2024 Regional Academic Summit Speakers' Profiles
Dr. Jill Konkin
I am currently Professor, Family Medicine, at the University of Alberta and have recently been appointed as the Social Accountability Lead for the Department of Family Medicine. I practiced as a full-time rural generalist family physician for the first 20 years of my career and then did locums for rural physicians when I moved to a full-time academic position. In the course of my work at the University of Alberta, I have implemented a number of rural medical education programs, including a longitudinal integrated clerkship, which are now contributing to increasing the number of graduates that choose rural medicine careers. I have advocated for rural medicine & rural medical education for my entire career and am a recognized leader in distributed medical education, both in Canada and internationally. My current research interests include rural medical education, professional identity formation, interprofessional education, social accountability and clinical courage.
Dr. George Kim
MD, MClSc(FM), CCFP, FCFP
Dr. Kim is a family physician and Associate Professor in the Department of Family Medicine at the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry at Western University. He is a staff physician at the Byron Family Medical Centre (one of the Urban Family Practice Training Sites for the Department) which is also a part of the Thames Valley Family Health Team. His clinical areas of special interest are palliative care and the support of medically fragile patients in the community based setting. He provides palliative care support to the local residential Hospice, the Parkwood Palliative Care Unit and the largest community based palliative care team.
His research areas of interest are aligned with Physician Wellness, Palliative Care and Medical Aid in Dying, Rural Medicine, and Admissions.
Dr. Kim has held leadership roles at the Schulich School of Medicine within the Distributed Education and Admissions portfolios.
In his downtime, Dr. Kim enjoys time with his family, considers himself a “foodie” and can be found on a baseball diamond in the summer coaching a Little League Baseball team.
Dr Shanil V. Narayan
MD FRCP(C)
Dr. Shanil Narayan has been the Academic Director for Huron Perth and co-Medical Program Director for the Huron Perth Health Care Alliance since 2009. Practicing General Internal Medicine at Stratford Internal Medicine Associates since 2004, he has a strong interest in economic models of health care delivery and health care education.
He served on the Executive Committee of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada’s Innovation and Technology Force (2013-2015) and is a Physician Advisor to the Huron Perth and Area Ontario Health Team. In 2021, he received the Schulich CPD Innovation & Research Grant, instrumental in creating a multidisciplinary community-based population management strategy.
Dr. Narayan earned the Schulich Award of Excellence for Faculty in Community/Distributed Site (2017), the Canadian Society of Internal Medicine Osler Award (2019), and the Canadian Association of Medical Education Award of Merit (2024).
Dedicated to physician wellness as the Physician Wellness Lead at Huron Perth Health Care Alliance, Dr. Narayan enjoys hiking, mountain biking, and collecting comic books and vinyl records.
Eric Wong
MD, MClSc(FM), CCFP, FCFP, CFD, COI , CPP
Dr. Eric Wong is an academic family physician in London, Ontario and Professor in the Department of Family Medicine, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University. He has an active family practice and is a Medical Director and Attending Physician for long-term care homes in the Southwest Region. He is Medical Director for the Thames Valley Family Health Team that serves the counties of Oxford, Elgin, and London-Middlesex and Clinical Director for Practice Ready Ontario, a practice ready assessment program for internationally trained family physicians in Ontario.
Dr. Wong has an academic interest in medical education and assessment. He has held educational leadership positions including Postgraduate Director of the Western family medicine residency program (2008-2014), Director, Certification and Examinations at The College of Family Physicians of Canada (2015-2017) and Faculty Lead for Assessment in the MD program at Western (2019-2021).
He enjoys hiking, photography and spending time with his wife Joanne and three children: Nicholas, Benjamin and Jessica. He’s also trying to visit all the National Parks and National Park Reserves in Canada. He’s getting there (30/48)!
Jan McKague
Jan McKague is a dedicated physician recruiter for the Listowel Wingham Hospital Alliance, where she has served for over 15 years. With a robust background in marketing and communications, Jan brings a unique blend of skills to her role, ensuring the hospital alliance attracts top-tier medical talent to serve its communities effectively.
Jan’s strategic approach to recruitment involves not only identifying and attracting skilled physicians but also fostering an environment where they can thrive professionally and personally.
One of Jan’s significant contributions to the medical community is her work with Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry students. Each year, she plays a crucial role in organizing their Discovery Week experiences. This initiative provides medical students with hands-on learning opportunities in rural healthcare settings, offering them a unique glimpse into the challenges and rewards of practicing medicine in smaller communities. Jan’s efforts in coordinating these experiences not only benefit the students but also help to highlight the vital role that rural healthcare providers play. Jan is a standardbred racehorse and show horse enthusiast.
Dr. Robert Black
Dr. Rob Black graduated Cum Laude from Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry in 1989. He completed a Comprehensive Surgical Internship and a General Surgery Residency at Western, followed by a Clinical Fellowship in Community Surgery with a focus on Fracture Orthopedics, Plastic Surgery, and Trauma. Joining St. Thomas Surgical Associates in 1995, he was appointed Academic Director of Community Surgery for Southwestern Ontario Rural Regional Medicine (SWORRM) at Western in 1997, a role he has maintained through its evolution from SWOMEN to Schulich’s Office of Distributed Education.
