We’re about midway through the first academic semester. A lot has happened since I was last in touch. Have a read through some of the month’s highlights below.
UGME accreditation preparation – approaching the finish line
Our undergraduate self-study report – consisting of the data collection instrument, the independent student analysis, and Dalhousie’s recent Canadian Graduate Questionnaire – is almost finished. It’ll be submitted to the Committee on Accreditation of Canadian Medical Schools next month, and we’ll be one step closer to putting our best foot forward for the full site visit scheduled for February 26 to March 2.
PGME accreditation – mock accreditation visit
With regard to our postgrad accreditation preparation ahead of fall 2018, Dr. Christopher Watling of the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry in London, Ontario, was recently on campus. He, along with a representative from Maritime Resident Doctors, met with a number of individuals involved in the policy, planning, and administration of postgraduate medical education at Dalhousie.
Dr. Watling’s visit will help our PGME Office put its self-study together, taking into consideration the new PGME accreditation standards. We’re the first medical school in the country to experience the accreditation process using these new standards, which have only recently become available to our program directors and department heads.
Thank you to everyone who continues to work hard on accreditation-related duties.
Cresco supports med student research
Local developer Cresco made a generous $200,000 gift to Dalhousie Medical Research Foundation in support of our Research in Medicine program. Over the next four years, Cresco will fund 40 studentships. As many of you know, Dalhousie’s RIM program is the first of its kind in Canada. The intent of RIM is to give our medical graduates a thorough understanding of the vital role research plays in today’s health care system.
Approximately 30 per cent of our students enter medical school with graduate research degrees. For those without that background, RIM has sparked interest in blending research with a clinical career.
It’s great to see members of our own community supporting the work of our students, and I hope we can establish similar partnerships in future. We intend to develop greater supports for our graduate students as well.
DMRF welcomes new CEO
Speaking of the Dalhousie Medical Research Foundation, I’m very pleased to welcome Brian Thompson to the medical school community as DMRF’s new CEO.
Coming to DMRF from KCI Ketchum Canada, Brian has over 12 years of leadership experience in the non-profit and fundraising sectors. He’s also not new to the post-secondary environment. As the campaign director for the University of Ottawa, he laid the foundation for a $400 million campaign.
I look forward to working with Brian and the entire DMRF team on funding our future research priorities.
Brian would be very interested in meeting with members of our research community. Please reach out to him (brian.thompson@dal.ca) if you’d like to chat.
Med student receives CMHF award
Third-year medical student Allan Kember was one of seventeen Canadian med students recently honoured by The Canadian Medical Hall of Fame.
Allan received The Charles Tabachnick award in recognition of his work in addressing disparities in reproductive, maternal, and newborn health, which plague low- and middle-income countries.
Currently leading an international, multi-disciplinary collaboration responsible for several clinical trials investigating maternal sleeping position as a potential risk factor for stillbirth and low birth weight, Allan is also working on prediction and prevention of preeclampsia in Ghana, and developing hospital information systems in low-resource settings.
DMNB graduates first grad students
Dalhousie Medicine New Brunswick celebrated another major milestone at the October convocation. Masters students Purvi Trivedi and Ashley Eadie successfully completed their theses under the supervision of Drs. Thomas Pulinilkunnil and Keith Brunt, respectfully.
Building research capacity in New Brunswick remains a priority for Dalhousie Medical School, and attracting new trainees to our Saint John campus will be a key factor in making that happen.
Nocturne inspires med students and Haligonians
To encourage Haligonians to share their motivations in making healthy lifestyle changes – and any barriers they may face in making these changes – Dalhousie medical students participated in this year’s Nocturne event.
The piece, Ask Yourself, was put together by Matthew Lee and Jonathan Oore, who are both members of the Class of 2019.
Ask Yourself drew on motivational interviewing – a technique used in the health professions to support behaviour modification. Information on how to access health services such as smoking cessation and addictions treatment was also available at the installation.
If you’d like to have a look at the piece, it’s currently standing in the Tupper Foyer.
National recognition for faculty
Members of our faculty also deserve our congratulations. Just in the past month or so alone, Dr. Chris McMaster (Pharmacology) attracted $4.5M in funding for orphan diseases research, Dr. Francoise Baylis (Bioethics) received the McNeil Medal from the Royal Society of Canada for increasing the public’s awareness of science, and Dr. Tony Reiman (Medicine) received $5M from the Terry Fox Foundation to lead a pan-Canadian study in patients with multiple myeloma.
If you have departmental recognitions to share, please send them along to Megan Dixon (megan.dixon@dal.ca) for inclusion in the next issue of Awards & Accolades.
Dr. Andrew Lynk appointed head of Pediatrics
I announced last month that Dr. Andrew Lynk is our new department head for Pediatrics. He recently relocated to Halifax from Cape Breton, and is settling into his new office at the IWK Health Centre.
I look forward to working with Dr. Lynk to advance the academic, clinical, and administrative functions of the department. We’re fortunate to have him join our leadership team.
DMAA recognition dinner
The 58th Annual Dalhousie Medical Alumni Association Recognition Dinner took place Saturday night at the Canadian Museum of Immigration in Halifax. It was nice to reconnect with classmates and colleagues who were in attendance from all over.
Every day, our alumni are working to improve the health of people in our communities, and it’s important to recognize these outstanding achievements in research and clinical practice.
Toronto-based Dr. Raghu Venugopal (Class of 2001) received this year’s Young Alumnus of the Year award. A volunteer with Doctors Without Borders, Dr. Venugopal delivered the evening’s keynote address, “Improving medical care for the worst off.” Other award winners were Drs. David Kirkpatrick (Alumnus of the Year), Margaret Casey (Honorary President’s Award), and Carlyle Chow (Family Physician of the Year). The Resident Research Award went to Dr. John Gencarelli of the Division of Plastic Surgery.
Saturday’s event was hosted by Dr. John Steeves, former associate dean of Dalhousie Medicine New Bruswick, who was appointed DMAA’s president in June.
Special thanks to the medical students who took time out of their schedules to attend.
I look forward to having a lot of alumni in town during our 150th anniversary celebrations. So, Dal grads, mark your calendars early for October 12-13, 2018.
Retreat to move strategic plan forward
At the end of the week, I’m hosting a retreat for associate & assistant deans and department heads. The focus of this year’s meeting will be to review our strategic plan and roll out an implementation strategy. I’m looking forward to some good discussion.
We’re in the process of organizing a final town hall for faculty, staff, and students – to go over where we are to date with the strategy. It’ll be held December 8th, 5-6pm. A save-the-date email with more information will be distributed soon.
If you haven’t yet had a chance to look at #DalMedForward, we’ve just launched a new website that outlines the components of our strategic plan. And, as always, I continue to welcome your feedback.