In this edition of UHN On The Go:
Michener Institute of Education welcomes record incoming class
Health care education continues to grow at UHN with the largest first-year cohort on record at UHN's Michener Institute of Education.
Over 700 students started at Michener on Sept. 8, 2026, the first day of class for the 2026-27 academic year.
Michener's 2026-27 recruitment drive helped lead to the largest enrolment in school history for the second straight year, topping the previous record set by the 2025 incoming class.
The growth of students across the applied health science programs offered continues to help address needs in the health system and positions UHN as a leader in health care education.
Latest cohort of research students completes STAR-EM program
Five undergraduate University of Toronto medical students spent 10 weeks at UHN as part of the award-winning Summer Training and Research in Emergency Medicine (STAR-EM) program, gaining early exposure to emergency medicine research.
Each student was paired with a research supervisor who guided their research work. Together, they investigated ways to strengthen emergency care and address health equity issues affecting patients.
This year's focus areas included examining virtual emergency care and the use of artificial intelligence in triage, as well as rapid HIV screening, care for patients with sickle cell disease and the stabilization of patients presenting with acute alcohol and addiction problems.
Dr. Steven Friedman, attending physician in emergency medicine, launched STAR-EM in 2019 to give students an opportunity to contribute to meaningful research early in their training.
Since its launch, STAR-EM has created lasting opportunities for more than 35 students while helping strengthen the future of emergency medicine.
Connected Care students observe patient journeys
UHN's Connected Care team recently completed Outpatient 360, an initiative that brought students into clinics across UHN to observe patient journeys, clinic operations and care environments.
Working alongside frontline teams, the students explored how outpatient care is experienced by patients, caregivers and staff, gathering insights that will help shape the future of outpatient care at UHN.
Through structured observations and conversations with frontline teams, students documented patient flow, accessibility, waiting areas, signage, workflows and operational challenges.
By bringing together students, frontline teams and operational leaders, Outpatient 360 demonstrates the value of collaboration in building a better outpatient experience for patients, caregivers and care teams alike.
The findings will help identify opportunities to improve the patient experience, simplify processes and inform future outpatient transformation initiatives as part of the broader Outpatient Action Plan.
