WCCHSE Virtual Conference 2026 – Resilient Health Sciences: Educating for Tomorrow’s Demands - See you May
WCCHSE Virtual Conference 2026 – Resilient Health Sciences: Educating for Tomorrow’s Demands - See you May
The WCCHSE Executive is thrilled to announce we are hosting Resilient Health Sciences: Educating for Tomorrow’s Demands, a virtual multi-session conference taking place throughout May. This event will bring together educators, students, clinicians, administrators, partners, and vendors from across Western Canada.
Why This Conference Matters
As health systems continue to navigate rapid change, fiscal pressures, and growing complexity, WCCHSE recognizes the importance of creating space for shared learning and connection. This conference offers an opportunity to strengthen resilience across our education and healthcare environments while deepening collaboration with our valued partners.
Virtual Conference Dates
• Tuesday, May 12 – Resiliency in Healthcare (4:00-5:30 pm PDT)
• Wednesday, May 20 – Tools and Ingredients for Learning Success (12:00–1:30 pm PDT)
• Thursday, May 28 – Stitching Education and Practice Together (10:00 am–12:30 pm PDT)
Sessions will be offered at varied times and will be recorded for flexibility and broader access. A call for abstracts is open till February 20th
A big thank you to the UNBC School of Nursing for sponsoring the May 12th keynote.
Registration is OPEN. Click here to register or learn more under the Event Registration tab.
Regards,
WCCHSE Conference Planning Committee
Dr. Tomi Mitchell, MD
Founder, Dr. Tomi Mitchell Holistic Wellness Strategies | Family Physician | Wellness & Leadership Expert
Speaker Information: Dr. Tomi Mitchell is a Canadian Board-Certified Family Physician, wellness strategist, and founder of Holistic Wellness Strategies. With over a decade in clinical practice and healthcare leadership advocacy, she specializes in burnout prevention, resilience, and human-centered systems transformation. Her work draws on extensive frontline medical experience and years spent supporting leaders, educators, and care teams through the emotional and structural pressures of modern healthcare—insights that directly inform her keynote.
As a physician, performance coach, and international keynote speaker, Dr. Mitchell equips audiences with practical, evidence-informed strategies to create healthier relationships with work and foster sustainable well-being. She has contributed to major health and leadership publications and delivered training across North America. Dr. Mitchell earned her Medical Degree from St. Matthews University School of Medicine (2008) and completed her Family Practice Residency at the University of Saskatchewan (2009–2011), and continues advocating globally.
For more information got to Website, LinkedIn or see her TED Talk Redefining burnout | Tomi Mitchell | TEDxISU
Social Media:
Instagram: @drtomimitchell
Facebook: @DrMitchellHWS
Professor Emeritus John H. V. Gilbert, C.M., Ph.D., LLD (Hon)., FCAHS
Speaker Information: John H. V. Gilbert, C.M., Ph.D., LLD (Hon)., FCAHS is a seminal leader in the education of health and social care professionals in British Columbia, Canada, and globally. His vision and leadership led to the concept of interprofessional education being developed as a central tenet of collaborative person-centred practice and care.
He is Founding Chair, and Honourary Director, The Canadian Interprofessional Health Collaborative. He was Co-Chair of the World Health Organization (WHO) Study Group on Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice, is a Fellow, Canadian Academy of Health Sciences, a Member of the Order of Canada, Canada’s highest civilian award, and holds the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal. He was awarded the degree Doctor of Laws, Honoris Causa from Dalhousie University. John is a Senior Scholar, WHO Collaborating Centre on Health Workforce Planning and Research, Dalhousie University. He holds the DR. TMA Pai Endowment Chair in Interprofessional Education & Practice, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, India, and is an Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Health, University of Technology, Sydney.
Jo-Ellen Zakoor, Dean, School of Health Sciences, Vancouver Community College
Speaker Information: Jo-Ellen Zakoor is a senior leader in health education at Vancouver Community College (VCC) in British Columbia, Canada. She brings over 40 years of experience as a Registered Nurse, spanning clinical practice, education, leadership, and system-level collaboration. Her roles have included Clinical Educator, Nursing Practice Advisor with the Registered Nurses Association of BC, Nursing Faculty, Practice Education Coordinator, and Dean, School of Health Sciences at VCC.
Jo-Ellen has made significant contributions at the provincial level, serving as Past Chair of the British Columbia Health Deans and Directors Committee and participating in several external healthcare and education networks.
Her extensive experience across healthcare practice and post-secondary education provides a strong foundation for addressing the complexities of health education. Most recently, Jo-Ellen was appointed to lead the development of BC’s Health Student Practice Education Simulation Strategy intended to enhance student clinical placement capacity across the province.
