Spring is finally here and exams are underway for some and around the corner for others. Good luck to all! Here are some recent updates and happenings!

I am pleased to highlight the following appointments of three Department Heads in the Faculty of Medicine:

Appointment of Dr. Susan Kirkland, Department Head, Department of Community Health and Epidemiology

I am pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Susan Kirkland as the Head of the Department of Community Health and Epidemiology. This appointment is effective April 1st, 2019.

Dr. Susan Kirkland, Professor in the Department of Community Health and Epidemiology (CH&E), has been with the Department since 1992 and holds a cross appointment in the Department of Medicine (Division of Geriatric Medicine). She has served in a number of leadership roles in the Department including Graduate Program Director (1995-2001), Associate Department Head (2014-2017) and Interim Department Head since September 2017.

Dr. Kirkland holds research leadership roles as one of three Principal Investigators for the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging, as Director of the Atlantic Interdisciplinary Research Network, and as Principal Investigator on studies of frailty, healthy aging, harm reduction, and participant engagement in research.

On behalf of the Dalhousie Medical School, I would like to thank Dr. Kirkland for her continued strong leadership within the Department of Community Health and Epidemiology and know that under her stewardship, the Department will continue to advance its academic and clinical contributions and strategic goals.

 Dr. James Clarke appointed to Department Head, Diagnostic Radiology

I am pleased to welcome Dr. James Clarke as the Head of the Department of Diagnostic Radiology for Dalhousie University and Central Zone, Nova Scotia Health Authority. The five-year appointment is effective July 1st, 2019.

Dr. Clarke has been a practicing cardiac radiologist and nuclear medicine physician in Dalhousie University’s Department of Diagnostic Radiology since completing his fellowship in Cardiac Radiology in 2008. Since 2009, he’s served as Director for the Nuclear Medicine residency program and had been serving as the Associate Head of the Department of Diagnostic Radiology prior to his appointment. An associate professor in the Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Dr. Clarke has led the Nuclear Medicine program through two successful accreditation surveys and is active in the development of the Competence by Design framework for the specialty of Nuclear Medicine. His recent academic efforts have been focused on developing tools for assessment of Entrustable Professional Activities for residents in diagnostic imaging programs.

In announcing Dr. Clarke’s appointment, I would like to thank Dr. David Barnes, who has served as Department Head since 2009. I appreciate Dr. Barnes’ strong leadership over the past 10 years, and know that under his stewardship, the Department has greatly advanced its academic and clinical contributions and strategic goals.

 Appointment of Dr. Kirk Magee, Department Head of Emergency Medicine

I am pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Kirk Magee as the Head of the Departments of Emergency Medicine for Dalhousie University and Central Zone, Nova Scotia Health Authority. This appointment took effect on March 1, 2019. Dr. Magee has been serving as Interim Head of the University and Central Zone Departments of Emergency Medicine since January 1, 2017.

Dr. Magee completed his undergraduate degree at Dalhousie University before moving to Edmonton to complete Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons (RCPS) training in emergency medicine at the University of Alberta and earn a MSc in Epidemiology. He joined Dalhousie’s Department of Emergency Medicine in 2001 and has held various positions within the department, including Undergraduate Coordinator, Associate Head, RCPS Residency Program Director and Research Director.

Dr. Magee is an editor for the Cochrane Heart Group and a Decision Editor for the Canadian Journal of Emergency Medicine. He has over 50 peer-reviewed publications and abstracts and is the author of several book chapters. He has worked clinically as an emergency physician and trauma team leader at the Charles V. Keating Emergency and Trauma Centre at the QEII Health Science Centre’s Halifax Infirmary.

Dalhousie Faculty of Medicine Community Volunteer Day 2019

In line with our #DalMedForward strategic plan, I am pleased to invite faculty and staff to our first ever Community Volunteer Day to be held at the Dartmouth North Community Food Centre on May 15th, 2019. This event will see Faculty of Medicine volunteers working side-by-side with one of our community partners and instills our commitment to the third pillar of our strategic plan, Serving & Engaging Society. Don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty – we will be helping the Centre launch their urban garden just in time for growing season!

This event is capped at 25 volunteers and I would encourage as many departments and units as possible to get involved. Information regarding volunteer registration and event details can be found on the Global Health website. Please ensure you have supervisory approval to attend before registering. I hope to see you there.

 

Dal’s Annual 3 Minutes Thesis (3MT) Competition

Earlier this month, 10 of Dal’s outstanding graduate students put on an amazing performance at Dal’s annual 3 Minutes Thesis (3MT) competition. Over 90 graduate students participated in the preliminary heats held the previous day, including several graduate students from the Faculty of Medicine. In three minute presentations, they showed how their research projects could influence the future, improve the present, and unravel the past.

