The Office of Learner Affairs (OLA) continues to support learners across the medical education continuum, prioritizing equitable access to a wide range of services and resources tailored to learner needs. Over the 2024-25 academic year, we continued to connect with learners and establish our office as the starting point and guide to learner wellness – both personally and professionally.
Our office continues to prioritize learner feedback to guide how we improve and solidify our policies and processes to best serve our learners and ensure their success. We During the 2024-25 year, we also focused on building our OLA team to reflect our diverse learner population which included hiring a new Faculty Career Lead for Black Learners.
As we look towards the future, we are excited to continue to grow as our services will expand to support all health professions learners at Temerty Medicine and build a presence at the Scarborough Academy of Medicine and Integrated Health (SAMIH). Our goal of providing equitable, inclusive and supportive services remains at the centre of what we do, and we are excited to continue to help learners establish themselves as caring and accomplished healthcare professionals.
Professor Tony Pignatiello
Associate Dean, Learner Affairs
Temerty Faculty of Medicine
Learner Life Specialists
Over the past year, OLA has focused on ensuring our LLS team reflects our diverse learner population. Within our LLS team, there are counsellors with lived experience within the Black, Muslim, Indigenous, Jewish and LGBTQIA+ communities. In addition to offering counselling services, our LLS team supports our diverse communities in building and expanding their personal and professional networks throughout the Faculty.
Learner Experience Unit
The LEU continues to support learners and remains responsive to their needs, offering pathways to discuss, disclose or report witnessed or experienced mistreatment. The Annual Learner Experience Report outlines the activities, initiatives and efforts from the LEU along with learner feedback.
Learner Wellness
Dr. Heather Flett, our Professor, Learner Wellness continues to promote learner wellbeing and safe learning and work environments. Over the last year she has developed workshops and resources focusing on fatigue risk management.
Mentorship
The new Lead Coordinator, Mentorship & Special Projects position has created a centralized 4 for learners to access a wide variety of mentorship programs, creating a “one-stop-shop” for personal and professional development.
Career Advising Team
Our Careers Team continues to evolve best practices to help learners transition to practice and over the past year developed a series of topical workshops serving postgraduate learners. We also hired a new Faculty Career Lead for Black Learners, Osman Kahiye, to help build networks and better integrate mentorship opportunities for Black learners within the Faculty.
Learner Affairs
The Learner Affairs Team focused on developing guidelines and streamlining processes around accommodations and accessibility, building awareness for both learners and faculty members.