Rewarding medical teaching excellence in a major Canadian teaching hospital.

A major Canadian teaching hospital has developed a program to recognize and reward excellence in medical education. The program includes a system to collect and evaluate feedback from trainees and administrators--with an annual celebration event where awards are presented. Three categories of hospital-wide awards are presented: educational administration, program development, and extraordinary contribution. There are departmental awards for best undergraduate and postgraduate physicians, allied health professional, and house staff/fellow. This program functioned well to evaluate teachers across departments and for all levels of trainees in the hospital and will expand to become part of the ongoing evaluation of teachers in the institution.