June 2020
Dear Alumni,
I hope you have been keeping healthy and safe over the course of the past year.
Surely, the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted your personal and professional lives, as it has for all of us at Schulich Medicine & Dentistry. As clinicians, we have had to change how we practice; we have had to adjust our priorities and adapt to the demand for virtual care, all while navigating the limitations to our caseloads in these unusual and ever-changing circumstances.
Despite the challenges, our Department has persevered in our clinical and teaching activities – and there are many wins and milestones to celebrate. We have been fortunate in that our clinical faculty and residents continued to provide excellent care to patients in our hospitals and stayed safe while doing so.
As a Department, we were also fortunate to have been one of the first at the School to pivot to a virtual learning model for our undergraduate and graduate training initiatives. Thanks to the leadership provided by Dr. Brian Rotenberg, Program Director, a virtual Resident Seminar Series was quickly developed for our trainees, which was then expanded to include residents from other programs across Canada.
Our grand rounds and weekly Friday afternoon teaching sessions also embraced an online format, which has yielded a surprising advantage for our learners. Although I miss the opportunities to meet with our residents and faculty face-to-face, I must admit that I have enjoyed connecting with everyone from the comfort of my kitchen over breakfast! More importantly, we were able to bring in fantastic guest speakers from across the country that would not otherwise be able to participate in in-person events.
This was conversely true for our residents, who were able to take advantage of opportunities they may not have been able to in past years, such as the Combined Otolaryngology Spring Meetings, thanks to their virtual delivery. Another fantastic learning opportunity was presented through the Virtual ENT Bootcamp, co-led by Dr. Kathryn Roth, who expertly adapted the annual Canada-wide course for junior residents to an online model. Dr. Kevin Fung, Chair/Chief, Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery said:
“Teaching technical skills through virtual simulation posed a unique challenge; but we were creative in our collaboration. For example, we had a paediatric airway demonstration that was physically done at the McGill simulation centre, but voiced by one of our faculty members at Western. Since we were not longer limited by geography, we could capture participants outside of our speciality as well.”
As former Chair of the Undergraduate Medical Education (UME) Committee for the Canadian Society of Otolaryngology, Dr. Fung was also instrumental in facilitating development of LearnENT, a mobile learning app for undergraduate medical learners, which, although developed before the pandemic, helped our Department quickly adapt to the challenge of providing engaging virtual learning activities.
On this, Dr. Fung shared:
“I am very proud of the significant impact our Department has in the UME and PGE initiatives at Schulich Medicine & Dentistry over the past several years. To have such a strong impact on the education of future physicians in Southwestern Ontario as a small clinical department is important. About a quarter of the cases the typical primary care physician deals with have to do with Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery.
I’ve always been a strong advocate for more engagement of our faculty members in medical education. It’s fantastic that we have been able to build our speciality’s presence into the curriculum in a way that we could not before.”
Adapting our bi-annual Refresher Day Series – a continuing professional development opportunity for community physicians – for a virtual delivery was also sucessful, ultimately reaching a larger and more geographically dispersed audience of family doctors than we have in previous years.
Another significant point of pride for our Department in 2020 was the appointment of Dr. John Yoo as Dean of the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry.
Despite the small size of our department, Dr. Yoo is a testament to the significant investment and impact we continue to have in the education of all medical students and trainees at the School.
I would like to take the opportunity to recognize some of the dedicated faculty members and trainees who have received education awards in 2020. Drs. Josee Paradis and Peng You were awarded Undergraduate Medical Education Teaching Awards. As the newly appointed Chair of the first-year curriculum, Dr. Paradis has made a significant impact on shaping the education of incoming medical students. Dr. You, who received the UME Resident Award, as well as the PGME Resident Award and the Simon Kirby Most Caring Resident Award last year, will be re-joining the Department as a Paediatric Otolaryngologist. Dr. Roth received the Schulich 2020 Excellence in Education Award – Leader Award.
I would also like to commend Dr. Murad Husein on his development and leadership of the Transition to Clerkship course for third-year medical students. Dr. Husein has also been involved in leadership on the national and provincial level as the President of the Clinical Teachers Association, and an Executive Member of the Ontario Medical Association – Academic Medicine forum. Faculty members have also continued to have a large footprint within the leadership of the Canadian Society of Otolaryngology. Notably, Dr. Danielle MacNeil was re-appointed as the Chair of the Women in Otolaryngology Committee and Dr. Paradis was appointed as Co-Chair of the Undergraduate Medical Education Committee.
The Million Dollar Match campaign was another accomplishment worth celebrating; the Otolaryngology Department was the first-ever department at London Health Sciences Centre to commit to a donation matching program, with our physicians pledging to match all donations to head and neck cancer research up to $500,000 – for a total of $1 million. This milestone was successfully reached earlier this year!
We also celebrated the retirements of Drs. Gord Leboldus and Philip Doyle (who will continue teaching in a limited capacity as an Adjunct Professor), as well as the graduation of our PGY5 residents. Drs. Camilla Stepniak and Stefan Hamilton will begin their career as a community-based ENTs in Sarnia, Ontario and Corner Brook, Newfoundland respectively, with Dr. Stepniak returning as an adjunct professor at the School. Dr. Kierstan Pianosi is pursuing a fellowship in Paediatric Otolaryngology in the United Kingdom, while Dr. Benjamin van Der Woerd will be completing a Laryngology fellowship at the University of Southern California.
Finally, I would like to congratulate you, our alumni, on your perseverance, your achievements and your successes over the past year, including Drs. Christopher Dwyer and John Scott on their appointments at Harvard University’s Brigham Women’s Hospital and Dalhousie University, respectively.
Although this year has been challenging on many fronts, I am thankful for the opportunity to work with faculty and residents who have maintained a high team morale and adaptability with all that has been thrown our way. Through the challenges, there have been bright spots; our move to virtual education activities have allowed us to connect with colleagues and alumni, like yourselves, in a capacity we never could before.
We hope that you continue to stay involved as highly valued members of our community. And, like me, you are continuing to draw strength and inspiration from your hard work in supporting your patients and the health of our communities.
To all who have registered for Residents’ Research Day on Friday May 7, though virtually, I look forward to seeing you again. And lastly, I leave you with this: “Success is never final; failure is never fatal. It’s courage that counts.”
All the best,
Lorne Parnes, MD
Professor, CME and Alumni Liason, Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery
Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry
Western University
