Viren Naik

The Medical Council of Canada (MCC) welcomed Dr. Viren Naik as its Chief Executive Officer on January 1, 2024. Dr. Naik, who served as Chief Assessment Officer at the MCC, from June 6, 2022 to December 31, 2023, succeeded Dr. Maureen Topps.

A Professor of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine at the University of Ottawa, Dr. Naik has over 25 years of experience in academic medicine and is an internationally recognized medical education leader with over 140 publications and grants.

In 2001, Dr. Naik obtained a Master of Education degree from the University of Toronto, and a Fellowship in Education from The Wilson Centre for Research in Education. He was recruited to St. Michael’s Hospital, where he began a Research Fellowship program in Simulation, and three years later, he was appointed Medical Director of the Allan Waters’ Family Patient Simulation Centre. In 2009, Dr. Naik was recruited from the University of Toronto to establish the University of Ottawa Skills and Simulation Centre (uOSSC) as the inaugural Medical Director.

In 2015, Dr. Naik completed an Executive MBA at the Telfer School of Management. Between 2014 and 2017, he served as Vice President, Education for The Ottawa Hospital, to provide a supportive learning environment and lead interprofessional initiatives to improve the patient experience. Between 2017 and 2022, Dr. Naik was an R.S. McLaughlin Professor of Medical Education at the University of Ottawa and served as Director of Assessment for the Royal College of Physicians & Surgeons of Canada, where he oversaw the credentialing of specialist training and the assessment, including examinations, for all medical specialties in Canada.