Dr. Anna Ziomek is the current President (2016-2018) of the Federation
of Medical Regulatory Authorities of Canada and Chair of FMRAC's
2018 educational conference and its Program Planning Committee. She
is the Registrar and CEO of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of
Manitoba.
Dr. Anna Ziomek is an international medical graduate. She obtained her
medical degree from the Medical Academy of Gdansk, Poland. She has
worked as a physician in Winnipeg, Manitoba for over thirty years. She
previously worked in emergency medicine and continues to work in clinical practice. She has
served as a medical administrator for over twenty years, including her role as Chief Medical
Officer of the Concordia Hospital; ten years as the Assistant Registrar of the College of Physicians
and Surgeons of Manitoba and in January 2015 became Registrar of the College. She lives in
Winnipeg with her husband and three children.
Ms. Judie Leach-Bennett., LL.B., LL.M. is the Vice-President,
General Counsel and Corporate Secretary at the Canadian Blood
Services and its subsidiaries. Previously, Judie held both business and
legal roles with Canadian Blood Services, advancing initiatives in
innovation, risk management, ethics, compliance, process
improvement, and international collaboration.
Judie began her career as a lawyer with a Toronto law firm, acting in
product liability litigation and class action proceedings. Having
received her law degree from the University of Western Ontario and Master of Laws from the
University of Ottawa, Judie is accredited by the Law Society as a Certified Specialist in Health
Law and holds certifications in risk management and in healthcare ethics.
Judie volunteers as a member of the board of directors of Queensway Carleton Hospital in Ottawa.
2018 Educational Conference Speaker Biographies
SESSION I – Integrated Risk Management System
Mr. Dave Rubel is the Chair of session one on Integrated Risk
Management. He was a member of FMRAC’s Program Planning
Committee for this year’s conference, is a member of FMRAC’s
FIRMS Users Group and has been the Chief Operating Officer with
the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba since 2017.
Dave is also a Chartered Professional Accountant with over 30 years
of progressive leadership experience in the public sector – the past 15
years of which have been in the health care sector.
Dave’s passion for risk management has provided him with the opportunity to work in many
operational areas of the business supporting the strategic goals and objectives of the organization.
Dave has delivered numerous presentations and lectures on the successes and lessons learned from
his integrated risk management experiences. These have included the Conference Board of
Canada, Canadian Forces Healthcare Services, Professional Risk Managers International
Association and numerous boards of health regions & networks across Canada.
Ms. Polly Stevens, MHSc is the Vice President of Risk Management
at the Healthcare Insurance Reciprocal of Canada (HIROC), which is
a non-profit organization and Canada’s largest medical-malpractice
liability insurer.
She has over 30 years of healthcare experience including leadership
roles in clinical program delivery, quality improvement, patient safety and risk management. She
is a faculty member in the University of Toronto’s MSc (Quality Improvement/Patient Safety)
program.
2018 Educational Conference Speaker Biographies
Mr. David J. Collie, FCPA, FCMA, MBA, C. Dir., is the President
and CEO of the Electrical Safety Authority of Ontario. He is a graduate
of, and occasional guest speaker at, the Strategic Management of
Regulatory and Enforcement Agencies program, at the Harvard
Kennedy School of Government.
He is also a graduate and Faculty Member of the Directors College of
Canada. He has written a number of articles and cases on governance
best practices. He is the Chair of Plug N’ Drive, Vice Chair of the
Energy Council of Canada and a Board Member of Hamilton Health Sciences. He is a much
sought-after speaker on the topic of regulatory excellence.
Ms. Victoria Rees, BA, LLB, CAE is a Halifax lawyer and the
Director of Professional Responsibility with the Nova Scotia Barristers’
Society. Victoria is responsible for the resolution, investigation and
prosecution of complaints against lawyers; regulatory risk identification
and management; ethics education for law students and members; and
manages the Fitness to Practice Program, a consensual diversionary
program for lawyers suffering from incapacity impacting their practice
of law.
Victoria has conducted research and spoken extensively on topics including risk regulation,
transforming regulation of the legal profession, lawyers’ ethics, and adopting a proactive,
principled and restorative approach to regulation.
2018 Educational Conference Speaker Biographies
Mr. Brian Blankenship is the Deputy General Counsel for the North
Carolina Medical Board. As Deputy General Counsel, he manages the
prosecution and defense of all cases handled by Board attorneys. Brian
regularly prosecutes disciplinary cases and represents the Board in state
courts in appeals from disciplinary and licensing cases.
Brian has been with the North Carolina Medical Board since 2002.
Before coming to the North Carolina Medical Board, Brian served as an
Assistant Attorney General with the North Carolina Department of Justice. Brian received his
undergraduate degree from High Point University and his Juris Doctor from Campbell University.
