The Curiosity Habit: Recent Episodes
The Curiosity Habit
The Curiosity Habit gets to know the researcher behind the research. In medical education, we often learn people’s motivations and understandings of themselves in healthcare, but we don’t know very much about the people who do research in this field. On The Curiosity Habit, we ask: What caught your curiosity about that topic? How did you start? Who propelled you to get going? What bumps in the road or lucky charms have you encountered? What is your next curiosity? All in all, we want to hear the stories that many people might not know about to inspire and enlighten them about what it means to be a researcher.
Between soccer, track and field, marching band, attending his dad’s seminars in the living room, and pouring gels in his mom’s lab, Jon Ilgen had a busy childhood full of friends and activities that allowed him to pursue his interests. One of these interests was science, and after a winter program of following a small town paediatrician, his journey to medicine and medical education began. Listen in as Jon and Sayra discuss the ever-changing nature of his interests and research program!
Happy Summer! In our newest episode of The Curiosity Habit, Sayra sits down with Terese Stenfors, lover of fresh baking and coffee smells, and Professor at the Centre for Teaching and Learning and the Karolinska Institutet. Listen in as Terese outlines her journey from wanting to be a baker, to getting a degree in computer and systems science, and eventually finding her way into educational development and medical education.
Ian Scott has always been a generalist - by trade and by interests! From taking apart and fixing his mom’s radio or fixing up old cars, to going into family practice and dipping his toes into a multitude of research methods and topics, one thing has always been much more specific – that Ian is always on a journey of learning
Community has always been a focus of Tim Dubé, whose interests were originally sparked at the local hockey rink in his Northern Ontario community. Listen in and Tim and Sayra discuss the power of community - in educating, learning, and growing.
How did the woman who grew up on a farm and had never known what research is end up conducting (and loving) medical education research? In this week's episode, Sayra has this conversation with Dorene Balmer, whose love of reading brought her out of her small childhood bubble, giving her the opportunity to see the connections between people, structures, and communities, and how these all intertwine in our living and learning.
We have a very special episode out this week, featuring one of the founders of medical education himself - Geoff Norman! In this episode, Sayra and Geoff explore how a nuclear physicist ends up in this field. Listen in as they discuss his passion for making and building things, testing the negative, and his newfound hobby - golf!
Happy New Year listeners! We believe there is no better way to start the new year than with a new episode on a close friend - Wael Haddara! In this episode, Sayra and Wael discuss his literal and educational path to medicine and medical education. From Cairo to Kuwait to St. John’s (and more!), and from pharmacology to virology to medicine (and more!), listen in as Wael, the self-proclaimed bibliophile, community activist, and political analyst, has lots of stories to share.
On this episode of the Curiosity Habit, we welcome our first guest from and working in the Global South, Francisco Olmos-Vega! Sayra and Francisco’s conversation, in addition to talking about his journey from psychology to anesthesiology to the “dark side” of qualitative research , centres around identity - the growing, changing, accepting, and embracing of who you are.
Seeing the texture of colour of a slug was Laura’s first memory of being in and loving the outdoors, and was the start of a trajectory in balancing her life and her peace with time outside. Listen in as Sayra and Laura discuss Laura’s journey (and journeys!) of understanding herself, from Ecuador to Europe, and discovering the joy in the small things in life.
Over time, doing research on identity has helped Adam Sawatsky realize that if he wasn’t a medical education researcher, he would be a high school biology teacher or starting his own micro-brewing company. In this episode, Sayra and Adam sit down to talk about his love of reading (passed down from his parents and now onto his son)s, how the time spent learning about qualitative research helped him move forward in his career (and made him wish he could go back to learn more in the social sciences), and what everyone has wanted to know - the meaning behind the bow ties.
In this very special episode of the Curiosity Habit, the interviewer becomes the interviewee! Join Kevin Eva as he fulfills of the request made of many Curiosity Habit guests - interviewing Sayra herself. Sayra’s story is both fascinating and highly connected to her research; it describes how her childhood and teenage years in Colombia (and the social and political contexts at that time) brought her closer to her family and influenced her understanding of group connectedness. To get there, Sayra’s journey included going into engineering instead of medicine, coming to Canada for her PhD, learning two new languages (English and qualitative research), and so much more.
