Mireille Norris BSc Phys Ther, MD, MHsc, FRCPC

Biography

Dr. Mireille Norris is an Internist and Geriatrician at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto, Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Toronto. She is the Education Director for the Sunnybrook Hospitalist Training program which she created and implemented at Sunnybrook in 2005. She was appointed the University of Toronto Department of Medicine Faculty Lead for Black and Indigenous medical learners in 2020 and is also the site lead for postgraduate geriatric medicine at Sunnybrook. Dr. Norris has a focus on dementia care, fall prevention, quality improvement and medical education. Her interest in underrepresented physician education has been enhanced by the experience of recruiting and mentoring international Medical Graduates for the Hospitalist Training Program since 2005. Her own experience as a Black female French speaking physician was instrumental in empowering her trainees who are now successful in many provinces, the United States and Europe. Dr Norris is eager to bring this experience to her new role as Black Health Theme Lead for the TFOM. Her passion for Equity, Inclusion and Diversity is also reflected in a number of initiatives. They include participation on the Sunnybrook President Anti-Racist Task force, launching of SPARK (Sunnybrook Program Accessing Research Knowledge for Black and Indigenous medical students) with co-founders and accomplices (Drs. Jill Tinmouth, Nick Daneman and Csilla Kalocsai), mentoring committee member of the Black Physicians Association of Canada, collaboration with the Network for the Advancement of Black Learners and successful changes to the CaRMS application for core internal medicine which lead to increased inclusivity. She also brings her commitment to service to the Black community at TAIBU and at the Centre Francophone de Toronto.

About the Award

The Robert Sheppard Award for Health Equity and Social Justice was established in 2016 in honour of Dr. Robert Sheppard who served as Associate Dean, Postgraduate Medicine. Dr. Sheppard was deeply committed to volunteering initiatives in his community after retiring from medicine. This award recognizes the outstanding contributions of faculty members and postgraduate trainees in the development and/or implementation of activities, programs or research related to social justice and health equity in faculty development or postgraduate medical education.