SESSION II – FMRAC’s Integrated Risk Management System (FIRMS)
Mr. Michael Epp is the Chair of session two on FMRAC’s Integrated
Risk Management System (FIRMS). He was a member of FMRAC’s
Program Planning Committee for this year’s conference, is a member
of FMRAC’s Risk Management Committee and has been the Chief
Operating Officer at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC, in
Vancouver, since October 2007. Effective May 2018,
Mr. Epp was seconded part-time to serve as the Executive Director of
MINC (Medical Information Number of Canada). Previously, Mike
spent 15 years at the BC Medical Association (now the Doctors of BC), the last 5 years as Director
of Policy and Planning.
Mr. Epp also participates on the Alberta/BC/Ontario eHealth Committee. He is a member of the
Mackay CEO Forum in Vancouver and President of the Offices at Hotel Georgia Commercial
Strata Council. Mr. Epp is a member of the Canadian College of Health Leaders and the American
College of Healthcare Executives.
2018 Educational Conference Speaker Biographies
Ms. Fleur-Ange Lefebvre has a PhD in physiology and was a member
of Faculty of Medicine of the University of Ottawa from 1987 to 2005.
After holding various positions at the Canadian Medical Association
from 1993 to 2003, she became the CEO of the Federation of Medical
Regulatory Authorities of Canada (FMRAC).
Her governance and committee experience include, among others, the
Medical Identification Number of Canada, the Canadian Resident
Matching Service, Canadians for Health Research, Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of
Canada CanMEDS 2015 National Advisory Committee, the IMG Symposium Steering
Committee, the National Physician Summit on Physician Under-employment Steering Committee
and several Future of Medical Education in Canada implementation groups. From 2010 to 2012,
she was the Chair of the International Association of Medical Regulatory Authorities.
Dr. Heidi M. Oetter joined the College of Physicians and Surgeons of
BC as a deputy registrar in May 2004 and was responsible for many
portfolios including ethics, quality assurance and peer review, and the
prescription review and methadone programs. In 2008, she was
appointed to the position of registrar and CEO where she is accountable
for ensuring compliance with statutory obligations, implementing and
monitoring the policies and strategic direction set forth by the Board,
and managing the daily operations and administration.
In 2009, she transitioned the College to the Health Professions Act. Dr. Oetter has been
recognized for her accomplishments as a medical leader provincially and nationally. In addition
to past leadership positions on the Board of the British Columbia Medical Association (now
Doctors of BC) and the Canadian Medical Protective Association Council, she currently sits as a
member of the Board of Directors of the Federation of Medical Regulatory Authorities of Canada,
member of the Executive Board of the Medical Council of Canada, and member of the Executive
Committee of the BC Health Regulators Society.
2018 Educational Conference Speaker Biographies
Ms. Kellie Skelhorn is Chief Operating Officer at the College of
Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia. She is a Chartered
Professional Accountant (CPA), and holds a Master’s in Business
Administration (MBA) and a master’s Certificate in Project
Management, both from Saint Mary’s University.
Before joining CPSNS, Kellie held executive and operational
positions in the hotel industry for more than 20 years. Kellie lives in
Halifax and enjoys boating and spending time with her family.
SESSION III – Physician Factors
Mr. Daniel Faulkner is the Chair of session three on Physician
Factors. He was a member of FMRAC’s Program Planning Committee
for this year’s conference. Dan has been with the College of Physicians
and Surgeons of Ontario since 1994 and has held numerous positions,
including Deputy Registrar, Director & Associate Registrar of the
Quality Management Division and, most recently, Interim Registrar.
Dan has actively developed the CPSO’s ability to understand its
regulatory effectiveness / outcomes and has contributed to numerous
provincial and pan-Canadian initiatives including the medical regulatory authorities’ pan-
Canadian Physician Factors initiative for which he has been co-Chair of the Steering Committee.
Dan graduated with an HBSc in Pharmacology and Toxicology (Western University, London),
and a Master of Business Administration in Health Services Management (McMaster University,
Hamilton).
2018 Educational Conference Speaker Biographies
Ms. Wendy Yen is a Senior Researcher at the College of Physicians
and Surgeons of Ontario. She obtained her M.A. from the University
of Toronto in Measurement and Evaluation and has been leading
research studies and program evaluations for the past ten years in
health and educational settings.
She is currently pursuing her doctorate in Adult Education at the
University of Toronto and holds a research fellowship in medical
education at the Wilson Centre. She plays a key role in developing and evaluating assessment
programs for physicians in practice.
Mr. Wade Hillier is responsible for three operational units at the
College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (Practice Assessment
& Enhancement, Applications & Credentials, and Membership
Services, Corporations & Physician Register) plus one project unit
(Quality Management Partnership), a joint initiative with Cancer
Care Ontario.
Since joining the College, in 2001 Wade has supported and led a
variety of initiatives with the ultimate goal of improving patient and
public safety by ensuring the development of clinical practice standards and guidelines, inspection
of out of hospital facilities, improving access to quality physicians through implementation of
pathways and processes for physician registration and by providing transparent information to the
public through the oversight of the physician register. Prior to joining the College, Wade worked
in a variety of capacities at the City of Toronto where he led a large initiative on HIV and drug use
in Central and Eastern Europe (working with CIDA, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) and
UNAIDS), and developed and implemented Canada’s First Drug Treatment Court.
