In this issue:

• Message from the Chair
• AMHSP Tip: Thinking about retirement?
• What You Need to Know
  • TGIF - March 13
  • Welcome to the DoM
  • Transitions in Medicine, Session 2
  • DoM Awards Nominations
• The Science of Explaining Medicine: Use the power of story in
  m​​​​​​edicine and science
• ACB: Trauma-informed care is essential for health equity
• DoM Research
  • Me2 Majumdar Research & QI Day
  • Share Your Story
  • 2026 GI Research Day
• DoM News
• Happenings in DoM
• Helpful Support and Tips
• FoMD News
• U of A News
• AHS and AMA News

MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR

The recent Pulse article on medical dress codes prompted concern among some members of our Department regarding its tone and impact. I want to thank colleagues for bringing forward their feedback. The article was written to examine how concepts of professionalism, particularly dress standards, may unintentionally create barriers for some trainees and physicians. While it was not intended as a personal attack or as a dismissal of any colleagues’ identities, histories or contributions to medicine, I recognize the concerns raised about the tone and language used. I value psychological safety and am committed to creating an environment in which all members of our Department can express differing perspectives openly and respectfully.

Articles published in Pulse are intended to stimulate reflection, critical thinking, and open conversation on complex issues affecting our professional community. They are not policy statements nor do they represent formal Departmental positions. The purpose of the piece was to invite discussion about how we define professionalism in contemporary medicine, not to prescribe change or characterize colleagues in reductive ways.

Without a doubt, conversations about professionalism must account for patient expectations, clinical context, safety and the symbolic meaning of traditions such as the white coat. At the same time, it is reasonable to examine whether certain norms may have unintended, differential impacts on individuals from diverse cultural, religious, gender or socioeconomic backgrounds.

I believe this issue presents an opportunity, not for polarization, but for thoughtful engagement. By grounding discussions in evidence, lived experience and mutual respect, we can advance inclusion while preserving trust, professionalism and excellence in patient care.  I look forward to continuing this discussion in a climate of openness, inclusion and respect.

Sincerely,

Narmin Kassam, MD, MHPE, FRCPC, FACP
Professor and Chair, Department of Medicine

AMHSP TIP

Thinking about retirement?

The AMHSP provides the opportunity for a phased retirement from academic and clinical duties, as described in Section 3.8 of the Policy, Guidelines and Procedures. Participating physicians should review plans with their Division Director and may request a decrease in overall FTE, along with proportional changes to FTE assigned to the Individual Service Agreement (ISA) pillars.

For participating physicians who wish to reduce or discontinue on-call responsibilities, approval is required by the Division Director and the AHS Zone Clinical Department Head. A minimum of 15% decrease of the total AMHSP remuneration is stipulated by policy.

Withdrawing from the AMHSP as part of retirement planning requires a Letter of Termination to be submitted expressing a commitment to exit from the AMHSP within two years. On-call responsibilities continue until the Letter of Termination is accepted.

If you have any questions, please contact Ashley Bosch.

— Dr. Jacques Romney

For more tips, please visit the AMHSP website.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Celebrate the luck of the Irish with us!

Friday, March 13  |  4 - 7 p.m.  |  Katz Atrium

All FoMD staff and students are invited to shake off the week, mingle with great company, and enjoy a lively St. Patrick’s Day–themed afternoon full of green spirit and good cheer. It’s the perfect chance to spark new connections, share laughs, and recharge together before the weekend. Wear your green, bring your energy, and join us for a shamrockin’ good time!

Please join us in welcoming the following DoM members

• Ashley Doyle, medical education program coordinator, Core Internal Medicine
• Dr. Kenneth Ernest-Suarez, assistant professor, Division of Gastroenterology
• Angie Kapty, department program support (Research)

Charting Your Next Chapter

Get a practical snapshot of what clinical transition and legacy planning can look like as you move through the later stages of your career. This session will focus on how clinicians can thoughtfully and compliantly transition out of active clinical practice, ensuring continuity of patient care, and supporting divisions through effective succession planning. 

Recording of Session 1 - a recording of Charting Your Path: Understanding Your Career Transition into Retirement will be sent to DoM faculty members by email over the next week.

Call for Awards Nominations!

