Dr. Jane Buxton wins UBC Killam Teaching Prize

Congratulations to Dr. Jane Buxton on receiving the UBC Killam Teaching Prize for 2013/4.

UBC Killam Teaching Prizes are UBC’s most prestigious teaching awards and are awarded annually in in recognition of teaching excellence. Award recipients are nominated by students and colleagues for their innovative teaching methodology and curricula.

Dr. Jane Buxton

Dr. Buxton has a long history of teaching excellence and leadership. For the past five years, she has been the Practicum Director for UBC’s Master of Public Health Program, where she uses her considerable network of collaborators and colleagues to organize 12-week practicum experiences for 36 students each year. From 2009 until December 2013, she also held the post of Course Director for UBC’s MD Undergraduate Program (MDUP), 2nd year, Doctor Patient and Society course. Prior to this, from 2001 until 2008, she was Director of the UBC Community Medicine (now Public Health and Preventive Medicine PHPM) Residency Program.

She has also made significant contributions to teaching in community medicine on a national level. Dr. Buxton chairs the Royal College Physicians and Surgeons of Canada Special Committee in Community Medicine and is Lead on their Special Initiative to improve short answer questions. In all, Dr. Buxton has served on, or is serving on, twenty-two education-related committees locally and nationally since 2001.

Dr. Buxton’s teaching philosophy is straightforward – she believes “clear learning objectives and outcomes used as a base for student assessment are essential and appreciate the importance of mentorship.” She is known as a teacher who encourages active participation, and is known of as a “kind, caring and supportive mentor, who often challenges students to perceive situations in an alternative context and viewpoint” (student evaluation). Other student comments include:

• “The classroom environment fostered by Dr. Buxton was open, friendly and dynamic, as students were consistently encouraged to voice their opinions and challenge one another in a respectful manner.”
• “Dr. Buxton was a fantastic teacher. Very interesting speaker, and clearly interested in the topic herself.
• “Dr Buxton is a great teacher, very interested and knowledgeable. She is able to stimulate and lead debate and class is also fun!”

 
Dr. Buxton’s Killam Teaching Prize win is the fourth in five years for a faculty member from the School of Population and Public Health, highlighting our faculty’s high calibre of teaching excellence. Dr. Mieke Koehoorn won the Prize last year, while Dr. Karen Bartlett won for 2012. Dr. Patti Janssen received the prize in 2010.