Officers of the Royal College
President Brian Hodges
Dr. Hodges is the executive vice-president of education and chief medical officer at the University Health Network, one of Canada’s largest health care systems incorporating the Toronto General, Toronto Western, Princess Margaret and Toronto Rehab hospitals, and the Michener Institute of Education. At the University of Toronto, he is a professor in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine and the Dalla Lana School of Public Health as well as a senior fellow at Massey College. He is senior strategy advisor to the charitable organization AMS Healthcare and a fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences.
Dr. Hodges is a practising psychiatrist, teacher and researcher. His research focuses on assessment, competence, compassion and the future of the health professions. In 2019, he was selected as the Royal College’s Professor-in-Residence, a program in which a renowned expert joins the organization’s leadership team to examine a critical health policy issue — in this case exploring the impact of emerging technology, including artificial intelligence, on health care education.
Dr. Hodges has been a member of Royal College Council since 2015 and has served on many Royal College committees, including the Committee on Specialty Education, the Finance and Audit Committee. He has also served as chair of the Examination Committee and current chair of the Human Resources and Compensation Committee. He was a member of the recent Task Force on Artificial Intelligence and chair of the Task Force on Research.
Past-President Richard Reznick
A graduate of McGill University, Dr. Reznick completed a general surgical residency at University of Toronto, before pursuing a master’s degree in medical education at Southern Illinois University and a fellowship in colorectal surgery at University of Texas. His passion for medical education contributed to the founding of the Wilson Centre, a renowned health profession education research institute where he was the inaugural director. In 1999, he was appointed Vice President, Education of the University Health Network. He is a former R. S. McLaughlin Professor and Chair of the Department of Surgery at University of Toronto. He recently completed ten years as dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences at Queen’s University and as chief executive officer of the Southeastern Ontario Academic Medical Organization (SEAMO).
Dr. Reznick has been active in medical education research and development for his entire career. He was instrumental in developing the OSCE that 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. He championed the introduction of competency-based medical education for all residency programs at Queen’s University. His seminal work as an educator has been recognized by organizations such as the Medical Council of Canada, the National Board of Medical Examiners, the Karolinska Institutet and by honorary fellowships in the Royal Colleges of Edinburgh, Ireland and England.
Dr. Reznick has been actively involved with the Royal College for nearly three decades. He has served in various leadership capacities, including as the Royal College’s Vice President of education and Vice Chair of Royal College International
Interim CEO Ian Bowmer
M. Ian Bowmer, MD CM, FRCPC, FRCP, FACHS, became the interim CEO of the Royal College on March 1, 2023. Dr. Bowmer also served as Royal College President from 2019-2021. He was the executive director and CEO of the Medical Council of Canada (MCC) for eleven years, retiring in October 2018. An internist, infectious disease specialist and HIV care provider and researcher for 40 years, he is professor emeritus and the former dean of medicine at the Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.
In 1991, Dr. Bowmer was elected president of the MCC. He was also appointed to the Council of the Royal College, where he sat as chair of the Accreditation and Credential Committees. In 1994, he became the first chair of the board of the new regional Community Health St. John’s Region. This board amalgamated five separate community services into one institution. He was appointed as one of the original non-government members of the Health Council of Canada in 2004 and became its vice-Chair from 2007 until July 2010.
Dr. Bowmer is the recipient of several honours. He received Canada’s 125th Confederation Medal. In 2003, he was elected to the Royal College of Physicians, London. He is also an honourary fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland and the American College of Physicians and a fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences. He is a recipient of the Dr. Louis Levasseur Award for outstanding contributions to the mission and vision of the MCC and the Ronald V. Christie Award from the Canadian Association of Professors of Medicine for outstanding contribution to academic medicine in Canada. In 2012, the Royal College awarded him the James H. Graham Award for merit, in recognition of achievements reflecting the aims and objectives of the Royal College. He is also a recipient of Senate 150th year anniversary medal for contributions to the community.
