Dr. Richard K. Reznick appointed as Officer of the Order of Canada
Dear Colleagues,
Please join me in congratulating Richard K. Reznick MD, FRCSC, FACS, FRCSEd (hon), FRCSI (hon), FRCS (hon) on his appointment as Officer of the Order of Canada*.
Dr. Reznick is Professor Emeritus of Surgery and Dean Emeritus at Queen’s University and is the Immediate Past President of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.
Since his first faculty appointment at U of T in 1987, Dr. Reznick has been active in both colorectal surgery and research in medical education. He was instrumental in developing a performance-based examination, which is now used for medical licensure in Canada. He ran a research program on assessment of technical competence for surgeons and supervised a fellowship program in surgical education.
Dr. Reznick was the inaugural Director of the Faculty of Medicine’s Centre for Research in Education at University Health Network (The Wilson Centre) from 1997 to 2002. In 1999, he was appointed Vice President of Education at University Health Network. He served eight years as the R. S. McLaughlin Professor and Chair of the U of T Department of Surgery between 2002 and 2010. From 2010 to 2020, Dr. Reznick served as Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences at Queen’s University and Chief Executive Officer of the Southeastern Ontario Academic Medical Organization (SEAMO).
Commenting on the appointment, Reznick said: “I am very honoured to be receiving this designation as an Officer of the Order of Canada. I can’t help but think, that the designation is in many ways an affirmation of a pathway I entered into thirty-eight years ago. At that time, the notion of an academic physician dedicating their scholarly work to medical education was an untested concept. You could say, that education was an underappreciated element of our academic tripartite of clinical care, research and teaching. Awards like this, strongly suggest that the landscape has now permanently changed, and that medical and surgical education are now very much accepted as a legitimate scholarly focus for aspiring academic clinicians.”
Congratulations on this remarkable recognition, Dr. Reznick.
Sincerely,
Carol J. Swallow MD PhD FRCSC FACS
RS McLaughlin Professor and Chair
Department of Surgery, University of Toronto
You can read about all U of T community members who were recognized by the Order of Canada in July of 2023 in this article: https://www.utoronto.ca/news/order-canada-recognizes-u-t-community-members
* The Order of Canada is one of Canada’s highest honours, recognizing individuals across different sectors, who have made extraordinary contributions to the nation. Appointments are made by the governor general on the recommendation of the Advisory Council for the Order of Canada. The Order’s motto is “Desiderantes meliorem patriam”, which translates to “They desire a better country”. Read more here: https://www.gg.ca/en/order-canada-appointees-june-2023
More about Dr. Richard Reznick
Richard Reznick received his undergraduate university education and medical degree from McGill University, followed by a general surgical residency at the University of Toronto. He spent two years in fellowship training, first obtaining a Masters’ degree in medical education from Southern Illinois University, followed by a fellowship in colorectal surgery at the University of Texas in Houston, Texas.
Dr. Reznick is the author of over 140 peer-reviewed publications and has delivered over 300 lectures to hospitals, universities and scientific organizations around the world.
Dr. Reznick has received numerous awards for his work in education, including the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada Medal in Surgery and the James H. Graham Award of Merit, the Association for Surgical Education Distinguished Educator Award, the National Board of Medical Examiners John P. Hubbard Award, the Daniel C. Tosteson Award for Leadership in Medical Education, the 2006 Inaugural University of Toronto President’s Teaching Award and the Karolinska Institutet Prize for Research in Medical Education. In 2015, he was the recipient of McGill University’s Medicine Alumni Global Award for Lifetime Achievement. Dr. Reznick is an honourary fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland, and the Royal College of Surgeons (England).