Dr. Claire Touchie, Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine, has won the prestigious President’s Award for Exemplary National Leadership in Academic Medicine from The Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada (AFMC). This is AFMC’s top prize and is one of the most eminent recognitions of its kind in Canada for medical educators.
Dr. Touchie’s leadership has had a profound influence on the Faculty and beyond. Here at the University she is a valuable member of the Department of Innovation in Medical Education (DIME), where the focus of her work is on medical education. Her clinical focus is in the care of patients with HIV infection.
Dr. Touchie led the recent execution of two major national projects: the Medical Council of Canada’s Blueprint project and the AFMC’s Entrustable Professional Activities for Undergraduate Medical Education. Both projects required consensus-building and buy-in from multiple stakeholders across the country, and thanks to Dr. Touchie’s hard work and dedication, both have had a significant positive impact on Canadian medical school outcomes.
In addition to this work, Dr. Touchie led a team in the development of a national assessment course, the Canadian Association for Medical Education (CAME) Principles of Assessment for the Continuum of Clinical Competence, which is delivered in both French and English.
“It means a huge amount to know that my peers think of me as an exemplary national leader,” says Dr. Touchie. “It also makes me realize what a luxury it was to work with such talented and accomplished teams on large national projects.”
Dr. Touchie will receive her award on May 30, during a ceremony at the Canadian Conference on Medical Education (CCME) in Winnipeg.