When all was said and done, the judges selected Mr. Adrian Herod, a PhD candidate in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, as the top performer. His project is focused on exploring the genome of infectious salmonella and identifying a common biomarker which can be used to distinguish infectious strains from non-infectious strains. Mr. Herod received a $2,000 scholarship and a paid trip to the Eastern Regional finals in Montreal, as well as his name inscribed on the 3MT plaque which hangs in the main office of the Faculty of Graduate Studies.

Read more about Mr. Herod and other 3MT finalists and competitors here.

Dalhousie IMPACT Awards

Every year at the Dalhousie IMPACT Awards, dozens of different awards are presented by the university and the Dalhousie Student Union to recognize the many ways individual students and student groups improve our communities, each and every day.

The most prestigious of these awards is the Board of Governors’ Award and I am pleased to share that two of the five recipients are from Dalhousie’s Faculty of Medicine. Congratulations to Ms. Chloé Blackman (Master’s, Community Health & Epidemiology) and Ms. Emma Finlayson-Trick (Master’s, Microbiology and Immunology).

Congratulations as well to our Faculty of Medicine Impact Leadership Award winners, Mr. Patrick Holland (med student, Pharmacy) and Ms. Maral Aali (PhD candidate, Physiology & Biophysics). These students have exemplified the highest level of passion for their discipline, take initiative in creating new opportunities and encourage their peers to engage in faculty initiatives.

Read more about their work and the work of other IMPACT award recipients here.

“To Boldly Go…” A Panel Discussion on Women in Medical Leadership

Continuing Professional Development is hosting a Women in Medical Leadership panel discussion in Theatre A of the Tupper Link on Tuesday April 23^rd at 4:30PM. The panelists will include Dr. Christine Short (Department Head, Internal Medicine), Ms. Jennifer Gillivan (CEO, IWK Foundation), Dr. Susan Gilmour (Chair of Pediatrics, University of Alberta), Dr. Gaynor-Watson-Creed (Assistant Dean for Serving and Engaging Society, and Associate Provincial Medical Officer of Health) and myself.  For more information and to register, please click here. All are welcome and encouraged to attend and I hope to see you there.

 

 

Call for nominations – Faculty of Medicine Awards

The Faculty of Medicine is still accepting nominations for this year’s Faculty of Medicine Awards of Excellence in Leadership.

Four award categories acknowledge excellence and recognize the importance of administrative leadership in the medical school setting: Academic Leadership, Professional & Managerial Leadership, Leadership in Administrative (Clerical & Technical Support) and Emerging Leader.

The deadline for submission of nominations is Thursday, April 11. The call for nominations has also been sent (in February and March) to all department heads and assistant/associate deans.

I hope you will consider nominating a deserving colleague.

 

2019 Annual Faculty Meeting

Save the date! The 2019 Annual Faculty Meeting will be held on Tuesday, June 11, 2019 at 5PM AST. An agenda will be circulated closer to the date.

 

 

 

 

Town Hall on Serving and Engaging Society

Our third Faculty of Medicine Town Hall of the year will be held on May 28th, 2019.  This follows our previous town halls on Education and Research. The focus of this town hall will be on the third pillar of our Faculty strategic plan #DalMedForward: Serving and Engaging Society.  The #DalMedForward steering committee has greatly valued the feedback and support we have received from faculty, staff and students and we look forward to an engaging and stimulating event.

The town hall will be lead by Dr. Darrell White, Senior Associate Dean and Dr. Gaynor Watson-Creed, Assistant Dean, Serving & Engaging Society.  This pillar of activity focuses on the societal role of our medical school.  Its two priority areas focus around System Change and Serving our Communities. We look forward to your feedback about our efforts to-date and plans for the future in this important domain of our work.

Graduation

Graduation of our students is just around the corner.  Medical students and graduate students in the Faculty of Medicine will receive their degrees on May 27, 2019 at 9AM. More information about convocation ceremonies happening this Spring at Dal can be found here.

Congratulations to our many graduates on all that you have achieved to date and we look forward to seeing what you will be up to next!  Faculty are welcome and encouraged to attend the graduation ceremony at the Rebecca Cohn.  I hope to see you there.

 

 

 

Resident Match

Another very successful resident match took place last month.  We are very pleased that the vast majority of our students have matched in this process and most received their first or second choices for residency positions.  We are pleased that all 19 of our new entry-level residency positions have matched and will be ready to go for July 1st, 2019.

We are also pleased that the number of students matching to family medicine increased this year from 25% in 2018 to 40% in 2019.  As many of you are aware, under the leadership of our Department of Family medicine, increased emphasis throughout our undergraduate medicine curriculum has been put into place to make our students aware of the importance of (and great career opportunities available to) family physicians.  We have the explicit goal that 50% of our graduates will choose family medicine as a career option by 2022.

Unfortunately, a small number of our medical students did not match this year.  We will be providing support to all of these students to discuss career opportunities and prepare them for next year’s matching process. Our Student Affairs team is particularly engaged in working with these students.

