Twenty-four teachers celebrated at 2023 Transition to Clinical Practice Awards ceremony

Faculty members, students and staff gathered in-person to celebrate the 24 laureates of this year’s Transition to Clinical Practice Awards on February 8, 2023.

The laureates, who work across eight disciplines of medicine, were recognized for their excellent teaching during the Transition to Clinical Practice (TCP) component of the MDCM Class of 2024’s training.

In the MDCM curriculum, TCP takes place in the latter half of the second year of medical school. Students move away from the classroom to learn at the bedside at McGill-affiliated hospitals and clinics, where they remain for the rest of their undergraduate degree.

At this important learning moment, students need the guidance of skilled and supportive educators, whether they are attending physicians, residents or other members of the care team. The laureates were nominated for the awards by the medical students they taught during TCP.

Sixteen attending physicians and residents were celebrated for their work with the Montreal class; a further eight physicians were honoured for their work with the Campus Outaouais cohort.

Speaking to laureates and guests at Holmes Hall, David Eidelman, MDCM, Vice-Principal (Health Affairs) and Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences noted that, “Our teachings can have a profound impact on the education and lives of our students, and our students are aware of the transformative role all of you play as teachers in their lives.”

After receiving his award, one laureate, Qais Alrashidi, MD, a surgery resident, said, “I am deeply grateful and humbled to have received this award. Knowing how hard and overwhelming it can be to transition to working in the hospital, it is a privilege to know that I played a small role in this challenging transition.”

Campus Outaouais co-hosts TCP Awards ceremony for first time

Apart from being the first in-person celebration of the TCP awards since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the event was special for another reason. It was the first time a TCP Awards ceremony was co-hosted by Campus Outaouais.

Both ceremonies – in Montreal and in Gatineau – were linked virtually via Zoom, allowing the 24 laureates to be celebrated by a larger community in both locations.

“Campus Outaouais is still very young, and already, we can laud the quality of teaching that is offered to our future physicians,” said Danyèle Lacombe, MD, Vice-Dean and Director of Campus Outaouais. “The eight clinician-educators [who worked with Campus Outaouais students] received praise from their students because they knew how to pass on their passion for medicine and how to demonstrate the richness of the doctor-patient relationship. We are very proud to celebrate them this evening.”

Teaching excellence at a challenging moment

Abed Baiad, President of the Montreal MDCM Class of 2024, recalled that he and his classmates started TCP during the COVID-19 pandemic, which placed additional stress on teachers and learners.

“However, we were fortunate that you were by our side, being so responsive, dynamic and supportive during these difficult times,” he told the laureates.

“You all play an important role in shaping our education and the future physicians we will become. I have no doubt that your excellent teaching and unwavering encouragement has given many medical students invaluable opportunities to grow and learn at a critical time in a medical school,” he added.

Others from the MDCM Class of 2024 also paid tribute to the laureates through anonymous comments submitted during the nomination process. Here are a few examples:

“[The teacher] embodied kindness with how he approached patients as well as his patience with me as I navigated the very new learning environment.”

“It is clear that she put significant personal effort into her teaching. She is a knowledgeable, authentic, kind and humble teacher.”

David Luckow, MD, Component Director for TCP, shared the observations of the Class of 2024 when presenting the awards to the laureates.

“Our goal is to prepare students for clerkship and to bridge the transition from the classroom to the patient’s side. In hearing the comments from the students themselves, I’m pretty sure that we’ve achieved this goal,” he said. “To each of the recipients, thank you for your awesome teaching.”

Laureates (Montreal Campus):

Patricia McMillan, MD, Anesthesia
Julien Vaillancourt, MD, Anesthesia (resident)
Mickey Max Moroz, MDCM, Family Medicine
Jérémie Boivin-Côté, MD, Family Medicine (resident)
Vincent Larouche, MD, Internal Medicine
Justin Tabah, MDCM, Internal Medicine (resident)
Alexander William Saveriano, MD, Neurology
Asli Buyukkurt, MDCM, Neurology (resident)
Fatma Zaguia, MDCM, Ophthalmology
Tony Shicheng Jin, MD, Ophthalmology (resident)
George Mandich, MD, Pediatrics
Nada Abdulhaq, MD, Pediatrics (resident)
Lorne Rosenbloom, MDCM, Radiology
Tiffany Fung, MD, Radiology (resident)
Carlo Santaguida, MDCM, Surgery
Qais Alrashidi, MD, Surgery (resident)

Laureates (Campus Outaouais)

Mélanie Roy, MD, Anesthesia
Jonathan-Mathieu Rouhana, MD, Family Medicine
Erica Stefanie Rubin, MD, Internal Medicine
Brigitte Charbonneau, MD, Neurology
Stéphanie Chan, MD, Ophthalmology
Jeremy Andrew Saban, MDCM, Pediatrics
Sylvie Lemonde, MD, Radiology
Gabrielle Gauvin, MD, Surgery

Photos by Owen Egan and Joni Dufour (Montreal) and Wellington Imagery (Campus Outaouais)