provide an excellent individual consultation to hundreds of people I will barely scratch the surface.
At Dr.Sam's Health we make a commitment to address this problem:
We hope that such approach will help you to stay informed and to achieve your health and physique goals.
In 2018 I received a very pleasant surprise – the Best Lecturer Award for teaching a course on multidisciplinary aspects of addiction at the University of Toronto. I've been facilitating this course for several years at the moment, and I was doing my best to nicely wrap up my clinical expertise and lots of academic, theoretical aspects of addiction into a very concise and memorable course. I was absolutely delighted to learn that my students ranked me as the best lecturer - a true honour and pleasure for an educator!
Left to right: Dr.Michael Chaiton, Course Director; Dr.Nigel Turner, a fellow Best Lecturer and an excellent researcher; Dr.Andriy V.Samokhvalov
In 2016 I was honoured with an opportunity to present on TEDx platform. My talk was based on my expertise in treatment of depression concurrent with alcohol use disorder and on my work on the DA VINCI project. Undoubtedly, it was one amazing event that allowed for effacing the boundaries between clinical psychiatry, academic research and the general public. I enjoyed it a lot and I had a number of opportunities to talk to the event's attendees who spoke about their personal stories and shared their views on our health care system.
In 2015 I became a principal investigator for the DA VINCI project – we have received a provincial grant from ARTIC program to fund scaling up of a new treatment model for concurrent depression and alcohol use disorder, something I've been working on for a while by that moment. It was a tremendous achievement and a great opportunity to extend this treatment model to multiple locations across Ontario. Over the course of 22 months I was meeting with my colleagues in Academic and Community Hospitals and Family Health Teams. I've been teaching, advocating, collaborating... I can definitely say that this project required all my dedication and professionalism to see it through. And I and my team made it happen! We provided almost 400 patients with highly comprehensive treatment over the course of the project and even more after it was completed.
Making an acceptance speech at the HQO headquarters.
I received this award at the annual reception and dinner. What a day!
In 2014 I received a Physician of the Year Award as a token of recognition of the impact of my clinical work, my support of education and innovation and for translating my research findings and academic expertise into clinical practice. It was a truly glorious moment for me! Just several years prior to that I wasn't even sure if I would be able to come to Canada, let alone being blessed with an opportunity to practice medicine so soon and receiving such an award! This meant a lot to me then, and it means a lot to me now. Moments like this are remarkable as they allow you to step away from your daily work and to reflect on you past, present and future.
It's my 10th Anniversary on April 29th, 2018 and I still remember the day when I became a landed immigrant. It was my very first visit to Canada – my far away land of new life and new opportunities. Despite my aspirations and excitement being very high, I had no clue what to expect. The only thing I was sure about – my new life was starting! It's been 10 years and I have learnt and seen a lot – I made new friends, I acquired and mastered new skills, moved several times... I learnt to ride a motorcycle and survived a pretty bad motorcycle accident, I became a competitive shooter, a physician of the year, a best lecturer... I led clinical projects and helped a lot of Canadians with their addictions and mental health problems... I learnt to think differently and I have reinvented myself over and over again. These were 10 very intense years and I am looking forward to seeing what will be around the corner.
A very touching moment - I came to the clinic the day after my Citizenship ceremony and my nurses distracted me for several minutes, while others decorated my office with Canadian symbols. It was a very warm signal of acceptance and a very Canadian gesture!
I am doing my best to help Ukrainians as a friend, as a supporter, and as a psychiatrist when it is needed and appropriate. I worked with Canadian Psychiatric Association to organize a big session on War in Ukraine at the annual conference in Toronto and created a platform for Ukrainian psychiatrists to share their thoughts on psychiatric services and needs of Ukrainian refugees and those who stayed. We had frontline psychological support team led by Dr.Korostiy and the president of Ukrainian Psychiatric Association, Dr.Maruta, at the event and it was well-received by our Canadian colleagues.