Eponyms: Decolonizing Our Terminology

Description:

Medical education is moving toward more precise, inclusive, and socially accountable language—yet eponyms remain deeply embedded in anatomy and clinical teaching. This interactive workshop invites educators to critically examine the role of eponyms in their own disciplines and to explore practical strategies for shifting toward descriptive, learner-centered terminology. Grounded in current scholarship on inclusive anatomy education, the session will highlight how language shapes understanding, reinforces or disrupts power structures, and influences learners’ ability to grasp structure–function relationships.

Participants will work in small groups to identify commonly used eponyms within their teaching, map the historical and social contexts of those terms, and analyze barriers that impede change—including curricular inertia, assessment constraints, faculty habits, and hidden curricula. Using guided prompts and real examples from anatomy, clinical skills, and related health-professional programs, attendees will collectively discuss alternative terminology, develop communication strategies for colleagues and learners, and consider methods for implementing sustainable change within their local programs.

By the end of the workshop, participants will leave with a clearer understanding of why inclusive terminology matters, actionable approaches for reducing eponym use, and a shared commitment to fostering more accountable and learner-inclusive educational environments.

This workshop is part of the Schulich CPD-EDID Workshop Series. Schulich faculty are priority registrants but it is open to all Western faculty, all health professions educators and all learners in the health professions.

For more information, visit: EDID Workshop Series or contact us at cpdedidteam@groups.uwo.ca 

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