If Meredith Young were to describe her program of research to you, she would never distill it down to one keyword - and she wouldn’t do that in talking about her childhood, path to research, or curiosities, either. In this episode, Sayra and Meredith talk about how Meredith’s upbringing and travels highlight why home is not necessarily a geographical location, how curious questions make for great conversations and connections, and how adventuring makes for activating your creative brain, great experiences and memories.
Have you ever seen Derry Girls? If yes, that will give you an idea of what Jenny Johnston’s childhood and teen years were like. In this episode, Sayra and Jenny’s experiences of educating and being educated, what closeness to the earth means to her, and the small advantages of living on a tiny island.
In our newest episode of the Curiosity Habit, Sayra chats with Will Bynum, whose story weaves through his medical schooling to his military service, and how both of these experiences led him to study shame, guilt, and other emotions in medical education. His story is rooted by his role as an “enabler” - someone who acts in service of others to help execute missions. The mission? Addressing and forging solutions to injustice and inequity in primary care.
Coming from a big family (with 41 first cousins!) in rural Nova Scotia, Anna grew up feeling like she was a part of something important. After a big move to New Brunswick, and then on to study in Australia, Anna tells us about how her graduate education changed her perspective and interests, and how now she’s helping tell stories within medical education.
In our newest episode, Sayra sits down with Renee Stalmeijer, and her path (walking and academic!) to her current role as an assistant professor at Maastricht University. In their conversation Renee chats about her childhood full of music, her love of teaching, listening, and mentoring, and how the way we approach education should not be like an ‘animal school’.
Sharing a love of reading biographies of inspiring people, Sayra and Christina St-Onge spend our newest episode discussing how Christina’s childhood of reading these books led her to her career in medical education today. In fact, working in medical education was such a big decision for Christina, she remembers the exact moment she decided she would go into the field - and highlights it in our episode!
In this week’s episode, Sayra is joined by Kevin Eva, Senior Scientist at the Centre of Health Education Scholarship (CHES) and Editor in Chief of Medical Education. Starting from a young age, Kevin has never stuck to one particular interest, hobby, or curiosity. Listen in as he discusses his path into medical education research, and the many hobbies (including racquetball, running, and woodworking) that he’s acquired along the way.
In this episode, Sayra sits down with Jacqueline Torti (CERI’s newest Scientist!) to discuss her path from a small Ontario town interested in physical activity and education, to the big city of Edmonton interested in public health, back home to Ontario again to pursue a career in medical education, combining all of her research expertise and interests. Their conversation spans the different curiosities in Jacqueline’s life, including inspirations from her mother and family members, as well as the curiosities of her two newest family members - Grayson and Bo.
In this week’s episode, Sayra sits down with Maria Mylopoulos to discuss how her love of reading and goal to get her PhD at a young age became realized over time. Their conversation spans across different topics that include the difference between good rejections and bad rejections, scholarly debate with collaborators, and how your ideas can be good ideas that also fit in the world around you.
We’re back! In our newest season of the Curiosity Habit, Sayra sits down with the ever-curious Gerry Gormley to discuss his path from a child full of questions to a physician and researcher who finds the answers. Navigating and narrating the synergy of science and art, Gerry tells us how his appreciation for human connection has progressed his career, his research, and his mentoring, and how he’s able to answer his current questions on how to make medical education better.
In our final episode of 2021, Sayra sits down with the ever-curious Erik Driessen, whose love of reading catapulted his career in medical education. In their conversation, Erik discusses his love of Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse comic books, how culture influences education, but education also influences culture, and his aspirations to become a professional chef.
Mahan has always been someone who just wanted to know things. What he didn’t realize growing up was that those “things” - like what it means to learn, how we learn effectively, and what it means to enhance knowledge - would eventually lead him to working in medical education. In his conversation with Sayra, Mahan discusses what it was like learning and moving between different countries, schools, and opportunities got him to where his now.
People, and her connection to people, keeps things alive for Sarah. In her conversation with Sayra, Sarah highlights how this connection to people was fostered by her mum, how that was where she thrived in medical school, and how through her connections to people - including mentors, colleagues, and patients, she is where she is today.