We want to recognize the outstanding work of individuals and teams and are now accepting nominations for all Department of Medicine Awards. 

Nominations are due by Monday, March 16, 2026 @ 5 p.m. MT. Nominations can be submitted online through the appropriate nomination form.  

• Research Awards 
  • Basic Science Publication Award
  • Clinical Investigation Publication Award
  • Clinical Faculty Research Award
  • Paul W. Armstrong Excellence in Research Award
  • Translational Research Award
• Medical Education Publication Award
• J. Charles "Chuck" Morrison Award
• Career Development Awards - three awards

THE SCIENCE OF
EXPLAINING MEDICINE

Use The Power of Story in
Medicine and Science

We've all been there. The torture of the sleepy, after lunch, data-packed scientific presentation. You are interested in the topic; it’s important, but across the room, eyes are glazing.

Robust evidence is crucial, but the takeaway knowledge can sometimes be lost in the data unless we give the audience something to help prime their brains to receive it. How do we capture attention, spark curiosity, and make our information memorable? 

The answer is actually as old as humanity…it’s STORY. 

Humans are evolutionarily wired for narrative, so weaving stories into our science communication unlocks a powerful tool for connection and understanding. Many of us use patient cases in presentations, but we can level up by using the power of story in other ways.

Read on for tips on HOW to leverage our human, innate love of stories in your medical and science communications...without compromising the science.

DoM ACCESS, COMMUNITY
AND BELONGING

Trauma-informed Care is
Essential for Health Equity

Trauma-informed care is a critical approach in health care, particularly for marginalized populations such as individuals experiencing homelessness. These individuals carry a disproportionate burden of adverse childhood experiences, structural violence and ongoing social exclusion. People experiencing homelessness have significantly higher rates of mental illness, substance use, chronic disease, and premature mortality, along with greater emergency department use and longer hospital stays. These outcomes are not incidental; they are shaped by trauma, stigma, discrimination, poverty, and repeated negative encounters with health systems and social institutions.

Trauma-informed care reframes clinical practice from asking, “What is wrong with you?” to “What has happened to you?” and centres safety, trust, choice, collaboration, and empowerment. By recognizing trauma as a pervasive and ongoing influence, clinicians can reduce re-traumatization, strengthen engagement, and adapt care to patients’ lived realities, including competing priorities, unstable housing, and mistrust of institutions. This approach is especially important for Indigenous peoples, justice-involved individuals, and gender- and sexuality-marginalized populations who face compounded barriers to care.

When embedded into clinical practice, trauma-informed care improves continuity, supports safer discharge planning, and reduces avoidable acute care use. Most importantly, it advances equity, dignity, and access, fostering trust and healing for those historically excluded from traditional health systems—benefiting both patients and the broader community.

Read other ACB definitions and topics on the DoM ACB site.

DoM RESEARCH

Research News

Abstract portal is now open!

Trainees: seize this chance to refine your presentation abilities and present your research. Submit an abstract for either an oral presentation, a poster presentation, or both to showcase your work.

 Amplify your impact: Share Your Story! 

Do you have a new publication, innovative project, fresh approach to clinical care or education, or new grant or collaboration? We want to share DoM member projects that offer new perspectives, challenge current thinking, or show meaningful community impact, as well as new research publications.

Submit your story to the DoM Impact Story Submission form and encourage your colleagues to do the same.

We’d love to explore these stories with you. Your submissions may also be forwarded to Folio.

Call for Abstracts: due March 20

The 2026 Gastroenterology Research Day highlights cutting-edge gastrointestinal and liver research spanning clinical, translational, and basic sciences. We invite abstracts from U of A trainees and investigators engaged in adult or pediatric GI-related research.

Faculty Funding and Awards

CIHR Internal Review for Spring 2026 Competition

Sponsor deadline | Mar. 4. 

CIHR Advancing 2S/LGBTQI+ Health through Research Competition

Sponsor deadline | Mar. 19. The CIHR Institute of Gender and Health and partners are thrilled to announce this funding opportunity: $175,000 per year for up to 4 years, for a total of $700,000 per grant.

