Shelly Dev MD, FRCPC

Biography

Dr. Dev has been a Staff Intensivist at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto since 2006, after completing her Internal Medicine residency and Critical Care Fellowship at The University of Toronto, and a Fellowship in Multimedia Education at the New England Journal of Medicine. She is a Clinician Educator and Associate Professor of Medicine, Director of Education in the Department of Critical Care Medicine at Sunnybrook and lead for Mentorship and Wellness in the Interdepartmental Division of Critical Care Medicine at the University of Toronto. She is an award-winning medical educator of undergraduate, postgraduate and continuing medical education audiences.

In addition to nearly 400 lectures given to national and international audiences about healthcare worker mental health, burnout, resilience and medical culture, Dr. Dev has written and spoken extensively on these topics in the wider media.

But, if asked, she would say her most significant accomplishment to date is continuing to convince 15-year-old Nathan and 14-year-old Jack to hang out with her in public.

From the Nomination

"Dr. Dev’s approach to teaching clinical skills is extremely effective – she focuses on teaching us the “why” and the relevance of the science to the patient. It is remarkable how she makes learning stick, during every single clinical skills session. I think it’s because she curates a safe space in which we’re not worried about looking incompetent in front of a tutor who will evaluate us poorly but we’re focused on learning for our future patients."

"Upon this foundation of trust that Dr. Dev is able to so masterfully engage learners of all levels in fostering critical thinking, confronting difficult situations and taking risks in contributing to small (or large) group discussions and on rounds. It is also not just critical thinking that Dr. Dev encourages; in addition, it is often profound reflection—on one’s self, one’s role, and responsibilities in caring for human beings at their most vulnerable times."

About the Award

These awards are named after William Thomas Aikins, the first Dean of the Faculty of Medicine after its reorganization in1887. They are the Faculty’s most prestigious awards in the MD Program. They were established to recognize and formally reward outstanding teachers in the areas of Individual Teaching Performance (Foundations and Clerkship), Development and Use of Educational Innovations, and Course / Program Development and Coordination. Recipients of these awards have significantly contributed to high-quality undergraduate teaching by establishing and integrating new and effective methods of instruction into the curriculum.