2018 Educational Conference Speaker Biographies
Dr. Nigel Ashworth MSc., MB. ChB., FRCPC, received his medical
degree from the University of Leicester, UK in 1989. He completed
his residency training in 1997 at the University of Saskatchewan in
Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation and received a Specialist
Certificate in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation that same year from
the Royal College of Physicians of Canada. In 2001, Dr. Ashworth
completed a master’s degree in Community Health & Epidemiology at
the University of Saskatchewan.
Currently, he is a Professor in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry at the University of
Alberta and Senior Medical Advisor in the Research & Evaluation team at the College of
Physicians & Surgeons of Alberta.
Dr Ernest Prégent CCFP(em) CSPQ FCCFP certified emergency
medicine specialist, clinical practice at Hôpital Sacré-Cœur de Montréal
(university affiliated teaching center) since 1980.
Associate professor, Faculty of medicine - Université de Montréal since
1983 with teaching responsabilities in pre- and postgraduate programs.
Invited professor, faculty of nursing of Université de Montréal, nurse
practitioner program. Lecturer (Chargé de formation clinique) at the
medicine faculty of Université Laval since 2014.
Current responsibility at the Collège des médecins du Québec: Director of Practice Enhancement
(Professional Inspection and Professional development) since 2013.
2018 Educational Conference Speaker Biographies
Dr. Douglas Bell FRCSC is the Associate Executive Director of the
Canadian Medical Protective Association and the Managing Director,
Office of the CEO. His role is to provide leadership, management and
strategic direction as well as oversee the departments of Communications,
Executive Services and Governance, and Regional Affairs. In the fall of
1993, Dr. Bell started full-time employment as a physician advisor at the
CMPA.
He obtained his MD in 1980 from Queen’s University, Kingston Ontario.
Dr. Bell did his residency training in obstetrics and gynecology at McGill University.
Dr. Jeff Blackmer MHSC, FRCPC completed his medical training at
Western University and his residency program in Physical Medicine and
Rehabilitation at the University of Saskatchewan. He also holds a
master’s degree in medical ethics from the University of Toronto’s Joint
Centre for Bioethics as well as Certificates in Executive Leadership from
McGill University and Financial Management for Queen’s University.
Dr. Blackmer currently serves as the Vice President, Medical
Professionalism at the Canadian Medical Association. Prior to this, he
served as the Executive Director of the CMA’s Office of Ethics, Professionalism and International
Affairs and as the Director of Ethics for the World Medical Association in Geneva. At the CMA,
Dr. Blackmer has led the work of the association on issues such as end of life care and assisted
dying, opioid prescribing and legalization of marijuana.
2018 Educational Conference Speaker Biographies
Dr. Claire Touchie MHPE, FRCPC completed her MD and her
internal medicine training at McGill University. Following further
training in Infectious Diseases and Medical Microbiology, she accepted
a position at Dalhousie University (1996-2000) where her interest in
medical education began. In June of 2000, she moved to the University
of Ottawa where she is now an Associate Professor of Medicine. Her
focus is on medical education and the care of patients with HIV
infection.
Since January 2012, Dr. Touchie has been the Chief Medical Education Officer at the Medical
Council of Canada, since January 2012. She was also the physician lead for the MCC’s Blueprint
project which is transforming both the MCC Qualifying Examination Part I and Part II. She has
recently co-led the AFMC EPA working group helping medical schools implement entrustable
professional activities for the transition between medical school and residency. She is presently
chair of the Assessment Continuum for Canada. This consortium is considering a coordinated
assessment framework for Canada.
Ms. Elizabeth Wenghofer, PHD is the Director and a Professor in the
School of Rural and Northern Health at Laurentian University. She
holds cross appointments at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine,
and in the faculties of medicine at Texas A&M and UC San Diego. Prior
to joining Laurentian in 2007, she worked at the College of Physicians
and Surgeons of Ontario conducting research for 11 years.
Elizabeth completed her PhD in Medical Science-Health Services
Research in the Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto in 2005.
Elizabeth's research interests lie in the areas of physician performance and regulation, particularly
focusing on the relationships between performance and the practice environment.
2018 Educational Conference Speaker Biographies
Ms. Kate Wood is the current President / Chair of Council of the
College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta. She is a recently
retired lawyer. Kate was appointed as a public member to the CPSA
Council 6 years ago. This is her 2nd year as President. Her prior
experience includes serving on various humanitarian boards. She is a
Past President and Chair of the National Board of Governors of the
Canadian Red Cross.
In addition to her current role with CPSA, Kate enjoys serving as a member of the University of
Calgary Senate. She has an active family life and perhaps most notably, 3 wonderful grandkids!
2018 Educational Conference Speaker Biographies
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