Dr. Chris Watling is a Professor in the Departments of Oncology, Clinical Neurological Sciences, and Family Medicine at the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry at Western University in London, Canada. He is the Vice Dean (Acting), of Education Scholarship and Strategy, the Director of Schulich’s Centre for Education Research and Innovation, and a Faculty Scholar at Western University.  

In June 2024, he will begin a new role as CEO of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. A neurologist by clinical training, he holds a Masters in Medical Education from the University of Dundee and a PhD in Health Professions Education from Maastricht University. His research, widely published in the medical education literature, explores how and why feedback influences learning, and how medicine’s professional culture shapes its educational practices.

Conversations lie at the very heart of clinical learning in medicine.  While opportunities for conversations about learner performance exist, truly meaningful conversations – those that advance learning – remain frustratingly scarce.

In this week's special session of Grand Rounds for the inaugural day in education, Dr. Watling will draw on lessons from music, sports, and other coaching cultures to consider how learning conversation in medicine can be more consistently useful to learners.