The Wightman-Berris Academy is composed of a network of hospitals and clinics which delivers major components of the preclinical and clinical curriculum of the undergraduate medical program of the University of Toronto, Faculty of Medicine. The Academy also supports interprofessional programs and provides a home for educational activities and resources to support postgraduate training at the University. The main anchors of this network are the University Health Network (Toronto General Hospital, Toronto Western Hospital and Princess Margaret Hospital) and Mount Sinai Hospital. Other hospitals which are major contributors to the educational mandate of the Wightman-Berris Academy include Toronto East General Hospital, Baycrest, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, and the Centre for Addiction and the Mental Health. Prior to the official opening of the University’s fourth Academy in Mississauga, clinical activities have been offered at Credit Valley Hospital for WB students.

As the largest of the University of Toronto’s academies, undergraduate MD student enrollment is approximately 110 students per academic year and the Academy registers over 700 preclerkship, clerkship and elective students in total every year including international trainees.

Educational activities are housed in facilities with state-of-the-art learning resources and simulated clinical settings including the Paul B. Helliwell Centre at Toronto General Hospital, the Sydney and Florence Family Education Centre at Mount Sinai Hospital, the The University of Toronto Surgical Skills Centre at Mount Sinai Hospital and the Medical Education Centre at Toronto Western Hospital. Each major site of the Academy provides seminar rooms, large classrooms, examination rooms, computing facilities, videoconference capability and trainee lounges. Trainees also have access to a collection of clinical simulation learning tools including the cardiopulmonary simulator “Harvey”, a pulmonary simulator, and venous and arterial puncture simulators.

The anchor hospitals of the Wightman-Berris have a proud history of strength in patient care, research and education and faculty members are innovators in medical education at the University of Toronto. The UHN is home to the Wilson Centre for Research in Education and the newly created Centre for Interprofessional Education. The association of the UHN and Mount Sinai goes far beyond undergraduate education into joint clinical services, collaborative research and postgraduate educational programs.

The Wightman-Berris Academy offers students a breadth of learning opportunities in primary and generalist care as well as tertiary and highly specialized care, ambulatory and inpatient care, acute and chronic care, surgical, medical and psychiatric care. The Academy’s associated community and research partners provide a wide variety of clinical and research placements. The WB Academy has been a leader in providing opportunities for its students in the new University of Toronto interprofessional health curriculum.

The Mount Sinai Hospital is a 472 bed hospital which has several priority programs including peri-natal medicine and special pregnancy care, surgical oncology and acute care. The UHN has 707 beds and priority programs include organ transplantation, advanced cardiac, cancer care, musculoskeletal and neurosurgical care. The Toronto East General is an urban community teaching hospital serving a diverse, multi-cultural population of South East Toronto.

The Wightman-Berris Academy is responsible for recruiting clinical, research and basic science tutors, supervisors and facilitators for its students. Its faculty are committed to teaching and many of its educators have been recognized locally, regionally and internationally for their contributions to education. The Academy prides itself on providing outstanding teachers, role models, mentorship and learning environments for students. Each year, outstanding teaching in undergraduate, postgraduate and allied health professions is recognized by the Wightman-Berris Academy Awards.

The educational administrative staff, led by Dr. Jacqueline James, the Academy Director, is committed to ensuring that despite the large and diverse nature of the Academy’s sites, that students and faculty find themselves in a learning environment which is optimal for productive, creative and enthusiastic learning about health care and research. The Academy endeavors to maintain spaces which are comfortable and conducive to collaboration and social interaction for learners. The Academy also provides counseling, information technology support and research support to its students.

The Wightman-Berris Academy is named for two distinguished physician educators, Dr. KJR (Kajer) Wightman (1914-1978) who was Physician in Chief of the Toronto General, Chair of the Department of Medicine and post-graduate Dean at the University of Toronto and Dr. Barnet Berris (1921-2008) who was a visionary Physician-in-Chief at the Mount Sinai, an extraordinary medical educator and exemplary role model.

Biography of Dr. K. J. R. Wightman

Biography of Dr. Barnet Berris