Dr. Black served as a Corresponding Member of the Test Committee in General Surgery at the Royal College of Physicians & Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC) for seven years and completed a five-year term as an Oral Examiner for the RCPSC.
Dr. Black has been instrumental in bringing General Surgery residents into the Community Hospitals of southwestern Ontario for broadly based community surgical training. He has been the recipient of numerous teaching awards during his three decades as a Surgical Educator both at the Undergraduate and Postgraduate levels.
Frank Myslik
MD CCFP (EM), DRCPSC (Acute Care POCUS)
Dr. Frank Myslik is a full-time emergency medicine consultant at LHSC and an associate professor at Western University. He completed his CCFP(EM) residency at Western and subsequently did his fellowship in Emergency POCUS at the University of Ottawa. He is a leader in POCUS field where he has developed and led the Acute Care POCUS program at Western where it attracts both Canadian and international trainees. His achievements have been recognized with multiple awards from Western for educational excellence and was also recognized by the City of London as one of the top 20 under 40 in 2023 for his contributions.
Dr. Derek Gateman
Dr. Derek Gateman has been a Family Physician in Listowel since 2016. He graduated in 2013 from Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry then completed residency at McMaster’s Grand Erie Six Nations site. He subsequently worked as a hospitalist before settling in Listowel when his wife completed her training in GP-Anesthesia. He has clinical interests in penicillin allergy testing, inpatient medicine, hepatitis C treatment, and elder care.
Dr. Gateman has a keen interest in medical education. He has served as education lead since 2019, acting as coordinator and preceptor to learners while trying to deliver on the motto “the best learning experience during your time with us”.
Outside of work, he and his wife balance a busy family schedule with two young children. He plays soccer recreationally, cheers passionately for the Montreal Canadians, and enjoys a good joke.
Dr. Andrea Lum
MD, FRCPC, CCPE, FCAR
Dr. Andrea Lum has been a clinical academic physician leader for more than two decades. She began her radiologist career at the University of Ottawa (1989) and was recruited to Western University in 2000, has served as Program Director Diagnostic Radiology Residency (2001), Chair Department of Medical Imaging 2008 and became the first City-wide Chief of Diagnostic Radiology. She merged the departments of Radiology & Nuclear Medicine becoming the first Chair & City Wide Chief of Medical Imaging and during that time also took on the role as Chair Medical Advisory Committee (MAC)/Director of Quality Medical Care at London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC).
She was appointed Vice Dean Clinical Faculty Affairs on January 1, 2020 for a five-year term at Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University, a role which enabled her to lead and develop Faculty experience including Faculty Wellbeing and Professional Affairs. She developed and implemented the Schulich Wellbeing Program Peers for Peers during Covid and implemented promotions guidelines for faculty development. She has led a decanal team to further implementation of mentorship and continuing professional development activities at Schulich.
In recognition of her professional career, she was awarded the Canadian Association of Radiologists (CAR) Gold Medal and became a Fellow of the CAR in 2021.
Dr. Laura Foxcroft
Dr. Laura Foxcroft is a 2001 graduate of the Doctor of Medicine program at McMaster University. She completed her residency in Family Medicine in 2003 and a fellowship in Emergency Medicine in 2004 at Queen’s University. Dr. Foxcroft’s early career included practicing community emergency medicine in Brockville and serving as a clinical associate in
the Intensive Care Unit at Kingston General Hospital.
From 2006 to 2008, she practiced at the Ottawa Hospital and was an Assistant Professor at the University of Ottawa. She is currently an Associate Professor in Emergency Medicine at Schulich Medicine & Dentistry and practices in London.
She has been appointed as the Assistant Dean of Faculty Wellbeing at
the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University, serving
from October 1, 2020, to September 30, 2025. Passionate about physician wellbeing, Dr. Foxcroft has made significant contributions in
this area, including designing the role of Provider Value Officer in Emergency Medicine and co-leading workshops on academic promotion. She has been instrumental in implementing and expanding the Schulich Wellbeing Program, particularly during the pandemic, providing peer support for faculty. Dr. Foxcroft advocates for physician wellbeing and faculty mentorship.
Dr. Shawn Segeren
MD CCFP(EM)
Dr. Shawn Segeren, a Chatham native, has a deep-rooted passion for emergency medicine and education. He graduated with a Bachelor of Health Sciences (Honours) from McMaster University and earned his medical degree from Western University. Completing his Family Medicine Residency and CCFP-EM fellowship at Western, he has been practicing Emergency Medicine in Chatham since 2019. He is an Adjunct Professor at Western, as well as the UWO CCFP(EM) Program Director, Chatham-Kent Site.
In 2020, Dr. Segeren founded Dynamic Simulation (www.dynamicsimulation.ca), a mobile clinical simulation and resuscitation program. This initiative addresses the need for hands-on, interprofessional, critical care training in rural and community hospitals across Ontario. Since its inception, Dynamic Simulation has delivered Simulation and Procedural Skills Sessions to over 20 hospitals across Ontario. The program has grown into a dedicated team of four, including two physicians and two nurses, all committed to enhancing healthcare outcomes through realistic training scenarios.
Outside of his professional life, Dr. Segeren enjoys spending time with his wife and 3-year-old son, cycling, weightlifting, playing piano, and exploring new ways to expand simulation training across the province.
