Recommitting to Excellence at the Start of a New Academic Year
The cheers coming from Front Campus and the buzz in our hallways can only mean one thing: summer is drawing to a close and we are at the start of a new academic year. Last week, our newest undergraduate medical students arrived on campus for orientation. We will welcome new graduate students next week, while of course our new postgraduate medical trainees have been hard at work since July 1. This an exciting time for the new learners who join our community, and on behalf of the faculty who will educate you, I want to welcome our new students and trainees to U of T Medicine.
You join a Faculty with a legacy of fostering life-long learning experiences and conducting groundbreaking research. While we take pride in our history, it’s our future — which will be written by you who join us now — that is of greatest importance. We are driven by our vision for the Faculty, which is international leadership in improving health through innovation in research and education. Our social responsibility inspires our efforts to develop leaders who contribute to communities by improving the health of individuals and populations by discovering and applying knowledge. As students of this Faculty, you will be barometers of our collective success. You will be those international leaders and discoverers.
And it begins now.The attributes you will need are already present within in you. It’s why you sought to study here and why we offered you admission. You arrive with a passion for the professions that lie ahead of you. You have a desire to have impact in communities — both near and far — through your creativity and drive. And you arrive ready to be challenged and to contribute.
To care for others, you must first care for yourself. Know that you have joined a supportive community that is committed to your success. That support includes your fellow students, and your faculty and colleagues at our affiliated hospitals. It also includes resources like the Office of Health Professions Student Affairs and the Office of Resident Wellness that are available to support you throughout your time in U of T Medicine.You begin a lifelong affiliation with this Faculty. It’s a relationship that will be sustained through the friends you make here, the mentors you gain, and the knowledge you acquire. On behalf of all of our faculty and staff, and me personally, may I wish all of our incoming students and trainees a very warm welcome.
Catharine Whiteside
Dean, Faculty of Medicine
Vice-Provost, Relations with Health Care Institutions
