Lorelei Lingard
lorelei.lingard@schulich.uwo.ca
519-661-2111 Ext. 88999
Google Scholar Link
Current Appointments
Professor, Department of Medicine, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University.
Professor, Faculty of Education, Western University.
Senior Scientist, Centre for Education Research & Innovation, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University.
Educational Background
PhD, English/Rhetoric, Simon Fraser University
MA, English, Simon Fraser University
BA, English, University of Western Ontario
Why Medical Education?
I 'grew up' in the humanities. Medical education became a focus during my doctoral research when I studied how third-year clinical clerks learn to present the patient case during morning rounds on the inpatient medicine teaching unit. From that time on, I was hooked! What better place to explore the socializing power of language than in situations where medical learners are honing their ability to 'talk the talk' of medicine? Working to understand how language works -- what it can, and cannot do -- on healthcare teams -- has provided the basis for an enormously satisfying scholarly career, one where I can see tangible impacts of my rhetorical research on healthcare and medical education practices.
What Are Your Most Rewarding Career Moments?
First: seeing a colleague's eyes light up when our research conversations have identified the critical problem they want to study. That moment -- achieved collaboratively by careful listening, playful brainstorming, candid questioning -- is a sign that I'm doing my job properly.
What is Your Approach to Mentorship?
Mentorship is a gift. To mentor is to come to know someone else; to be invited into their rich, messy, unique life; to learn their history and imagine their future. Mentorship is a responsibility. To mentor is to be trusted with fears and dreams; to share in successes and disappointments; to craft strategy when the rules are murky or unaccommodating. Mentorship is a challenge. To mentor is to prioritize another’s goals over your own; to share wisdom without the arrogance of assuming to know best; to empower rather than engendering dependence. Mentorship is an honour. To mentor is to shape the course of a single career, and the future of an entire field.
Key Research Questions
- What roles does language play in effective healthcare teamwork?
- How does the acquisition of routine language patterns in workplace learning shape the attitudes and actions of novice healthcare professionals?
- How can we measure collective competence without losing sight of the individual's contribution to the team's performance?
Keywords
Language; Teamwork; Competence; Socialization; Safety