Jo-Ellen holds a Bachelor of Arts from Western University, a Diploma in Nursing from Seneca College, a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Ryerson University, and a Master of Education from Simon Fraser University.
Registration is open
Conference registration is intentionally minimal to reflect WCCHSE’s commitment to accessibility, equity, and shared learning, ensuring that financial barriers do not limit participation in strengthening health sciences education across Western Canada. We thank UNBC School of Nursing for their sponsorship of the May 12th keynote. We thank all the vendors for their support of this event.
All registration fees are in Canadian dollars. Link to registration
Note: Patient Partner and Student presenters please register after abstracts reviewed to receive a further discount code.
Registration deadline:
Registration fee includes:
Dates & Time – Virtual Conference:
Vendors
Learn how to participate (link)
Disclaimers
WCCHSE reserves the right to cancel this conference for circumstances beyond its control.
Note: This conference includes discussions and presentations that may reference personal experiences, illness, trauma, loss, systemic barriers, and other sensitive topics. Some content may be emotionally challenging. We encourage participants to take care of their well-being throughout the event.
We are committed to creating a respectful, inclusive, and supportive learning environment. We ask all participants to engage with empathy, openness, and professionalism, and to honour the diverse lived experiences shared.
The WCCHSE conference organizing committee acknowledge with humility and gratitude that our conference will be hosted on the unceded and traditional lands of British Columbia, the homelands of 203 distinct indigenous nations and cultures; with over 30 different languages and close to 60 unique dialects spoken in the province. We ask all people to reflect, acknowledge and honour in their own way the first nation land on which they live, work and play.
Call for Abstracts – Submission Criteria
Deadline for submissions: Friday February 20th. (Submissions for abstracts are now closed)
Resilient Health Sciences: Educating for Tomorrow’s Demands
Please download this PDF abstract submission form or use this word version link. Please fill in and email to conference@wcchse.ca
A virtual, multi-session conference hosted by WCCHSE throughout May.
This event brings together educators, students, clinicians, administrators, partners, and vendors from across Western Canada to explore how we can collectively strengthen resilience in our health and education systems amid rapid change and increasing complexity.
Abstract submissions should:
• Align with the overall conference purpose of building capacity and adaptability across health sciences education and practice.
• Offer insights, innovations, or evidence that contribute to responsive, sustainable health and education environments.
• Reflect relevance to Western Canadian contexts and interprofessional audiences.
Audience
Submissions should be prepared with a broad and diverse audience in mind, including:
• Health sciences educators and faculty
• Students and trainees
• Clinical and administrative leaders
• Healthcare professionals
• Community and academic partners
• Vendors and innovators in education and health technologies
Abstracts should:
• Use accessible, jargon-free language appropriate for a mixed audience
• Highlight the practical significance or application of the work to one or more of these groups
Themes
Abstracts must align with one of the following conference themes:
1. Resiliency in Healthcare
Approaches, lessons, and innovations that support individual, team, and system resiliency.
2. Tools and Ingredients for Learning Success
Strategies, resources, and models that enhance learner preparedness, adaptability, and success in diverse health sciences environments.
3. Stitching Education and Practice Together
Collaborative initiatives, transitions, and partnerships that strengthen the connection between academic learning and clinical practice.
Submissions should clearly identify the selected theme(s) and describe how the work advances understanding, practice, or collaboration in that area.
Formats
To support a streamlined and engaging virtual experience, WCCHSE will offer two presentation formats:
• 10-Minute Presentation + 5-Minute Q&A
A focused oral presentation highlighting key insights, innovations, findings, or lessons learned, followed by a brief facilitated question period.
• Digital Poster Presentation (5 minutes)
A concise overview of a digital poster, delivered through a short recorded presentation summarizing the project, approach, or outcomes.
Abstracts should:
• Select the format that best represents the work
• Clearly outline objectives, methods or approach, key findings or insights, and intended audience takeaways
• Identify any specific technical needs for the presentation
Peer Review Process
All abstracts will be peer-reviewed according to the following criteria.
Abstracts will be evaluated on:
• Relevance: Alignment with conference themes
• Clarity: Well-structured, concise, and coherent description
• Contribution: Demonstrates thoughtful insights with the potential to advance practice, strengthen education, or enhance collaboration.
• Engagement: Suitability of the proposed virtual format and potential to engage a diverse audience
Notification of acceptance will be sent to authors following review, along with format guidelines and presentation instructions
Please use the attached form and submit to conference@wcchse.ca
Note: By submitting an abstract, presenters consent to having their presentation or digital poster recorded and made available to WCCHSE collaborators through the WCCHSE portal until the end of the following year.
