To all members of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences,
February brings two occasions that speak to the very heart of who we are as a Faculty community: Black History Month (BHM) and Teacher Appreciation Week (February 1-7). Together, they remind us of the people, partnerships, and purpose that drive our shared mission outlined in our Strategic Plan, Together for Better Health.
Black History Month
Honouring the outstanding leadership, achievements and ongoing contributions of our Black faculty members and learners, as well as our partners across Montreal’s Black community, is a central theme of McGill’s BHM celebrations.
This year, a growing number of FMHS groups, from nursing and medicine to public health and biomedical sciences, are offering a rich and engaging array of events throughout the month and beyond. We encourage you to explore them; the offerings are more expansive than ever.
BHM is also a time to highlight initiatives that advance equity in healthcare delivery and research that impact the Black community. We invite you to follow our special BHM coverage in the February 13 and 27 editions of Health e‑News, where we will spotlight impactful work taking place across our community.
Teacher Appreciation Week and launch of new Education Impact Award
Teacher Appreciation Week offers an opportunity to express our deep gratitude to the faculty, staff, residents, and students who teach, mentor, and support learning each day, whether in structured academic settings or in the informal moments that shape a learner’s journey.
We also thank the many champions of education across our network, whose behind-the-scenes work is essential: Associate and Assistant Deans, Department Chairs, clinical leaders, staff in our six Schools, and the dedicated teams who strengthen our programs and support our learners and educational mission. Our teaching mission thrives because of your dedication.
We are equally delighted to introduce the new Education Impact Award, created to recognize projects, large or small, that have allowed us to meet our educational needs in our Schools and programs. We invite your nominations until March 9 and look forward to learning about the innovative and inspiring work taking place across our Faculty.
Nurturing belonging and supporting learning
Our strategic plan underscores how central it is to support our teachers, cultivate belonging, and strengthen partnerships with the communities we work with.
In this spirit, the Office of the Vice-Dean, Education and Community Engagement has been working closely with leaders across the Faculty and with community partners to establish education and engagement committees. These committees create spaces for dialogue, identifying priorities, sharing successes, and collectively addressing challenges, to help us move forward and find solutions together.
One early example of the work of the Education and Community Engagement teams is FacED’s new microlearning activity, Introduction to Clinical Supervision. These short, free, bilingual, accredited modules offer a valuable primer for new clinical supervisors and a helpful refresher for more seasoned supervisors. A microlearning activity for graduate supervisors will be available in the coming months.
Wishing you a fulfilling and inspiring winter term.
Lesley Fellows, MDCM, DPhil
Vice-President (Health Affairs)
Dean of the Faculty of Medicine
and Health Sciences
Beth-Ann Cummings, MDCM MSc(HPE)
Vice-Dean, Education and Community Engagement
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences