Engaging with Compassion

Speaker

Leslie Flynn, MEd, MMus, MD, CCFP, FRCPC

After receiving her undergraduate degree in Music from Queen’s University and a Master’s in Music from the University of Toronto, Dr. Flynn returned to Queen’s where she received her MD in 1987 and undertook her postgraduate medical education training. She became certified as a Family Physician and subsequently as a Psychiatrist, commencing her academic career at Queen’s University.

Dr. Flynn has conducted research in Physician Health, Interprofessional Education, and the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. She is a Clinician Educator with the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, and a Professor in the Departments of Psychiatry and Family Medicine. She has held multiple leadership roles through her career, including 10 years as the Vice-Dean, Education in the Faculty of Health Sciences at Queen’s University.

Speaker

Dr. Elaine Van Melle

With a Masters in Health Administration and a Masters and PhD in Education, Elaine has spent the majority of her career facilitating and evaluating change and innovation; first in health care and then in health sciences education. Prior to formally retiring in 2022, Elaine worked as an Education Scientist for the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. Her most recent work focused on evaluating the implementation of Competency-based Medical Education (CBME). Working with the International Collaborators in Competency-based Education, Elaine is perhaps best known for the development of a Core Components Framework designed to guide the evaluation and implementation of CBME. Elaine has also worked with the Canadian College of Family Physicians and is appointed as an adjunct faculty in the Department of Family Medicine at Queen’s University in Kingston.

While immersed in competency-based education, Elaine developed an interest in promoting compassion in health care professionals. Her exploration led to an appreciation of how an individual’s neurobiological state can influence one’s capacity for compassion. Elaine looks forward to sharing and furthering her understanding through workshops and continuing professional development.