International Congress on Academic Medicine: 2025 medical education abstracts.

Advancing global academic medicine through innovation and collaboration: proceedings of the International Congress on Academic Medicine 2025

The International Congress on Academic Medicine (ICAM) 2025, held from April 3–6 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, united a diverse global community engaged in academic medicine. Organized by the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada (AFMC), the congress aimed to foster collaboration, innovation, and progress in medical education, health research and social accountability. It provided a platform for over 1,500 delegates, including medical students, residents, graduate students, faculty, researchers, and patient partners—to meet, network, and develop new relationships and collaborations with colleagues globally.

ICAM featured innovative keynotes and accredited sessions tackling global themes in academic medicine, including advocacy, artificial intelligence, social entrepreneurship, and more. Additionally, ICAM hosted international presentations and symposiums, such as the Gairdner Symposium, workshops, and oral and poster presentations.

ICAM 2025 was recognized for its commitment to inclusivity, achieving “Patient Included Status,” ensuring that the experiences of patients as experts in living with their conditions were incorporated into all aspects of the congress. This year, ICAM also achieved gold status as a certified sustainable event through Dalhousie University’s Sustainable Events program.

Congress objectives

Recognize the importance of strong connections between research, education, clinical care, and patient experiences on outcomes in medicine.

Actively integrate innovations and best practices in all facets of medical education.

Include the patient voice in all aspects of academic medicine to better meet community needs.

Engage in dialogue to promote collaboration within the international academic medicine community.

Opening keynote: advocacy

ICAM 2025’s opening plenary centered on the theme of Advocacy, highlighting the importance of advocacy from bench to beside and beyond. At this session, participants joined in a conversation between Angus Pratt, a seasoned patient advocate, and André Picard a prominent journalist sharing reflections on the importance of advocacy and the evolving role of the patient in shaping healthcare and research priorities.

At the end of the session, participants were able to:

Demonstrate the importance of effective advocacy for patients, researchers, clinicians and academics.

Explain the complex role patients play in the research enterprise.

Assess how the changing communications environment is reshaping the relationship with patients.

Keynote: Artificial Intelligence (AI) in healthcare: perspectives from patients and clinicians

AI is poised to transform healthcare, although its adoption has been slow. This session provided a brief overview of AI in healthcare with Muhammad Mumdani providing examples of its impacts on clinical outcomes and operational efficiency. A patient perspective was provided by Stewart Gray on the effective use of AI in the patient care journey. Practical considerations such as the development and use of responsible AI frameworks in actual practice, ethical challenges, and deployment issues were discussed.

At the end of the session, participants were able to:

Identify basic definitions of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and deep learning.

Interpret a deeper understanding of the potential benefits and challenges of adopting health AI solutions.

Associate patient perspectives on the use of AI in healthcare.

Session: planetary health in action: tools, insights, and building connections

This engaging panel brought together global experts to explore the intersection of planetary health, social accountability, medical education, and research. Panelists shared insights into advocacy efforts and the integration of planetary health principles into curricula, highlighting impactful initiatives and lessons learned in overcoming common challenges.

The session provided practical guidance for institutions embarking on their planetary health journey, offering actionable steps and fostering collaboration to inspire meaningful progress. Participants left the session equipped with strategies to drive advocacy, build community, and transform ecoanxiety into tangible action.

At the end of the session, participants were able to:

Describe effective strategies for advocating planetary health integration into medical education and research frameworks.

Analyze successful planetary health initiatives, identifying key factors that contributed to their success and strategies to overcome common barriers.

Organize practical, actionable first steps for their institutions beginning their journey towards incorporating planetary health principles into curricula and operations.

Collaborate with peers to exchange ideas and foster collective action to address community ecoanxiety and advance planetary health advocacy.

Keynote: Gairdner Award Lecture: maternal and child health in the global context

The world has made significant progress improving maternal and child health and wellbeing over the last thirty years. This year’s Gairdner lecture featured recipients Zulfiqar Bhutta and José Belizan. Despite notable improvements, key challenges remain, with global progress in reducing the deaths of pregnant women, mothers, and babies having flatlined since 2015 due to decreasing investments in maternal and newborn health. With the continued need to decrease health inequities, this panel discussed current perspectives on maternal and child health in the global context, while reflecting on the pathway forward.

At the end of the session, participants were able to:

Summarize key advances within the maternal and child health global health space.

Outline current challenges in maternal and child health that prevent health equity from being achieved.

Describe two health policy avenues for advancing maternal and child health.

Session: culture of Academic Medicine Initiative Okanagan Charter collaborative meeting

The Okanagan Charter Collaborative (OCC) brought together 29 members and guests, including wellbeing leaders from Canadian faculties of medicine and representatives from national equity organizations (such as the Black Physicians of Canada, Indigenous Physicians Association of Canada, and Canadian Association of Physicians with Disabilities), as well as LGBTQ2S+, learner, and patient voice representatives. Held as a pre-conference event, the full-day meeting focused on four key objectives: exploring professional resistance, advocacy, and agency in support of institutional wellbeing; aligning Physical, Psychological, and Cultural (PPC) Safety with the Okanagan Charter’s strategic pillars; engaging in peer mentorship and strategic dialogue; and beginning development of faculty-specific work plans.

A highlight of the day was a workshop on professional resistance led by Dr. Rachel Ellaway who challenged participants to consider the role of intentional, values-based resistance in advancing equity and wellbeing within academic medicine. The session also included peer-led sessions and panel discussions on trauma-informed care, moral agency, and structural equity. The OCC reaffirmed its commitment to embedding PPC Safety into medical education and institutional systems.