Trainee + Postdoctoral Scholars
Funding and Awards

Application Deadline: Sunday, April 5

The value of this DoM Fellowship Award is up to a total maximum of $24,500 for the trainee's salary, benefits and employer statutory deductions.

Application Deadline: April 30

The Division of Neurology is accepting applications for the Roozen Family Neurology Fellowship positions, to start in July 2027. The max. value is $100,00 per year for up to two years.

Application Deadline: June 11

The Department of Medicine Graduate Program is accepting applications for the Doctoral Recruitment Scholarship. This year, the department is pleased to offer one award of $25,000 to an outstanding prospective PhD student.

For more Funding and Award Opportunities, see:

Members' Research Publications

• Authors: Lisa M.A. van Lierop, Rebecca Dang, Talat Bessissow, Neeraj Narula, Timothy Ramsay, Peter Greenstreet, Frank Hoentjen, Sanjay K. Murthy. Practices and Perceptions of Advanced Endoscopic Imaging Techniques for Colorectal Neoplasia Detection in Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD): Report of a Survey Among Canadian IBD Specialists. Journal: iGIE. doi: 10.1016/j.igie.2026.02.006

DoM NEWS

Congratulations to Dr. Vivian Mushahwar (professor, Division of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation) on receiving the 2025 J. Gordin Kaplan Award for Excellence in Research, the University of Alberta’s most prestigious research award, named after its first vice-president of research.

Congratulations to Dr. Mohammed Osman (associate professor, Division of Rheumatology) on receiving the 2026 Early Career Investigator Award by the Canadian Rheumatology Association.

Congratulations to Dr. Jan Willem Cohen Tervaert (professor, Division of Rheumatology) on receiving the 2025-2026 Best Rheumatology Publication by the AMA Section of Rheumatology for Drug- and vaccine-induced ANCA-associated vasculitis: An overview. 

• Dr. Quentin Durand-Moreau (associate professor, Division of Preventive Medicine)
  • Thousands of Alberta government employees return to offices as hybrid work plan ends (CityNews)
• Dr. Justin Ezekowitz (professor, Division of Cardiology)
  • Sodium Restrictions May Only Benefit Patients at Low Risk of HF (HCPLive)
     
• Dr. Monty Ghosh (assistant professor, Division of General Internal Medicine)
  • Opinion: Closing supervised consumption site without a plan risks abandoning people and communities (Calgary Herald)
  • Is too much naloxone dangerous? (Canadian Affairs)
     
• Dr. Vivian Mushahwar (professor, Division of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation)
  • Local innovation, partnership celebrated at U of A (CTV News)
     
• Dr. Gavin Oudit (assistant professor, Division of Cardiology)
  • ​​​​​​​Why do 3 major diseases disproportionately impact Black Canadians? New genome project aims to find out (CBC)
     
• Dr. Lynora Saxinger (professor, Division of Infectious Diseases)
  • The subject of Lyme disease is littered with misinformation. Celebrities are part of the problem, experts say (CBC)
  • Alberta Insider: Behind the delay in disclosing a measles death (The Globe and Mail)
  • Pneumonia hospitalizations rose dramatically last year, Canadian data shows (CTV News)
     
• Dr. Ameeta Singh (clinical professor, Division of Infectious Diseases) ​​​​​​​
  • U of A study associates decreasing syphilis rates with rapid/point of care testing (The Gateway)
     
• Qiming Tan (postdoctoral scholar, Division of Gastroenterology, Supervisor: Dr. Frank Hoentjen)
  • High-fibre diet boosts gut health in people with Prader-Willi syndrome (U of A News)
     
• Dr. Puneeta Tandon (professor, Division of Gastroenterology)
  • Breathing techniques for chronic health issues focus of U of A program (CTV TV)

HAPPENINGS IN DoM

Registration is now open

Discover a world of innovation and expertise at the 2026 Annual Update in Adult Medicine, your gateway to the latest breakthroughs in general internal medicine. 

Classroom D - 2F1.04 WMC, University Hospital

Join us in person for coffee and good conversation, or click on links below to register on Zoom.

