As Ophthalmologist-in-Chief of University Health Network, Dr. As University Health Network’s Vice President of Education, Dr. Richard Reznick works closely with the Toronto General & Western Hospital Foundation to help meet the current and future educational requirements of health care providers at UHN. Dr. Reznick has been Vice President since 1999 and is also the R.S. McLaughlin Professor and Chair of the Department of Surgery at the University of Toronto.

UHN’s education program is achieving global impact through support for scholarly advancement at the Donald R. Wilson Centre for Research in Education. The Centre has earned an international reputation as one of the premier sites for research in medical education. It now attracts visiting professors and scholars from around the world, including the Netherlands, Australia, France, Switzerland, Ethiopia, Argentina and the United Kingdom.

Innovations in technology have enabled UHN to extend programs beyond the classroom and reach trainees in distant parts of the world. For example, Dr. Allan Okrainec has developed a program using telesimulation via the Internet, enabling him to guide surgeons in Botswana as they develop laparoscopic surgical skills. Surgical trainees are also utilizing virtual reality programs to refine their surgical technique.

UHN has recently been endorsed as the University of Toronto site for the first Centre for Interprofessional Education in Canada. The Centre will develop curriculum for health sciences and social work faculties, which will become a new model for collaboration and teamwork. As the demand for health care services increases, the team approach will help to meet the needs of patients while addressing the resource limitations of our health care system.