Hosted by McGill’s Institute of Health Sciences Education, the symposium attracted 178 registrants, comprised of faculty members, scholars and learners from across Canada.
On Tuesday, April 29, 2025, the Institute of Health Sciences Education (IHSE) hosted the Richard and Sylvia Cruess Symposium on Scholarship in Health Sciences Education.
Now in its second year, the event attracted 178 registrants, comprised of faculty members, scholars and learners from McGill and beyond. Coinciding with IHSE’s 50th anniversary celebrations, it offered a space to present interdisciplinary research in health sciences education.
Sixty-eight abstracts were presented throughout the one-day event at the Hotel Omni Mont-Royal. In addition to faculty members and clinician scholars, presenters included 12 PhD students and three postdoctoral fellows based at the IHSE, medical students, residents and other health professions learners from McGill’s campuses in Montreal and Outaouais, as well as other universities in Quebec and Ontario.
Linda Snell, MD, MHPE, Professor of Medicine and Health Sciences Education at McGill and Co-Chair of the symposium, told attendees that a key purpose of the day was “to introduce the work of our emerging scholars, PhD students, medical students, nursing students and other students and residents.”
She also highlighted the need to provide “opportunities for discussion and feedback on current research and innovation” in the field as well as to identify gaps in current research.
Tamara Carver, PhD, Associate Professor, Co-Chair of the symposium and Director of the Office of Ed-TECH (Education Technology and E-learning Collaboration for Health), reflected: “The Cruess Symposium feels like both a reunion and a catalyst. When all these minds – from seasoned scholars to first-time presenters – gather in one place, we spark ideas that none of us could generate alone. We leave with fresh insights, deeper friendships and brand-new collaborations that will carry our community forward for years to come.”
Lesley Fellows, MDCM, DPhil, Vice-President (Health Affairs) and Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, paid tribute to the enduring legacy of Richard Cruess, MD, Professor Emeritus of Surgery and Medical Education, and former Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, and his late wife Sylvia Robinson Cruess, MD, Professor Emerita of Medicine and Health Sciences Education.
“They are not only very influential here at home, but around the world and their combined commitment to McGill and the IHSE has really made a major difference in advancing the Faculty’s education, research and patient care missions,” she added.
Elizabeth Anne Kinsella, PhD, Director of the IHSE, added: “[The Cruesses’] contributions to professionalism, mentorship and medical education have been truly impactful, and they continue,” she said. “Richard Cruess still comes to work every day, he continues to inspire and mentor many of us and he regularly shares incredible insights into scholarship and directions that we should be thinking about.”
Spotlight on emerging research and scholarship
The event began with an opening plenary from Kevin Eva, PhD, Hon. FAcadMEd, Associate Director and Scientist in the Centre for Health Education Scholarship, and Professor and Director of Educational Research and Scholarship in the Department of Medicine, at the University of British Columbia.
Titled “Education scholarship: Looking back and looking forward”, his plenary covered how health professions education scholarship has changed, from descriptions of innovation (‘we did this’) to exploring the ‘hows and whys’ of new approaches, as well as expanding from medical education to the full breadth of health sciences education.
Another focus of the symposium was shining a spotlight on new scholarship in health sciences education. Through oral and poster presentations, emerging and established scholars shared their research and innovations, while engaging in discussions with peers.
After lunch, attendees returned for a live recording of Ask 5, a podcast from the IHSE and the Office of Ed-TECH. Hosted by Monica Molinaro, PhD, Assistant Professor at the IHSE, and Khoa Duong, MD, MPH, MScHPE, a PhD student at the IHSE, the episode featured insights from:
- Richard Cruess, MD, Professor Emeritus of Surgery and Medical Education
- Donald Boudreau, MD, Associate Professor at the IHSE
- Mette Coleman, DSc., Assistant Professor in the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology
- Peter Nugus, PhD, Associate Director, Graduate Programs, at the IHSE
- Norma Ponzoni, RN, MScN, MEd, PhD(c), Associate Professor at the Ingram School of Nursing
“The Ask 5 Live recording captured that collaborative spirit we have here – five very different voices on one stage, demonstrating how much we expand our thinking when we listen and laugh together,” said Prof. Carver.
Later, Claude Julie Bourque, PhD, Associate Professor at the Faculty of Medicine at Université de Montréal, gave the closing plenary, “Beyond Boundaries: The Promise and Pitfalls of Interdisciplinarity in Healthcare Education Innovation and Research”. In it, she explored how interdisciplinary research teams come together to co-create research problems, questions, objectives and hypotheses, building a shared vision from diverse perspectives.
The importance of cherishing the community
In his closing words to IHSE members and others in attendance, Dr. Cruess referred to how “pleased and proud” his wife Sylvia would have been of the symposium.
He also emphasized the importance and value of communities like the IHSE, especially in difficult times.
“For us in the medical education world at McGill, [the IHSE] is our community,” he said, adding that scientific literature showed that resilience is promoted when people feel a sense of belonging.
“Our responsibility is to make sure that this community survives. It’s our responsibility to look after it, to look after our community members, to care about them and to make them feel like they belong.”
Check out our photo gallery (click on any of the photos to view as a slideshow). Photos by Joni Dufour.
Related:
Carlos Gomez-Garibello receives 2025 IHSE Research and Scholarship Catalyst Award
