UTM celebrates the Mississauga Academy of Medicine class of 2017
There were photos, smiles and lots of cheers as families and friends gathered at a special reception to fete the 2017 class of the Mississauga Academy of Medicine on Monday, June 5.
“We are here to celebrate the journey of an outstanding class,” said associate dean of medical education Dr. Alison Freeland. “In the last four years, beyond clinical work and patient care, you have learned to trust in teamwork, resilience, empathy and respect. Those are skills you can take anywhere and do anything with.”
U of T medical faculty dean Dr. Trevor Young congratulated the gathering. “Our students have shown great support for each other, and great personal resolve and resilience,” he said. “You’re among the pioneers here. You have established high standards for those who follow, and will be a wonderful part of our legacy.”
Professor Ulrich Krull, interim vice-president and principal at U of T Mississauga, congratulated the students for “changing the nature of our community.”
“UTM is still learning and growing, and the process we’ve been through with the Mississauga Academy of Medicine has changed us,” Krull said. “Thank you for leading the way. I wish you great success.”
Dr. Patricia Houston, vice dean of U of T’s MD program, also attended the celebration. “To be a health care professional is a privilege,” she said. “It truly is a privilege to have the ability to care for somebody else, and your class does take care of each other—you are a ‘MAMily.’”
Founding academy director Dr. Pamela Coates, who stepped down in February, had words of wisdom for the final class of students under her direction. “Already, we are starting to see graduates from our program setting up practice in our community,” she said. “We’re so proud of you and what you’ve accomplished. You’re going to have an opportunity to make a difference, and it’s an incredible privilege.”
Trillium Health Partners president and chief executive officer Michelle DiEmanuele praised the group. “You have helped to create a new generation of learners and teachers and a vibrant, team-based model where patients benefit each day,” DiEmanuele said. “Thank you for being pioneers who took not the traditional path, but the transformative one. We are truly now Canada’s largest community academic teaching hospital. Embedding medical education into our hospital has helped to define Trillium Health Partners.”
Also in attendance was philanthropist Terrence Donnelly, for whom the Health Sciences Complex at UTM is named.
The celebrations concluded with a convocation ceremony on the St. George campus on June 6. The outgoing class has established a new “Class of 1T7” scholarship to support future MAM students.