Doctor's making a difference: Dr. Hemant Shah

When Dr. Claire Matlock was matched with William Osler Health System (Osler) for her five-year medical residency in general surgery, she didn’t know what to expect. Just nine months later, she describes the experience as exceptional.

“The experience to date has been phenomenal,” said the first-year resident, one of 105 to join Osler last July as part of the inaugural cohort of medical residents from Toronto Metropolitan University’s (TMU) School of Medicine. “The team at Osler has been so welcoming and receptive to residents, and so eager to share their skills and experience and provide meaningful feedback.”

Hearing that instills a sense of pride in Dr. Hemant Shah, Vice President, Academics and Research, who has been leading the organizations continuing growth as a community teaching hospital since joining Osler in August 2024. Working closely with his team in the Medical Education Office, physician preceptors and academic partners, Dr. Shah is responsible for advancing medical education programming, and for making sure the right supports are in place for medical learners to succeed.

“Medical residents like Dr. Matlock are our future health care workforce – the health care professionals who will be caring for patients in our communities for generations to come,” said Dr. Shah. “What better grounding than for them to get to know the people in our culturally diverse communities, the vast range of complex conditions we see and treat, and our commitment to being an inclusive, accessible and welcoming place for all.”

Dr. Matlock has experienced that environment firsthand. Working in Osler’s Surgery Program, she speaks highly of her colleagues. “Not only am I learning about the technicalities of surgery, but I’m also experiencing what it means to be a compassionate physician. The team really care about their patients, and everyone on the team helps one another. It makes this a place where I can eventually see myself in practice and build my future.”

Known for his humility, Dr. Shah is quick to credit his Medical Education Office team and Osler’s physicians for embracing the hospital’s growing role in medical education and creating such a welcoming and stimulating work environment for the next generation of medical residents and learners.

“There’s a whole team behind this work. Our people have embraced our education mission, and it’s only because of them that I can do what I do. Being able to be a part of Osler’s growth as a leading community teaching hospital is so exciting,” said Dr. Shah. He also sees a direct link between education and improved access to care. “We’re creating a fertile training ground where our own community members can pursue medical education, and that’s only going to result in more practitioners staying here and directly improving access to care for the populations we serve.”

Dr. Shah’s passion for medical education stems from his training at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Medicine, where he specialized in hepatology – focusing on the liver and related organs.

“I was fortunate enough to start as an academic physician at University Health Network (UHN), where I became the first clinical educator in our division. Working in an underserviced specialty like liver disease, I realized that through educating others, I could positively impact so many more patients beyond those I could see each week in clinic.”

Still a practicing hepatologist, Dr. Shah invested the educational side of his career in educating community health care providers – nurses, nurse practitioners, and primary care physicians – about liver disease so that they could provide the best possible care to their patients, and is proud to have had a hand in developing education programs about liver disease that have been adopted in various forms over the years across Canada.

“Dr. Shah is an amazing leader who combines that rare combination of strategic vision with a genuine passion for education,” said Jasmine Sheehan, Manager, Medical Education, William Osler Health System. “He’s very collaborative, trusts his team, encourages innovation, and helps create space for people to grow. He doesn’t just support medical education, he champions it.”

Dr. Shah’s vision for medical education at Osler isn’t just about training individual future physicians, it’s about strengthening the entire health system.

“Learners bring so much energy to our care environment, and they help drive evidence-based practice and clinical discoveries, spark continuous improvement, enhance access to care, and ultimately improve patient outcomes.”

As the number of medical learners continues to grow, Osler recently opened academic learning centres at Brampton Civic and Etobicoke General hospitals. Purpose-built for Osler’s medical learners from TMU, the University of Toronto Department of Family Medicine and McMaster University’s Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine, these modern spaces feature classrooms, collaborative learning areas, study spaces, workstations, lounges, call rooms and dedicated offices for education staff.

“Strong learning environments are essential to developing confident, capable physicians.” said Dr. Shah, noting with a smile that he met his wife in a similar space during his own residency at UHN. “A lot of good things happen in those environments!”

As students prepare to go back to school, Dr. Shah offers simple advice for Osler’s medical learners: “Medical training is demanding, but it’s also the best years of your life. With all the opportunities ahead of you, embrace every day, every rotation, and take it all in.”

Read about more Osler doctors making a difference.