Cheryl Allaby became part-time clinical faculty in the Department of Medicine, Geriatric Division, at McMaster University in the mid 2000’s. In 2010, she accepted a full-time academic position with the Department of Family Medicine and became an Associate Professor in 2015, stepping back to part-time in 2020. She is involved in teaching and clinical supervision of clinical clerks and residents and has tutored in the undergraduate MD program since 1999.
She completed Medical School at McMaster University in 1993. Prior to medicine, she was a physiotherapist employed primarily at St. Peter’s Hospital in the Geriatric Day Hospital, having developed a passion for working with older adults in her teen years.
After completing her Family Medicine Residency at McMaster University in 1995, she worked as a hospitalist in the Department of Geriatric Medicine at Hamilton Health Sciences for 24 years. She undertook a Family Medicine Hospitalist role at West Lincoln Memorial Hospital for 2 years following this. These days, she is at the Michael G. DeGroote Pain Clinic involved in chronic pain management and also with the Shelter Health Network of Hamilton. She completed a post-graduate certificate in chronic pain at the University of Alberta in 2022 and the IIWCC in wound care in 2018. Her interests are varied and include geriatric medicine, chronic pain, wound care, end of life care, addictions, homelessness and international health.
She was the Site Coordinator for the Juravinski Geriatric Teaching Unit from 2016-2020. Cheryl is committed to making learning fun and has developed interactive case-based tutorials for teaching geriatric topics, including falls, delirium and polypharmacy and learning sessions in wound care for Geriatric fellows. Cheryl also counts international health experiences in Jamaica and Uganda as enriching her life experience and maintains these connections.
Personally, she is married and together with her husband Chris, has 4 adult children and recently became a grandparent. Cheryl cultivates spirituality in her life, pursuing connectivity with God, humanity and nature. She enjoys outdoors activities including camping, biking and hiking in addition to reading, visual arts and playing board games.
Special Interests: Geriatric Medicine, Chronic Pain, Medical Education, Wound Care.