• Mar. 6 - Gender Affirming Care in Internal Medicine- Creating Safe and Inclusive Encounters. Dr. Anna Rogers, clinical lecturer, Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism and Dr. Sofia Ahmed, professor, Division of Nephrology, DoM
• Mar. 13 - Syphilis and HIV rapid/point of care tests: A game changer in the response to the syphilis resurgence in Canada. Dr. Ameeta Singh, clinical professor, Division of Infectious Diseases, DoM
• Mar. 20 - The Skin Biopsy - Will Fix It...Or Will It? Acute Dermatology Myths and Realities. Dr. Eunice Chow, clinical professor and Dr. Ana-Maria Bosonea, clinical lecturer, Division of Dermatology, DoM
• Mar. 27 - Research Grand Rounds, Dr. Philip Halloran, professor, Division of Nephrology, DoM
• Apr. 3 - No rounds due to Good Friday holiday

In case you missed it:

• Dr. Valerie Sim, This is Your Brain on Music: Improving Cognitive Health in Our Patients and Ourselves
• Dr. Rachel Khadaroo and Dr. Pamela Mathura, The Future of Enhancing Patient Mobility & the Role of BE-FIT
• Dr. Paul Forsythe Psychoneuroimmunology of the Holobiont
• Dr. Amir Tabatabaei Dahkili, Research Grand Rounds: Moving Beyond Traditional Drug Discovery
   
• Medical Jeopardy, with hosts Dr. Tim Chan and Dr. Matthew Church. Watch this fun event and test your own knowledge.

See more previous recordings on the MGR Library web page.

HELPFUL SUPPORT and TIPS

• Expansion of Gemini tools for faculty and staff. Several new AI features are now available within U of A's Google Workspace environment. 
   
• Human Resources Development Fund (HRDF) is now open for support staff to take a course, workshop or training program between Apr. 1 and Jun. 30.

• U of A Branding Tip: The black or white version of the U of A logo is NOT just changing the green logo to black or white.

FACULTY OF MEDICINE & DENTISTRY

• Congratulations to Dr. Mohit Bhutani (professor, Division of Pulmonary Medicine) on his appointment as FoMD's Associate Dean, International Relations for a three-year term, starting March 1, 2026. Dr. Bhutani will work to strengthen global engagement and partnerships in support of the faculty’s strategic goals. (LinkedIn)
   
• Dr. Richard Fedorak Memorial Award in Professionalism | Mar. 31. The Richard Fedorak Memorial Award in Professionalism is awarded annually to a faculty clinician (a physician member of the academic staff, or a physician appointed as a clinical faculty member) who best exemplifies the attributes of the profession that physicians and learners aspire to emulate.
   
• FoMD Faculty Development Workshops

  • AI Chatbots in Clinical Medicine | Mar. 12 @ 2 p.m., online

  • Comprehensive Literature Searching | Mar. 18 @ 10 a.m., online

  • Microaggressions | Mar. 20 @ 9 a.m., online

UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA NEWS

• U of A unveils shared values: unwavering curiosity, shared accountability, a spirit of community and impact through excellence. A poster and sticker has been sent to each DoM division. If you would like a copy, please contact DoM Communications at domcom@ualberta.ca.
   
• Year one results of the Integrated Enrolment Growth Plan (IEGP). The university’s first IEGP Annual Report highlights progress across all strategic priorities and enrolment growth that exceeded the Year One target.

AHS and AMA NEWS

The Wellbeing Imperative for Leaders | Mar. 18. Speaker Dr. Melanie Lewis, Professor of Pediatrics; Chief Wellbeing Officer in FoMD; and General Pediatrician at the Stollery Children’s Hospital, U of A. Hosted by the AHS Provincial Medical Leadership Educational Series.

Free AMA webinar that support PPIP requirements. The Alberta Medical Association Accelerating Change Transformation Team (AMA-ACTT) is offering free, interactive webinars to help physicians meet the Physician Practice Improvement Program (PPIP) requirements by the College of Physicians & Surgeons of Alberta.

• Facing the Drain of Medical Practice | Mar. 19

Brain-Based Psychological Safety Leadership, Apr. 20 | Register by Mar. 20. Facilitated by Coach Callie. This workshop will explore the definition of workplace psychological safety coined by Dr. Amy Edmonson and the Brain-based definition and S.A.F.E.T.Y model from the Academy for Brain-based Safety Leadership. Location: Calgary, AB