Essence Course
The Essence of Education Scholarship | Idea to Dissemination
Essence is a longitudinal faculty development program offered by the Office of Education Scholarship (OES) within the Department of Family & Community Medicine (DFCM). Designed for physicians and other health professionals who want to build their knowledge and skills in education scholarship.
This year, Essence will have both CPD participants and graduate students through the DFCM Graduate Studies course catalogue (0.5 credit course), creating a rich and collaborative learning environment.
Over the course of one academic year, participants engage in a series of workshops and mentoring activities, with dedicated support to design and carry out a scholarly project of their own choosing.
Essence is led by experienced researchers and educators, and participants receive personalized guidance from OES faculty and education scientists at DFCM.
Registration is open for Essence 2026-2027. Apply now.
What Is Education Scholarship?
Education scholarship is an umbrella term that encompasses both research and innovation in health professions education. Quality in education scholarship is attained through work that is peer-reviewed, publicly disseminated, and designed to provide a foundation that others can build upon.
Program Schedule: 2026 – 2027
Essence will be offered in a hybrid format on Tuesday mornings from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., running from September 2026 through March 2027.
| Date | Topic | Format |
|---|---|---|
|
September 22, 2026 |
Clear goals |
In-person |
|
October 20, 2026 |
Adequate Preparation |
Virtual |
|
November 17, 2026 |
Qualitative Methodology |
In-person |
|
December 8, 2026 |
Program Evaluation |
Virtual |
|
January 19, 2027 |
Survey Methodology & Research Ethics |
Virtual |
|
February 2, 2027 |
Effective Dissemination: Part 1 |
Virtual |
|
March 2, 2027 |
Effective Dissemination: Part 2 |
Virtual |
|
March 30, 2027 |
Presentations |
In-person |
To learn more and reserve your spot, attend the virtual information session
Tuesday September 15, 2026 7:00-8:00PM EST via Zoom
View one pager here
Learning Objectives
By the end of the course, participants will:
- Develop basic competencies in Education Scholarship.
- Design, advance and complete a scholarly project of their own
- Engage in a community of practice, supporting peers in their roles as educators.
- Use dedicated time to develop and reflect on their project with support from experienced mentors.
Course Description
- No cost for DFCM faculty and North York General Hospital staff and physicians.
- Opportunity to create and develop an education project of your choosing – from initial idea to dissemination (final class presentation).
- Core topics designed to build the knowledge and skills required for scholarly project completion.
- Hybrid delivery model with monthly virtual or in-person workshops.
- Use of Zoom and a learning management system to support both synchronous and asynchronous learning, accommodating different learning styles.
Learning Experience
Between workshops, participants will:
- Complete structured tasks related to their project
- Participate in personalized consultations with an Education Scientist and a Clinician from the Office of Education Scholarship at the DFCM.
- Participants are expected to attend all the workshops and complete the course work.
Credits
- Participants in the DFCM Graduate Studies stream will receive 0.5 elective credits. For CCFP members, the course has been accredited for 55 credits.
Who Should Apply?
- Health professionals interested in Education Scholarship
- Graduate students via the DFCM Master’s stream
Course Instructors
Dr. Risa Bordman, Associate Professor & OES Faculty Development Program Lead, DFCM, risa.bordman@utoronto.ca
Dr. Gurpreet Mand, Assistant Professor, DFCM, gurpreet.mand@utoronto.ca
Previous Information Session
We invite you to watch a recording of a past information session held on September 20, 2024.
I attended the program a few years ago and found it impactful, full of informative speakers who are easily approachable, providing a very supportive environment to assist you in creating a question determining the appropriate process with the assistance of scientists, providing a brief synopsis of your project for your fellow attendees while having funDonna Vlahos