The eight faculty members named to the 2024-2025 Faculty Honour List for Educational Excellence were celebrated by their colleagues, peers and families at the Symposium, hosted by the Faculty Development Office.
Fresh from being named to the 2024-2025 Faculty Honour List for Educational Excellence, eight outstanding educators were celebrated at the annual Faculty Honour List Symposium on June 6, 2024.
The honourees, their colleagues, their families and their friends were among over 50 guests at the Symposium, hosted by the Faculty Development Office. They were also joined by their peers who had been named to the Faculty Honour List in previous years.
“I always love the buzz at Faculty Development events, but the buzz for this ceremony is really special,” said Michelle Elizov, MD, MHPE, outgoing Associate Dean of Faculty Development.
“Today marks the 27th anniversary of the Faculty Honour List for Educational Excellence, which recognizes outstanding contributions to education within the Faculty in the areas of teaching, educational leadership and innovation, faculty development, and research and scholarly activities,” she added. “Since its inception, 192 faculty members have been named to the Faculty Honour List, and some are in this room.”
Farhan Bhanji, MD, Vice-Dean, Education, also congratulated the honourees. “I think [the Faculty Honour List for Educational Excellence] is the most important award that we offer in the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences,” he said. “It’s really about that contribution to teaching and educational leadership.”
“The people who have received these awards are real leaders in the Faculty,” he added. “The time, dedication, effort and self-sacrifice they make to make education better is really exceptional.”
Moving and inspirational experiences of teaching
Before receiving their certificates, each honouree was given the opportunity to share the experiences, stories and memories that shaped their journeys as educators within the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences.
The wide range of topics included preparing learners to respond to difficult ethical questions, the use of innovative simulation technology in emergency medicine, and the influence of personal experiences of illness on approaches to teaching.
The full presentations can be viewed on McGill University’s YouTube channel.
In her closing remarks, Dr. Elizov said: “I want to say a big thank you for the passion, the storytelling, the engagement, the innovation and the enthusiasm that our awardees have shown. They bring who they are into what they do.”
“I also want to thank the people around them who support them and believe in the work they do and the advancement of the educational mission of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences.”
This year’s honourees are listed below:
Mylène Arsenault, MDCM
Assistant Professor, Department of Family Medicine
Mylène Dandavino, MDCM, MSc, MHPE
Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics
Mélanie Gauthier, RN, M. Int. Care. N.
Assistant Professor, Ingram School of Nursing
Heather Hart, RN
Associate Professor, Ingram School of Nursing
Nicolas B. King, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Equity, Ethics and Policy, School of Population and Global Health
Maral Koolian, MD
Assistant Professor, Division of General Internal Medicine
Isabelle Pearson, PT
Assistant Professor (Professional), School of Physical and Occupational Therapy
Errol Stern, MDCM
Associate Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine
Congratulations to the honourees!
Photos from the Symposium can be viewed below. Credit: Owen Egan and Joni Dufour.