Dr. Sarah Forgie: Why the New Dean of Medicine Taught Herself the Ukelele

Researchers Under the Scope

In this episode, we gain insight into Dr. Sarah Forgie, the new Dean of the College of Medicine. She discusses her innovative teaching methods, her career as a pediatric infectious disease specialist, and her vision for advancing Saskatchewan’s College of Medicine.

Dr. Forgie also shares the story behind her decision to learn the ukulele.

Born to family physicians, Dr. Forgie grew up in Lynn Lake, Manitoba, a remote fly-in mining community. Her family later relocated to Winnipeg, where Dr. Forgie credits much of her motivation to her mother, who encouraged her to pursue both medicine and leadership roles.

As a pediatrician and professor at the University of Alberta, Dr. Forgie’s journey into university leadership can be traced back to her willingness to deploy creative teaching methods. Faced with the challenge of teaching infectious diseases to first-year medical students, she re-wrote the Talking Heads hit “Psycho Killer” to reinforce best practices in treating Streptococcal pharyngitis -- with ukulele accompaniment.

It worked. Those who attended her “Take Five” bacteriology lectures at the University of Alberta retained 98% of the key concepts, compared to a 50-60% retention rate among students in standard classes.

Dr. Forgie strived to instill strong clinical reasoning, and challenged her students to present key concepts in their own creative ways.

“With every session, I would do something, they would do something, and it just made it a fun environment,” she said.

Following her appointment as Saskatchewan’s first full-time female Dean of Medicine on July 1, 2024, Dr. Forgie returned to clinical service this fall as a pediatrician at the Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital in Saskatoon.

In her role as Dean, she aims to strengthen connections between the College of Medicine and Saskatchewan’s medical practitioners.

“What I would love to see in Saskatchewan is that every physician approaches their work with an academic lens,” Dr. Forgie said. This 'lens' may encompass participating in clinical trials, exploring ways to alleviate physician workloads, or collaborating with learners, she said.

Engagement with Indigenous communities remains a critical component of Dr. Forgie’s vision for wellness.

“I am all about collaboration... with First Nation, Inuit, and Métis communities to better prepare our trainees to work within these communities,” she stated, affirming her commitment to cultural sensitivity in healthcare.

As a lifelong resident of the prairies, Dr. Forgie understands the isolation often experienced in rural medicine. She aims to foster connectivity among healthcare providers and new learners.

“How can we help and how can we reduce some of those feelings that you're having around burnout and frustration?” she asked. “Helping with that leads to a virtuous cycle of how do we make things better in Saskatchewan?”