Women’s College Hospital (WCH) is an internationally recognized academic health sciences centre, fully affiliated with the University of Toronto. It offers unparalleled mentorship, teaching, leadership and learning in an ambulatory environment with a focus on generating sustainable health system solutions.
WCH’s team of professionals and learners are revolutionizing patient care and the patient experience by transforming inpatient to outpatient care models and enabling the most effective integration of virtual care.
WCH’s Education Department supports humanistic education and care, engaging patients and communities in working to improve processes and practices. The team strives to create life-long learners, while also aiding the path of our future healthcare professionals.
Our Team
THERESA KAY
Theresa.kay@wchospital.ca
Theresa has been the Director of Education at Women’s College Hospital since July 2019. She has been with Women’s College Hospital since 2011 in several Professional Practice and Education roles. She completed her Bachelor’s degree in Health Sciences – Physiotherapy and her Master’s degree in Health Sciences, both at McMaster University. Theresa has a Status Appointment at the University of Toronto in the Department of Physical Therapy.
Dr. Lenkov is the Director for Undergraduate Medical Education for Peters-Boyd Academy in the Faculty of Medicine at Women’s College Hospital. Dr. Lenkov has been a physician with Women’s College Hospital for 20 years and has been a Medical Educator for 18 years. Dr. Lenkov completed her Bachelor of Science Degree and her MDCM from McGill University.
Jennifer.alexander@wchospital.ca
Jennifer is the Medical Education Coordinator here at Women’s College Hospital, overseeing the Postgraduate and Undergraduate Medical students from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto. She has been with Women’s College Hospital since 2004 and has been the Medical Education Coordinator since 2005. Jennifer completed her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and History at Ryerson University as well as a diploma of Medical Administration at Herzing College.
Maryanne.howse@wchospital.ca
Mary Anne is the Manager of Library Services and has been with Women’s College Hospital since 2002. She began at Women’s College Hospital as the Manager of the Marion Powell Women’s Health Resource Centre in 2002 and later took over the Health Sciences Library. Her responsibilities have grown to include coordinating E-learning, and Nursing/Health Discipline and other learner registration. Mary Anne completed her Bachelor of Arts degree from Waterloo University and Honours at Brock University and her Master of Library Sciences at the University of Toronto.
Victoria is the Patient and Community Engagement Lead, starting at Women’s College Hospital in summer 2022. In this newly created position, her responsibilities include enhancing how the hospital works with patients, community groups and others with lived experience to ensure innovative and impactful relationships. Victoria is originally from the UK and completed a Bachelor of Science degree at Durham University and a PhD in cancer research from Newcastle University. She has a range of professional experience in research science, health writing and patient advocacy.
Danica is the Academic Education Coordinator here at Women’s College Hospital, overseeing all LMS, Education initiatives. She completed her Master’s in Business Administration and is very passionate about adult learning and building the capacity and overall learner experience. She has over 14 years of experience working in the realm of education, training, and support. She is hoping we can steer the learning centre into a hub for all academic and education projects.
Joyce has recently been appointed to the role of education scientist at WCH. She is a PhD-trained scientist with 30 years of experience in qualitative and mixed-methods education research, program development, and evaluation. She is excited to be helping to build a culture of education scholarship across WCH departments. Joyce is currently developing a consultation system for clinical staff and faculty to assist WCH stakeholders with their education scholarship.
Fully affiliated with the University of Toronto (UofT) Women’s College Hospital is a world-leading institute in health for women, health equity and health system solutions – a hospital designed to keep people out of the hospital with specialty clinics offering unique and one-of-a-kind experiences.
We’re proud to host over 1,200 student learners per year from a variety of health professions. These learners have the opportunity to participate with world-class educators in the provision of high-quality person-centred care.
If you are a student/learner and are interested in a placement at WCH, please work through your academic institution and your placement advisor. If unable to go through your academic institution/placement advisor, please contact the WCH Learner Registration Office and they will reach out to the respective Education Coordinator:
WCH Learner Registration Office
Please note that observerships and research placements are NOT coordinated through the Education Department or the Learner Registration Office.
- Research placements are coordinated via the Women’s College Research Institute
- Observerships are coordinated through the Department of Medical Affairs and Professional Practice, respectively.
Learners at WCH
To those joining WCH as a student learner, welcome! We are thrilled you chose to continue your education with us, and we look forward to being part of your journey. The Education Department has compiled a collection of helpful information to assist you through your time at WCH.
As you prepare to begin your placement at WCH, you may have questions about your placement and experience at the hospital. The Education Department at WCH has put together a collection of FAQs to help you navigate your time with us.
FAQs from Learners
If PPE is required, it will be supplied by the departments where your rotation is occurring. If you have concerns, please speak to your supervisor or contact the Education department.
Rotations for Faculty of Medicine Learners will be determined by U of T. The Registrar and Education Coordinators will work together to try to place you in a clinic and with a supervisor to meet your experience and interest. It may not always be possible because of supervisor availability. However, the placement will be in a clinic appropriate to the level of your education and interest
Learners schedules usually follow the same schedule as the Supervisor. You can discus schedules with your supervisor on your first day.
Education Awards
Education Awards applications for the year will be arriving soon. Check this space for more updates.
This is open to physicians, staff including nurses, allied health, non-clinical staff who supervise students, and administrative staff who support students/learners.
Contact Information:
Theresa Kay, Room 6229 – 76 Grenville St.
Phone 416-323-6400, x 3103 theresa.kay@wchospital.ca
Help Us Train Our Future Physicians
Womenʼs College Hospital is committed to providing practical learning experiences for our medical students. We welcome you to become a patient partner in our Volunteer Patient Program to assist in the education of our future physicians.
The Volunteer Patient Program involves ambulatory patients in the training of medical students and helps develop medical studentsʼ interpersonal skills through encounters with patients in a non-clinical setting.
An Ideal Participant
- Has a means of transportation to and from Womenʼs College Hospital
- Is comfortable speaking in English
- Has at least one medical issue they are comfortable discussing with a student
- Is available Thursday or Friday mornings for two hours for a minimum of twice per year
What Can You Expect From the Experience?
- Full supervision by a licensed physician
- Our promise to keep your health information private and confidential
- A stipend to cover travel costs
- A no-obligation rule that allows you to opt out of the program at any time
- An opportunity to provide feedback at the end of the academic year as to how we can improve the program
*Please note that we will not provide you with healthcare recommendations
What Is Required from You?
- Two hours of your time (on Thursday or Friday mornings for a minimum of twice per year)
- Willingness to be involved in this unique medical training experience
- Having a discussion in English with one or more medical students about at least one medical issue
- Being comfortable while medical students review your medical history and perform a non-invasive physical examination under the supervision of a licensed physician
If you are interested in volunteering for the program or have any questions about participation, please contact: Jennifer Alexander, Education Coordinator jennifer.alexander@wchospital.ca