Congratulations, Dr. Mireille Norris!

In October, Dr. Mireille Norris was awarded the Black Physicians of Canada Lifetime Achievement Award by Black Physicians of Canada (BPC)

Dr. Norris is an internist and geriatrician at Sunnybrook and an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Toronto. Until recently, she was the Education Director for the Sunnybrook Hospitalist Training Program which she create and implemented at Sunnybrook in 2005. The 18 years she spent in this position contributed to her national standing as a hospitalist helping and mentoring underrepresented residents and physicians. Her own experience as a Black female French speaking physician was instrumental in empowering her trainees who are now successful in many provinces, the United States and Europe.

“Receiving this award was incredibly meaningful to me,” says Dr. Norris. “You could say that throughout my career I’ve been a person who identifies gaps and works to bridge those gaps. I was the first black geriatrician in Canada, and choosing that specialty came from seeing that no one was filling that space for the elderly. I also saw the Francophone gap in my work too, and it encouraged me to do more in that arena too, both publicly and with my patients.

Dr. Norris was appointed the University of Toronto Department of Medicine Faculty Lead for Black and Indigenous medical learners in 2020 and was also the site lead for postgraduate geriatric medicine at Sunnybrook until June 2023. Dr. Norris has a focus on dementia care, fall prevention, quality improvement and medical education.

“Being recognized on the national level, it gives me a boost to keep striving. I’m inspired to have even more of an impact and bring more to the academic field. People would describe me as very energetic, so what do I do with all of this energy? It enables me to put myself in those places that need help and support. I’m also fortunate to collaborate with many amazing individuals to advance this important work.”

Her passion for Equity, Inclusion and Diversity is also reflected in a number of initiatives. They include participation on the Sunnybrook President Anti-Racist Task force, launching of SPARK (Sunnybrook Program Accessing Research Knowledge for Black and Indigenous medical students) with co-founders Dr. Jill Tinmouth, Dr. Nick Daneman and the expertise of Dr. Csilla Kalocsai, collaboration with the Network for the Advancement of Black Learners and successful changes to the CaRMS application, thanks to collaborative work with Dr. Umberin Nageeb and Jeanette Goguen, for core internal medicine which lead to increased inclusivity.

“When students find out I was born in Haiti, some will come up to me and say they didn’t know anyone from Haiti was doing this, or that they could find a mentor like me. This award is validation of my commitment and ability to dedicate myself to my work and give back.”