Message from the Associate Dean, Continuing Professional Development
It is an immense privilege to step into the shoes of the Associate Dean, Continuing Professional Development. The leaders who have walked in these shoes are storied names in CPD: extraordinary leaders like Dr. Dave Davis, Dr. Ivan Silver and Dr. Suzan Scheenweiss. I have had the opportunity to work closely with all of these amazing leaders, including Dr. Schneeweiss who has been an extraordinary contributor to CPD at the local, national and international level. We are pleased that she has taken on the role of President of the Society for Academic Continuing Medical Education for 2026 and I am very pleased that the Temerty Faculty of Medicine has created the new Suzan Schneeweiss Award for Excellence in Mentorship and Community-Building in Continuing Professional Development. We wish Dr. Schneeweiss the very best in her new endeavors and look forward to working closely with her as she continues to be a leader and mentor in the CPD community.
The talented, dedicated, and passionate professional services staff at CPD make the place remarkable. The faculty and staff across the medical education community, in particular the CPD departmental directors, help nurture a space of innovation, respect, and exceptional dedication to each other and the communities we serve. Because of all of their efforts, we recognize many accomplishments this year, including innovative conferences such as the collaboration with University Health Network and Mayo Clinic on the Transplant AI Symposium and the Canadian Menopause Society’s well-attended Biennial Scientific Conference and Masterclass 101 Webinars.
CPD continues to develop critical new programs such as the Strengthening Allyship in Action Workshop delivered in partnership with the Indigenous Physicians Association of Canada and Office of Indigenous Health at Temerty Medicine. CPD has also been working to enhance our accreditation and education services to meet the needs of our community. We also welcomed in the Office of Faculty Development this year, and our new Director, Dr. Susanna Talarico, as we ensure that we strengthen the role of faculty development across the continuum of medical education and form strong linkages with CPD. Above all, the CPD office is a warm, welcoming environment that fosters curiosity and the desire to provide the best possible experience for fostering lifelong learning.
There are so many things to look forward to as we start to think about our refresh of our strategic plan and meeting the challenges that face CPD, medical education, our healthcare system, and our patients in the coming years. There are three themes that emerge for me that will build on our strong foundation. The first is Augmenting the Value of CPD, the second is Building Bridges and Expanding Connections, and the third is Advancing Evidenced-Based and Sustainable Models of CPD.
By focusing on the value of CPD and all of the expertise that CPD professionals and faculty bring to the table, we can ensure that we are building strong bridges across the University of Toronto and for our health system. And, we will achieve this by building upon our existing strong business model and using the best evidence and scholarship to build a strong, dynamic, sustainable, and socially responsive CPD ecosystem.
There is no doubt that the CPD community is being transformed by emerging technologies and forces such as artificial intelligence, social and political changes, and our rapidly evolving health care system. An AI-enabled healthcare and medical education system needs a collaborative, agile, and adaptive community that will certainly be much different in 5 years than it is today. While we don’t know what the future will bring, we know that our healthcare professionals must rapidly evolve to work effectively with the emerging AI reality to serve our patients and communities and provide the best care for everyone.
Above all, we need to hear diverse perspectives from across the continuum of education and care, including those of our patients, caregivers, and families. In times of rapid change, we need to listen most carefully to those we serve and count on us. I look forward to connecting with many of you over the coming months and co-hosting a strategic retreat with the Director, CPD Portfolio, Trevor Cuddy in September 2026.
Looking further ahead in 2027, we will have our full CACME review. I look forward to working with all of you to celebrate the achievements of our outstanding CPD community and go through a process of learning how we can improve and build on our current successes.
Many thanks to all of you who have welcomed me into this extraordinary environment at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine. I look forward to learning and working with all of you to build on this success and ensure that we contribute to sustainable health systems and better care through high quality CPD.
David Wiljer, PhD
Associate Dean, Continuing Professional Development
Temerty Faculty of Medicine
Impact by the Numbers
Program Innovations
Propelling Leadership in Healthcare
Our Narrative-Based Medicine Lab’s programming continued to expand over the past twelve months. In addition to the Foundational Certificate in Narrative-Based Medicine and the Advanced Certificate in Narrative-Based Medicine, programming spanned multi-session series, experiential workshops, and community-based activities that introduced narrative-based medicine to a wider audience. Learners developed strategies for cultivating resilience and well-being, deepened their reflective and creative writing practice, and learned how to share their work further afield through publishing opportunities.
A novel initiative that seeks to re-imagine the genre of the traditional, medical case report launched in January 2026 featuring poignant pieces of creative writing from lab alumni. Spearheaded by Conor Mc Donnell, Associate Professor, Department of Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, the pieces showcased as part of this project illuminate the essential role that narrative plays in understanding the patient and caregiver experience, grappling with uncertainty, and reflecting on the human condition.
With the growth of the NBM Talks Podcast, we share inspiration with listeners around the world through engaging conversations with professionals working at the intersection of literature, medicine, and health. We marked the 50th episode of the show in June 2026 with a special roundtable discussion featuring lab leaders Damian Tarnopolsky, Karen Gold, Sarah Kim, and Allan Peterkin and recorded with a live audience.
Reflecting this creativity, ingenuity, and thoughtful response to meet evolving learner needs, the NBM Lab was recognized with the 2026 Colin Woolf Award for Excellence in Program Development and Coordination.
Looking ahead, we’re excited to introduce more learners to this growing and rewarding field of study, practice, and critical inquiry through planned programming for 2026-27.
