Three faculty members of the Institute of Health Sciences Education (IHSE) have been announced as recipients of the 2024 Canadian Association for Medical Education (CAME) .
Carlos Gomez-Garibello, PhD, Assistant Professor of Medicine; Maryam Wagner, MEd, PhD, Assistant Professor of Health Sciences Education; and Meredith Young, PhD, Associate Professor and Associate Director, Research at the IHSE received the award at a virtual event for CAME members on February 29, 2024.
The three were nominated for the award by their colleague, Robert Sternszus, MDCM, MEd, Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Health Sciences Education. Prof. Young also nominated Prof. Gomez-Garibello and Prof. Wagner for the honour.
The award promotes, recognizes and rewards faculty across the country who are committed to medical education in Canadian medical schools.
Elizabeth Anne Kinsella, Director of the IHSE, described the recipients as, “leaders in clinical reasoning, validity measures, and much more.”
“I am continually astounded by the scholarly innovation, passion and dedication of these faculty members, and delighted to see their efforts recognized by CAME.”
Carlos Gomez-Garibello
Prof. Gomez-Garibello earned his doctoral degree in Educational Psychology at Ď㽶ĘÓƵ, and his areas of interest include workplace-based assessment methods at the postgraduate level, test development, and measurement of skill and judgement acquisition. Prof. Gomez-Garibello is currently Faculty Lead, Assessment for Postgraduate Medical Education at McGill, where he provides pivotal support to residency programs in advancing assessment methods. His work is inspired by best-regarded educational principles in implementing competency-based medical education, as well as in designing educational plans for residents requiring specific remediation. He also serves as co-chair of the Surgical Education Group within the Department of Surgery alongside Prof. Wagner.
“I am pleasantly surprised at the recognition of the work I’ve been doing in the field. It’s also a testament to the contributions that the other recipients and I have made in different spaces to medical education and health sciences education,” he says.
“I’m grateful to Dr. Sternszus for the nomination, and Prof. Kinsella for her continuous support. I also extend my gratitude to the colleagues I’ve been working with in different fields within health professions education. Finally, my gratitude goes to the clinical teachers, trainees, students and residents with whom I’ve worked in different projects, and from whom I have learned so much about education in different contexts.”
Dr. Sternszus describes Prof. Gomez-Garibello as, “a highly valued teacher and mentor. His contributions to teaching in the master’s and PhD programs in health sciences education at McGill are invaluable.”
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Maryam Wagner
Prof. Wagner completed her doctoral studies on students’ use of cognitively diagnostic feedback for advancing writing at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education/University of Toronto. Her research interests include examining validity issues across assessment, and more recently in the application of artificial intelligence across all aspects of assessment development and uses. Her research also explores language proficiency assessment in health professions, cognitive diagnostic assessment and feedback, and test design and development. Prof. Wagner is also Education Lead, Health Professions in the Office of Accreditation and Education Quality Improvement (AEQI), and is co-chair of the Surgical Education Group, alongside Prof. Gomez-Garibello. She also serves as Interim Associate Director, Graduate Studies at the IHSE.
“It has been a long but stimulating journey of learning, integrating and finding new colleagues to collaborate with in my transition to health sciences education. This recognition was a way of knowing that all my previous work has culminated into becoming part of this new community of practice,” she says.
“I would like to thank Prof. Young and Dr. Sternszus for nominating me. I would also like to thank Prof. Kinsella, who has been so supportive and has given me the opportunity to grow, develop and emerge in so many different ways. I would also like to thank Prof. Gomez-Garibello, who I frequently collaborate with in research and at McGill.”
Dr. Sternszus calls Prof. Wagner, “a generous collaborator, engaged teacher, dedicated mentor, and is fully committed to supporting learners and early career scholars in health professions education and scholarship.”
Meredith Young
Prof. Young completed her PhD in cognitive psychology at McMaster University. Her work aims to make our understandings of key concepts in health professions education more explicit in order to support productive dialogue to better support teaching, assessment and scholarly practices. Prof. Young’s current research interests include clinical reasoning, assessment and validity, and research approaches in health professions education.
Prof. Young was previously honoured by CAME in 2017, when she received the Meridith Marks New Educator Award.
“I am so pleased and proud to be receiving the CAME Certificate of Merit. It’s a wonderful recognition for all of the different ways people in our community contribute to medical education – from research to practice to policy,” Prof. Young says. “I’m also thrilled to be named alongside Prof. Gomez-Garibello and Prof. Wagner – they have done so much to improve assessment practice and scholarship both locally and nationally.”
“I would like to extend my thanks to those who nominated me, but also to all of my colleagues and friends at the IHSE who make it such a pleasure to work on the puzzles inherent in health sciences education research.”
Dr. Sternszus describes Prof. Young as “an outstanding scholar and leader in the field of health sciences education and is incredibly deserving of this award”.
In her leadership role and as a teacher and supervisor at the IHSE, Dr. Sternszus added that she “has shown an unwavering commitment to building the capacity of her colleagues and mentees”.
Congratulations to the recipients!
Photo: From left to right: Carlos Gomez-Garibello, Maryam Wagner and Meredith Young.