Department of Medicine Weekly Roundup - June 22 - Announcement from Dr. Thomas Parker, Executive Vice-President, Clinical Programs & Chief Medical Officer
After a full international search and the approval of the appointment by the Unity Health Toronto Board of Directors, Dr. Karen Shin has accepted the position of Psychiatrist-In-Chief at St. Michael’s Hospital effective June 21, 2023.
The Search Committee, chaired by Dany Assaf, Unity Health Board member, gave their unanimous and enthusiastic endorsement of this appointment. Dr. Shin is familiar to St. Michael’s, being a staff Psychiatrist since 2006 and most recently, Interim Psychiatrist-In-Chief since December 2021.
Previously she had been the Deputy Chief for St. Michael's Hospital’s Department of Psychiatry since 2019 and the Ambulatory Mental Health and Addictions Medical Director since 2017. She is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto (UofT) and completed her medical training at McMaster University, followed by specialty training at the UofT. She provides outpatient and community-based mental health care, and Shared Care mental health services for the Family Health Team. Drawing from her clinical expertise, she has been a valuable teacher at the hospital, receiving recognition in 2018 and 2019 with the St. Michael's Teaching Excellence in Postgraduate Education Award. Her contribution to education extends to providing leadership in curriculum development for the Department of Psychiatry’s Postgraduate Program and acting as co-lead for the Outpatient Psychiatry Division. She is an executive member of the Ontario Psychiatric Association and the lead for its Mental Health Law Reform Task Force. In addition, her involvement in health systems development includes participating as the specialist physician member in the Core Group for the Downtown East Toronto Ontario Health Team.