Growing up in a small town in rural Ontario, Tavis lost himself in novels - reading through a window into a far greater world. In his conversation with Sayra, Tavis highlights how he’s weaving his long ago dream of becoming a novelist into his education research and his clinical work in palliative care.
Liz has always been a very curious person, interested in knowledge and how we come to know what we know through reading, writing, and stories. In her story, she shares how one of her previous coaches had a photographic memory, and how his feedback ultimately inspired a program of research on feedback in medical education.
As a kid that loved school, asking questions, and getting imaginative, it makes sense that Sarah is now a researcher in medical education. In her conversation with Sayra (a non-professional goal of hers!), Sarah highlights how she made the transition from teacher to education researcher, and discusses how learning also requires unlearning.
Anne never made a conscious decision to become a researcher. Instead, she followed her questions as they unfolded over time – these questions included how health care providers were learning, practicing, and reflecting on experiences. In her conversation with Sayra, Anne reflects on how her research into reflective practice began, and how she came to think about reflection as a continuum over time. Her studies drew her to questions concerning epistemology and professional knowledge. For Anne, the education researcher's journey is marked by serendipity and surprise, the joy of writing, working with students, and inquiring into one's curiosities.
From growing up in rural Ontario with her family taking in vietnamese families to working in Vienna and Fukushima, Kathy’s love of teaching and learning was fostered at a young age and remained a strong head throughout her life. In her conversation with Sayra, Kathy discusses how her goal is always to leave something better than she found it, and how there’s no innovation without creativity, and no creativity without vulnerability.
Stella has always been curious and asked questions with the aim of building bridges. Originally a school-based audiologist, Stella wanted to understand how to make things better for the children she saw, which resulted in her doing her PhD. In her conversation with Sayra, Stella discusses what it was like to do her PhD and postdoctoral research on critical reflection, how everything she does has circled back to her previous research, and how she has learned to celebrate the little things, like a thank you email, to stay positive and motivated during difficult times.
In this episode, Sayra chats with Kori LaDonna and Emily Fields (and special guest Benjamin - Emily’s son!) about their journey doing research and navigating motherhood and life as early career researchers. One a night owl and the other a morning person, Kori and Emily discuss what factors have made their collaborations (both as researchers and friends) so successful. Overall, they both agree that to do good research you need to have fun together, be vulnerable with one another, and also be able to engage in exchanges of ideas - which the both of them have been doing since 2015.
In this special episode, Lorelei Lingard and Chris Watling talk with Sayra about their new book Story, Not Study: 30 Brief Lessons to Inspire Health Researchers as Writers. In their discussion with Sayra and while answering questions from the audience, Lorelei and Chris describe the process of writing a book, shared some unexpected but gratifying moments of the journey, and offer advice for how to find your voice in your writing.
Why does an elementary school teacher give up her career to become a researcher in medical education? Mary has always thought there is a story to everything, and in every story there’s a problem. In this podcast she tells stories about past experiences and problems of practice that led to her postdoctoral research. Along the way, Mary describes how research keeps her on the edge of her comfort zone, the joys and challenges of being a postdoc, and how mentors can make space for risk taking.
When you first meet Lara, her first question for you will always be about who you are - she cares more about you as a person than your work. In the same way that Lara has traversed across continents, so have her research interests - rather than stay in one place, or have one program of research, she considers herself a literal research nomad, travelling through different countries and research topics. In these travels, she has accumulated her magpie files, full of different concepts and ideas for research. If she decides that she will no longer pursue research as a career, however, she knows her backup plan - to be a party planner.
Pim self-describes himself as a “chronically curious gynaecologist and researcher”, always seeking to understand why things are the way that they are. Although he had never planned on becoming a doctor, and had aspirations to become a pilot, or do wood-working, Pim has always looked for things that challenge him and his thinking. One of these challenges is that it is difficult to be fully satisfied in his work, because for him, there is always more to be curious about.
Mark, throughout his medical education, believed that teaching medical students and trainees could be done better. Wanting to create a community for clinicians and researchers with a passion for medical education, Mark was one of the original members and founders of CERI (formerly known as GAMES). Between his work as a general internist and researcher, Mark continues to explore his fascination with the complexity of clinical practice and reasoning, and finds inspiration and creativity for his researcher in an unlikely environment - the swimming pool.