Session: AFMC Board Invitational on funding for clinician-scientists

Annually, ICAM has hosted a Board Invitational event dedicated to a topic aligned with one of its three pillars – medical education, health research, and social accountability. This year, the Invitational centered on clinician-scientists in academic medicine.

This session convened over 80 participants representing a diverse range of stakeholders including – but not limited to – deans of medicine, vice-deans of research, graduate and postdoctoral studies deans, provincial funders, MD-PhD and Clinician Investor Program Directors, learners, and leading clinician-scientists from across Canada. The discussions focused on key themes such as training models, funding programs, and salary support mechanisms for trainees and clinician-scientists. These discussions were guided by findings of a report commissioned by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC) in 2024 and developed through consultations with Canadian deans of medicine, outlined the pressing issues facing clinician-scientists in Canada.

Insights gathered during this event will be synthesized into a session report, which will form the basis for the development of a coordinated national advocacy strategic plan focusing on strengthening the clinician-scientist profession in Canada.

Closing Keynote: social entrepreneurship

ICAM’s closing keynote speaker was Zita Cobb and focused on the theme of “C ulture is the human response to a place .” Exploring the inherited ideas, beliefs, values and knowledge that constitute the shared basis of a community, this plenary aimed to help attendees navigate and make sense of life. This session delved into how human and business systems have evolved as if place didn’t matter, leading to the failure of communities, economies, and cultures. The alignment of this work with the practice of medicine was brilliant! Attendees were challenged to think about how to come together to broaden their understanding of our work and responsibilities, learning to work from a deep and broad understanding of creating shared value.

At the end of the session, participants were able to:

Identify the architectures of collaboration between pillars of society to address community development.

Identify from a community of practice: Fogo Island, Newfoundland.

Assess systemic approaches and put PLACE (people and community) back at the center of our work.

Session: International Dean Leadership Development Program

The AFMC International Dean Leadership Development Program supports the professional development of deans, aspiring deans and others in decanal leadership positions in medicine, academic medicine, and academic health professions.

During a series of online, synchronous dynamic sessions facilitated by content experts, participants focused on critical leadership topics including organizational culture, effective team management and resource management. In addition to the sessions described, each participant was matched with a dean mentor for the duration of the program, aimed at supporting the participant in their learning goals in a more individual and personalized way. The 8-month longitudinal program concluded with an in-person meeting at ICAM 2025 attended by participants, AFMC Board members, dean mentors and program speakers. Dr Tasha Wyatt and Dr Rachel Ellaway presented “Professional Resistance: A Primer for Decanal Leaders.” This final session provided participants with an opportunity to connect, share insights, and further explore their innovations through presentations of their Applied Learning Reports.

The AFMC Dean Leadership Development Program is a vital opportunity for aspiring deans from around the globe to enhance their leadership skills to effectively navigate challenges within our complex academic and healthcare environment.

Registration will open in the spring of 2026 for the program running September 2026 and culminating at ICAM in April 2027. Requests for information and expressions of interest can be emailed to iddp.afmc.ca

ICAM Patient Included Status

The Patients Included™ Status provides conference organizers with a means of demonstrating that their events are committed to incorporating the experience of patients as experts in living with their condition while ensuring they are neither excluded nor exploited. To achieve this status, a conference must successfully meet all five of the Patients Included™ conference charter’s clauses: 1) patients or caregivers with experience actively participate in the design and planning and delivery of the event and appear in its physical audience, 2) travel/accommodation expenses for patients or carers participating in the advertised program are paid in full, in advance, 3) scholarships are sourced by the conference organizers, 4) the disability requirements of participants are accommodated, and 5) free access for virtual patients/carers.

We continue to actively engage with patient partners, recognizing their vital role in shaping the future of medical education and research. This collaboration is steadily growing, reflecting our commitment to embedding the patient voice at the heart of academic medicine. A recent highlight of this engagement was our highly successful Patient Partner Luncheon, which served as a meaningful opportunity to gather insights directly from patient partners, faculty and learners attending the conference. The event focused on key topics such as compensation, equity, and the barriers that may limit patient involvement. It also reinforced the importance of fostering ongoing dialogue and collaboration between patients, healthcare professionals, and innovators to drive impactful, inclusive change in the medical landscape.

ICAM Commitment to Sustainability

ICAM 2025 demonstrated a strong commitment to sustainability through a series of impactful initiatives that not only minimized environmental impact but also supported local communities across Nova Scotia.

The conference earned a Gold Level certification of sustainability from Dalhousie's Sustainability Office, recognizing its dedication to sustainable event planning practices. This underscores ICAM's proactive approach to integrating sustainability into every facet of the event, from logistics to waste management.

In collaboration with the Second Harvest Food Recovery Program, ICAM 2025 ensured that any surplus food from the event was redirected to families in need across Nova Scotia. This initiative not only helped combat food insecurity but also contributed to reducing food waste.

ICAM 2025 also proudly partnered with Scotian Shores, an organization dedicated to removing plastic and marine debris from Canada's shorelines. A mandatory $15 carbon offset fee was added to each delegate registration, with all funds—totaling over $19,000—donated to support Scotian Shores' vital work in preserving marine ecosystems.

Lastly, ICAM 2025 collaborated with Buy Social Canada, a social enterprise that connects purpose-driven purchasers with social value suppliers. This partnership facilitated the inclusion of social enterprises in the conference's supply chain, promoting economic and social benefits within local communities.

We are privileged to share the work of Canadians in academic medicine both nationally and internationally. Looking ahead, we are excited to announce that in 2026, ICAM will be hosted by Ottawa, where we are preparing an exceptional and enriching program for all participants. We look forward to continuing this journey of growth and collaboration together.