Strengthening Allyship in Action: Walking Alongside in Medicine
Delivered in partnership with the Indigenous Physicians Association of Canada and the Office of Indigenous Health at Temerty Medicine, the Strengthening Allyship in Action: Walking Alongside in Medicine Workshop offered a supportive space for learning, reflection, and action for those new to, or early in, their allyship journey. Participants gained practical tools and starting points for moving towards greater awareness, accountability, and action in healthcare and medical education.
Unlocking the Power of Design Thinking in Healthcare
Offered in an intensive format over two days in April 2026, Health by Design immersed participants in the methods of design thinking through hands-on activities, rapid prototyping, and group work. With an emphasis on ideation, experimentation, and collaboration, participants gained fresh perspectives for creative problem-solving to bring back to their teams and clinical settings.
Catalyzing Collaborations in Artificial Intelligence and Transplant Care
Organized in conjunction with University Health Network and Mayo Clinic, the 3rd Annual Transplant AI Symposium took place in November 2025 and offered two days of discovery, connection, and innovation at the intersection of AI and transplant care. Attendees had a front-row seat to the latest innovations and learned how to apply AI tools in novel ways to improve donor and recipient matching, equitably prioritize organ allocation, and reduce long-term, post-transplant complications.
National Audience Convenes for Menopause and Perimenopause Education
Over 500 learners from across Canada gathered for the Canadian Menopause Society’s 5th Biennial National Scientific Conference in Montréal in September 2025 to learn about new therapies and management approaches. Building upon this momentum, the conversation continued with 5 sold out webinars designed to meet health professionals where they are in their home provinces with webinars offered in every time zone across the country.
Interactive, Case-Based Learning Takes Centre Stage at Update in General Surgery
Presented by the University of Toronto’s Department of Surgery, Update in General Surgery shared the latest evidence in April 2026 with sessions spanning breast surgical oncology, endoscopy and GI surgery, acute care surgery, and strategies for practice management. A cornerstone of this annual conference is the small group workshop that allows participants to refine their surgical skills under close faculty supervision. This year’s workshop focused on abdominal wall anatomy and hernia repair techniques.
Education Scholarship
The CPD scholarship team continued to advance scholarship in the field of CPD through diverse research and community-based contributions.
Accreditation Scholarship
A peer-reviewed paper by Morag Paton, Jen Estrella, and David Wiljer examining dual accreditation in CPD as a mechanism for enhancing learning, equity, and health system integration has been accepted for publication in the Canadian Medical Education Journal.
The team was active in national knowledge dissemination, with invited presentations at several venues, including: Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada (AFMC)’s CPD Deans Meeting, the University of Toronto’s CPD Forum, an invited plenary at the AFMC CPD Research Symposium addressing the current landscape and emerging directions in CPD accreditation scholarship, and an invited oral presentation at the University of Toronto's TechKnowFile IT Conference exploring the use of artificial intelligence to accelerate accreditation practices.
A peer-reviewed oral presentation examining visibility and invisibility in accreditation practices has been accepted for the National Accreditation Conference in Ottawa in October 2026.
CPD Accreditation Information Series
The accreditation team delivered 5 webinars in 2025-26 covering critical accreditation updates, inclusive learning, Royal College and CFPC credit types, interactivity and active learning requirements, and pre- and post-program planning with scientific planning committees.
Evaluation data across all webinars indicated strong satisfaction and high rates of intended practice change in addition to being consistently rated as inclusive and accessible by all respondents. The series will continue in fall 2026, with content shaped in part by participant-identified priorities.
CPD Forum
We also organized a forum for connection, learning, and collaboration in CPD this past year. For those who work in program development, education consultation, accreditation, or professional services in the CPD ecosystem, the CPD Forum shared relevant updates and interesting directions shaping the field and our daily work.
Across 4 webinars, members of our community shared innovative practices in program evaluation, dual accreditation, applications of artificial intelligence, and approaches for embedding equity, diversity, and inclusion in program design. Collectively, these discussions laid a strong foundation as we look ahead to building an inclusive community of practice in CPD.
CPD Discovery and Ideas Grants
The CPD Discovery and Ideas Grants support research and scholarly activities within the Temerty Faculty of Medicine that are aligned with CPD's mission and focused on the continuing professional development of practicing healthcare professionals. Learn more about this year's winning projects.
Presentations at SACME Annual Meeting
Members of the University of Toronto CPD community delivered presentations on varied topics at the Society for Academic Continuing Medical Education (SACME) Annual Meeting that convened under the theme “CPD For All” from March 22 - 25, 2026 in Lexington, Kentucky. Read more about the presentations delivered by our CPD colleagues.
There was also much to celebrate at this year’s annual meeting:
- David Wiljer (Associate Dean, CPD, University of Toronto) received the Distinguished Service in Continuing Medical Education Award.
- Branka Agic (Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto) received the Dave Davis Research in Continuing Medical Education Award.
- Holly Harris (PhD Candidate, Collaborative Learning College, CAMH) and Sophie Soklaridis (Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Department of Family & Community Medicine, University of Toronto) received the Fox Award for Best Research Presentation.
- Suzan Schneeweiss (Professor, Department of Paediatrics and Former Associate Dean, CPD, University of Toronto) steps into an exciting leadership role as President of SACME in 2026.
Awards
Celebrating Excellence at Continuing Professional Development
Each year, we recognize members of our community who advance CPD for health professionals through demonstrated excellence in research, teaching, scholarship, program innovation, and collaboration. Congratulations to recipients of this year’s awards for their significant contributions to CPD during the past academic year:
Colin Woolf Award for Excellence in Program Development and Coordination
Narrative-Based Medicine Lab
Dave Davis Research Award
Abhimanyu Sud (Assistant Professor, Department of Family & Community Medicine)
We would also like to thank all nominators for helping us recognize members of our CPD community who are making an impact. Learn more about our annual CPD Awards.
