W.O. McCormick Academic Day
Academic Day 2026
Bridging the Silos: Comprehensive Care for Individuals with Persistent Psychotic Disorders
When: Friday, April 24, 2026, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Where: The Westin Nova Scotian (in person)
1181 Hollis Street
Halifax, NS
Cost: See registration rates below.
Registration will close at Midnight on Friday, April 3, 2026.
Keynote speaker:
Dr. Lena Palaniyappan
Presentation: Disordered/disorganized communication and ways to address it
Dr. Lena Palaniyappan is a prominent clinical academic psychiatrist known for his work in youth mental health and early intervention for psychosis. He currently holds several high-level positions at McGill University and the Douglas Research Centre in Montreal.
More information about the conference schedule, speakers, and learning objectives will be added to this page.
Questions?
Email Psych.Education@dal.ca
About W.O. McCormick Academic Day
Academic Day is an annual event jointly sponsored by the Department of Psychiatry, the Nova Scotia Health Authority Central Zone Mental Health and Addictions Program, and Dalhousie Faculty of Medicine Continuing Professional Development. It features multiple speakers focused on a chosen theme.
Originally called Nova Scotia Hospital Academic Day, the first Academic Day was held in 1989 at the Nova Scotia Hospital. In 2014, the day was recognized for the first time as the W.O. McCormick Academic Day in honour of its founder, the late Dr. William Ormsby McCormick, who passed away in 2013.
Dr. McCormick was a longtime member of the Department of Psychiatry and was the architect of Academic Day. The event was part of Dr. McCormick’s strategy to have all clinical sites active in the academic mission of the department.
Academic Day was popular from the very beginning, but once established the numbers wishing to attend often exceeded capacity and people had to be turned away.