It was the first event of its kind at the faculty, and based on its success it won’t be the last. More than 100 learners, faculty members and staff from the Faculty of Medicine came out for The Dean’s “Ask Me Anything” networking event on Thursday, January 11.
The purpose of the event was to provide learners with an opportunity to ask their dean, department heads, and faculty members questions in an informal environment. And vice versa! The venue for this particular event was Dooly’s, a popular pool hall just down the road from Roger Guindon Hall, home of the Faculty of Medicine.
“It was really encouraging to see how many people turned out,” said Dr. Jasmin, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine. “It’s important that we create these kinds of opportunities outside our learning environment and labs where we can have actual conversations with each other, away from the daily distractions of our work.”
The event was also organized to provide networking opportunities and to encourage pairing of trainees in the graduate and medical programs.
Students from several graduate programs showed up in full force, with representation from other programs including Undergraduate Medical Education (UGME).
“I have had some very positive feedback from some of the grad students who said that, in addition to the free pool and food, it was a great opportunity to connect with other students and with faculty,” said David Lohnes, chair of CMM.
“I find that get-togethers like this help with interactions in the workplace, because students are much more apt to approach professors if they have gotten to know them,” he added.
This is just one of several initiatives planned for the coming months that will bring together medical and graduate students as well as residents and post-doctoral fellows to encourage pairing across our learner groups within the faculty as to further promote translational research.
Dates for future events will be posted soon on the Faculty’s events page.