Through growing up in the strong and diverse community of Rexdale in Toronto, Nikki knew that community, for her, is everything. This dedication to community has been with her throughout her journey to her current position doing research in medical education - a journey that, to her, was a series of serendipitous interactions. As someone who hated science growing up, Nikki has become someone who loves asking the “why” questions, and is confident in the things she knows she does well. In her time off, she's watching trashy reality tv - but only when she’s not asking the small questions that eventually become big.
At eye level on the wall in her office is an 80 font quote: “Every way of seeing is a way of not seeing”. This has been one of the foundational premises of Lorelei’s work – as a rhetorician, it helps her to see how things are oriented and constructed, often unconsciously and tacitly, through language. Her research career in medical and health professions education has involved working on many projects, gathering, sharing, and understanding stories of teamwork, communication, learning, identity, and professionalism. Across this diverse body of work, a constant is her commitment to language and relationships as central forces in human experience.
As a person, Meredith is a mom who likes to spend time outdoors, hike, and play with her dog. As a researcher, Meredith has always been interested in morally complex decisions surrounding healthcare and illness, which cannot be limited to one single research project. One single thing about working on all these projects that she values, however, are her relationships that have emerged from them - what’s better than working with people who are enthusiastic, dedicated, and inspiring?
Jennifer’s research and career have taken multiple twists and turns, through topic areas and countries. From studying behaviour in monkeys to social patterns of gerbils, and through Belfast, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and now Singapore, Jen has learned that she wants to conduct research that is both useful, and of good quality. Over time she has also learned that there are facilitators and blockers in everyone’s life and careers, and she herself has gotten where she is because of some facilitators in her life. If she had her choice, however, she would facilitate more of her learning on the wines of the south of France.
Javeed has always been interested and passionate about education, particularly how we can learn to treat others who are different than us. His inspiration for his bias research has been shaped by his lived experience, and understanding that we are all a product of our experiences - to advance equity, we need to understand how to have sensitive and emotionally charged conversations. He also knows that we need to share our stories - stories can connect us, advance research, and enable understanding of things we don’t understand. In this episode, Javeed tells us his story of connecting his research interests, reconciling different aspects of his identity, and how he hopes to help others know that their stories matter.
In his transition from cognitive psychology to medical education and throughout his career in health professions education, Glenn has never resided on his own research “island”. Instead, he prefers to traverse and expand his “archipelago”. Having discovered and embraced, early in his career, his role as mentor, he has worked toward understanding the skills and traits that each member of the community brings to the table. In this way, he has tried to support each person to develop their own islands even as he was extending his archipelago in the process. In this episode, Glenn highlights his pivot from psychology to medical education, his work in supporting the development of the Wilson Center, and his “travels” from research island to island.
Taryn’s research on fatigue has always been personal – as an OB/GYN who successfully overcame a sleep disorder, finding ways to improve working conditions for trainees and physicians is incredibly important. Although her research interests have changed and evolved over time, one thing that has remained consistent is Taryn’s love of letting go – something she has done a lot of personally, professionally, and from 30 feet in the air on a trapeze. While not always easy, Taryn has always accepted the challenge, which has led her to “land” where she is today.
Rachel has always been able to see the connections and the between things - seeing the “sideways picture” has informed her research on systems. In this episode, Sayra and Rachel discuss what its like to move from England, to Sudbury, and then to Calgary, and be one of the few generalists within a sea of specialists. Rachel discusses meeting The Queen and Prince Phillip, moving to Canada and getting her Canadian citizenship, and being a jazz musician who has released two albums, currently out on the iTunes Store (which you can find by searching for Rhemade).
In The Curiosity Habit’s very first episode, Sayra explores curiosities with Dr. Chris Watling, Director of the Centre for Education Research and Innovation at Western University. Although he started in medicine, he soon learned about qualitative research and listening to people’s stories, leading him on the track to earn his PhD and become a medical education researcher. Combining facets from his life, including his training in classical music, pragmatist streak, and interest in sports and culture, his curiosity piqued, wanting to know why people’s perspectives on feedback change in different settings.