USask medicine student is travelling Canada in hopes of improving Saskatchewan’s health services

Kaishan Aravinthan is spending the summer visiting ear, nose, and throat (ENT) programs across Western Canada to learn more about the how each program delivered optimal ENT care for their patients. He is determined to find ways to improve the delivery of ENT care in Saskatchewan before returning to the University of Saskatchewan for his third year of medicine.

This year, Aravinthan was awarded a $5,000 Dean’s Research Award to assist him in his studies. Awarded to students who demonstrate exceptional work, this scholarship is one of several supported by alumni and donors through the ALL IN FOR STUDENTS campaign. The campaign raised over $1.19 million university-wide in the last year to support students like Aravinthan.

Aravinthan, originally from Toronto, grew up in Regina and received a kinesiology degree from the University of Regina. After working for a year as an exercise therapist, he decided to return to school to study medicine at the University of Saskatchewan in hopes of becoming an ear, nose, and throat surgeon. While working as an exercise therapist, he spent a lot of time with patients that were pre-operative or post-operative and quickly realized that there was great inefficiency in operating rooms in Saskatchewan. This sparked an interest in helping to improve the patient waiting times in hospitals.

"I am extremely grateful for this award. Not only has it elevated the financial burden and allowed me to be a better student, but it has also allowed me to embark on this journey to conduct research that I am extremely passionate about," Aravinthan explained.

For more on this story, visit the university's alumni news.