On March 11 2026, The Conversation Lab partnered with Naomi Goloff—Director of Pediatric Palliative Medicine at McGill University—to deliver Canada’s first VitalTalk communication skills workshop for pediatric specialists.
This initiative brought together an interprofessional group of 11 postgraduate pediatric trainees from across the country, alongside practicing social workers and nurse practitioners. The diversity of the group reflected a shared recognition: high-quality communication in serious illness care is not the responsibility of a single profession, but a collective clinical skill.
The response from participants was overwhelmingly enthusiastic. Beyond skill-building, attendees described a renewed sense of confidence and clarity in approaching serious illness conversations—often among the most challenging, and most important, moments in pediatric care.
But this workshop is just the beginning. Building on its success, a larger session is planned for spring 2026 with the vision of:
- Cultivating a national network of pediatric specialists equipped with the skills, awareness, and shared language required to lead high-quality conversations about serious illness—conversations grounded in evidence, compassion, and clarity.
- Developing a growing cohort of pediatric clinician-educators who can teach and scale this work across Canada.
Canada’s first pediatric VitalTalk workshop may have started with a small group but its effects are posed to reach patients, families, and healthcare teams across the country.