Congratulations to Drs. Ajay Bains, Anika Brown, Craig Brown, Suzi Hilton, Raistlin Majere, Anna Mason, Erin McDonagh, Tara Tucker, and the Emergency Medicine rotation team on receiving the 2025 Teaching Awards! The awards recognize the outstanding contributions these educators have made over the past year at the UBC Island Medical Program (IMP) and UVic School of Medical Sciences (SMS).
“We are truly fortunate to have such passionate and dedicated people teaching our students,” says Dr. Laura Farrell, Regional Associate Dean, Vancouver Island, UBC Faculty of Medicine and Academic Director, Vancouver Island, UBC Distributed Programs, UVic.
“These individuals are part of a large group of educators who provide the very foundation of what we do in our programs on Vancouver Island. They are made up of busy residents, clinicians, and scientists, and we are so grateful they are able to share their time, energy, and expertise with our students – our next generation of doctors and researchers.”
2025 Teaching Award in Medical Sciences
Dr. Craig Brown
Dr. Craig Brown (Professor, UVic SMS) received the 2025 Teaching Award in Medical Sciences (TAMS). The TAMS recognizes the teaching excellence of a full-time or affiliate UVic faculty member who has completed at least two consecutive years of teaching duties at the IMP (preclinical years) or SMS.
Dr. Brown began teaching at the IMP and SMS in 2009. “The most reward part of teaching? When students really get into it,” he says. “It doesn’t always happen, of course, but when it does, you can feel it. They start asking questions and making new connections.”
2025 Dr. Bruce Crawford Award of Excellence
Dr. Suzi Hilton
Dr. Suzi Hilton (Family Medicine) received the 2025 Dr. Bruce Crawford Award of Excellence in recognition of the positive impact she made on the students in the IMP Class of 2026 during their first two years of medical training.
Dr. Hilton started formally teaching for the IMP in 2021. “The most rewarding thing is when students make connections in their understanding of medicine during a teaching session,” she says. “This could be hearing their first murmur and understanding dynamics of blood flow, or some other ‘aha moment’ where physiology and the clinical picture make sense in a way they have not before.”
2025 IMP Community Family Physician Award for Excellence in Clinical Teaching
Dr. Anna Mason
This year, Dr. Anna Mason (Family Practice) received the IMP Community Family Physician Award for Excellence in Clinical Teaching in recognition of her outstanding dedication, enthusiasm, and expertise in teaching first- and second-year IMP students. Current third year students in the IMP Class of 2026 nominated her for the award when asked to identify an extraordinary preceptor who made an impact on them over the first two years of their medical education and who they felt were deserving of recognition.
Dr. Mason began teaching for the IMP in 2009. “I try to help the students see what a rewarding career family medicine is,” she says. “I get to show them how fun it is to have patients that you know over a long period of time. The encounters are so different than what you would get if you’re meeting a patient for the first time in the hospital or a different setting. When I’m seeing patients, we do a lot of laughing and checking up on how their kids are, how their pets are, what their job is like. I think the students are always really happy to see that family practice—while super complicated with medical issues and mental health issues too—still contains a lot of joy in the every day.”
2025 Vancouver Island Clerkship Preceptors Teaching Excellence Award
Dr. Ajay Bains and Dr. Raistlin Majere
Dr. Ajay Bains (Internal Medicine) and Dr. Raistlin Majere (Internal Medicine) shared the Vancouver Island Clerkship Preceptors Teaching Excellence Award this year. The award acknowledges the outstanding dedication, enthusiasm, and respect they demonstrate while teaching third-year IMP students. Current fourth-year students in the IMP Class of 2025 recommended Drs. Bains and Majere for this award based on their learning experiences last year.
Dr. Bains began teaching at the IMP in 2012, first as a clinical pharmacist and then as a physician. “The most rewarding part of teaching is seeing students progress and later seeing them use the same information to help patients,” he says. “To this day, I am always humbled by how smart the students are and their motivations to contribute to patient care.”
Dr. Majere, who graduated in the IMP Class of 2014, returned to teach in 2020. “Many parts of contributing to students’ and residents’ educations are rewarding, but one thing that stands out is working alongside great doctors who I knew before they graduated. I know they’re all the product of immense concentration over many years of hard work,” he says. “Our responsibility to train each other is embedded in the Hippocratic Oath, which I take deeply and seriously.”
2025 Resident Teaching Excellence Award
Dr. Anika Brown, Dr. Erin McDonagh, and Dr. Tara Tucker
There was a three-person tie for the 2025 Resident Teaching Excellence Award. Dr. Anika Brown (Internal Medicine CTU), Dr. Erin McDonagh (Emergency Medicine), and Dr. Tara Tucker (Psychiatry) received the award in recognition of their outstanding dedication, enthusiasm, and respect while teaching third-year IMP students. Current fourth-year students in the IMP Class of 2025 recommended them based on their teaching experiences last year.
Dr. Brown, who graduated in the IMP Class of 2024, started formally teaching as a resident. “I think what I find the most rewarding is when students not only learn during our time together but have fun while doing it,” she says. “For many learners, Internal Medicine rotations can appear daunting at first given the complexity of patients and presentations. When a student tells me at the end of their rotation that they not only feel more comfortable with Internal Medicine content but that they genuinely enjoyed their time on our service, I feel like I have accomplished my goal.”
Dr. McDonagh, who also graduated in the IMP Class of 2024, also began teaching when she started residency. “I was very flattered to find out I was a recipient of the award and humbled to share it amongst the other two amazing residents,” she says. “Teaching is incredibly rewarding for me and feels like a ‘full circle’ opportunity. I think back to my clinical years in medical school and how much impact my junior and senior residents had on me… Moving forward, I hope to serve as a positive role model for medical students who I interact with in the same way I had that mentorship.”
Dr. Tucker has been teaching at the IMP since she arrived in Victoria for residency two years ago. “One of my favorite things about teaching here is that it’s a small hospital site,” she says. “The students are really engaged and excited to learn. I also continue to run into the same learners once they’re on other rotations and even once they’re residents too! It’s awesome to see them grow as physicians.”
2025 Island Medical Program Excellence in Clinical Teaching Award
Emergency Medicine
This is the fifth year in a row that the Emergency Medicine team has received the Island Medical Program Excellence in Clinical Teaching Award. This award acknowledges the rotation that provides the most efficient, supportive, and engaging learning environment for third-year IMP student completing their clinical learning.
Current fourth-year students in the IMP Class of 2025 recommended the Emergency Medicine team for this latest award based on their experiences last year.