A night to say ‘thank you’

The Honourable Theresa Oswald shared her views on what it means to be a teacher at the fourth annual Faculty of Medicine Teacher Recognition Dinner on Jan. 29. The event, hosted by Dean of Medicine Brian Postl at the U of M’s Bannatyne Campus, honoured the invaluable group of educators in the faculty dedicated to training medical students.

Addressing the future physicians in the crowd, the Minister of Jobs and the Economy recalled her speech given at the annual Inaugural White Coat Ceremony where she encouraged students to take a moment to think about the teacher that had an impact on them.

“I asked you to find a moment to send an email, make a call and say; ‘I had a special day today and I shared it with family and friends and I wanted you to know I was thinking about you today because you had such a huge impact on how it is that I got to be at this day where somebody put a white coat on my shoulders on my first day of medical school. Thanks.'”

The Teacher Recognition Dinner was yet another opportunity for the learners to recognize those who have had a positive impact on their time throughout medical school. This marked the second year the Faculty has joined forces with medical students and hosted the Manitoba Medical Students’ Association (MMSA) 2012/13 Teaching Awards presentation as part of the event.

“You have so many marvelous role models in this faculty and so many unbelievable acts of generosity and kindness that you might never know,” said Oswald, the former Health Minister. “If you want to ask me today about what makes a good teacher, I don’t think I need to give you any answers other than to say look around you because the good teachers are going to reveal themselves to you every single day probably in what they say – please listen to that stuff. But it’s the things you are not going to find in a book like when you know that someone has lost somebody they love, you put on a shirt and tie.”

For more event highlights, check out Dean Postl’s blog: “What makes a great teacher?”

This year the MMSA presented the following awards:

Med I
Innovation: Dr. Adrian Gooi
Inspiration:  Dr. Davinder Jassal
Mentorship:  Dr. Bruce Martin

Med II
Innovation: Dr. Keevin Bernstein
Inspiration:  Dr. Sari Hannila & Dr. Don Houston
Mentorship: Dr. Bruce Martin

Clerkship:
Clinical Teaching: Dr. Geoff Cuvelier
Interdisciplinary/Collaboration: Dr. Fernando Gonzalez-Pino
Patient Advocacy: Dr. Greg Stanges
Professionalism: Dr. Michael West

Click to view the event program for a complete list of award nominees.