In Memoriam

This past month, a number of individuals who have made huge contributions over their careers to the Faculty of Medicine, health care in Nova Scotia, and the good of our society have passed away.

Dr. Stephen Couban, was a current faculty member and a close colleague of mine and it is with great sadness I share the news of his passing.  Dr. Couban had been a member of the Dalhousie University community since he first attended Dalhousie Medical School in 1982. He practiced as a family physician from 1987-1989, after which he returned to Dalhousie University to complete fellowships in both Internal Medicine and Hematology.  In 1997, after a Fellowship in bone marrow transplant at University of Toronto, he returned to our Division of Hematology as an assistant professor; where he had a long and productive career.

Dr. Couban became a national and international leader in Hematologic Oncology, specializing in bone marrow transplant. He was a respected leader serving internally as Director of the Blood and Marrow Transplant Program, Service Chief for Hematology, Service Chief for the Medical Teaching Unit, Division Chief for Hematology and Deputy Department Head. He was the Physician Lead for the Ambulatory Committee for the QEII Redevelopment Project and held many committee and leadership roles at                                            the faculty and the health authority as well as nationally and internationally in Hematology.

Dr. Couban was a mentor to students and faculty alike and embodied all the characteristics of an academic physician: he loved his work and his patients and he strongly believed in the Department of Medicine. Most of all, he was a wonderful colleague and friend to many.  He will be greatly missed.

I would also acknowledge the passing of four other recently passed individuals who have meant so much to the Faculty of Medicine community:

Dr. Paul Louis Landrigan, former Dalhousie Medical School faculty member and alumnus, passed away last week at the age of 93, with family by his side. He was a superb physician, wise teacher, a man of great faith and, most importantly, a devoted family man. He received his MD from Dalhousie Medical School in 1953. He continued with post-graduate studies in internal medicine at Dalhousie University and the University of Toronto. In 1962, he received a fellowship from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. He also was awarded the McLaughlin Fellowship to study the specialty of Diseases of the Chest at the Royal Brompton Hospital, London, England. He returned in 1963 and was appointed the first Head of the Department of Respirology at the Victoria General Hospital. He was also a full professor at Dalhousie University School of Medicine, and subsequently Chief of Medicine at the Halifax Infirmary.

 

Dr. James Allan Myrden, a former president of the Nova Scotia Medical Society and the first director of undergraduate surgical education at Dalhousie University, passed away on April 5, 2019 at the age of 92. For almost five decades, Dr. Myrden, a respected Halifax surgeon, was associated with Dalhousie University’s Faculty of Medicine as a professor and a surgeon at the Victoria General Hospital, Halifax. He was the medical director of the Nova Scotia Tumour Clinic from 1962 until 1982, and established the Nova Scotia Tumour Registry. The registry provided the first complete database on tumour incidence in Nova Scotia. After graduating from Dalhousie Medical School in 1950, Dr. Myrden continued with several years of post-graduate studies in surgery at Dalhousie with endocrinologist Dr. Martin Hoffman, working with patients with abnormal thyroid function and their treatment. These studies were supported by the National Research Council.

 

Dr. Sonia Russell, former Dalhousie Medical School faculty member, passed away on February 28, 2019. Dr. Russell had been a member of the Dalhousie University alumni community since she graduated from Dalhousie Medical School in 1978. Dr. Russell was an extraordinary faculty member, who came to the practice of child and adolescent psychiatry in her later years. She first earned a Bachelor of Pharmacy degree and ran a small pharmacy in London, UK, with her husband, Douglas. While raising her four children, she taught high school mathematics and science, earned a Master’s degree and a PhD, and then fulfilled her lifelong ambition of becoming a physician. Dr. Russell loved her work and her patients. After retirement, she volunteered in a variety of settings including the IWK and Dalhousie Medical School.

 

Dr. Alex Richman, former Dalhousie Medical School faculty member, passed away at home in Halifax on Tuesday, January 29, 2019 at the age of 90. While at Dalhousie University, Dr. Richman held appointments in the Departments of Psychiatry and Community Health & Epidemiology. He conducted academic research around the planning and evaluation of mental health services, and published numerous peer-reviewed papers applying risk management and epidemiological techniques to mental health services. At the time of his death, he was an adjunct professor in Dalhousie’s School of Business Administration.

 

 

Dr. Winston Parkhill, former Chief of the Division of Plastic Surgery at Dalhousie University, passed away at home on Tuesday, January 15, 2019. A graduate of Dalhousie Medical School (Class of 1968), Dr. Parkhill moved to Toronto for further studies in plastic and reconstructive surgery before returning to Halifax in 1973 for a position in Dalhousie’s Department of Medicine. Known for his love of life and positive energy, Dr. Parkhill cared deeply for his patients, students and colleagues over his distinguished career. He operated at the Halifax Infirmary, VG, IWK and the QEII Health Sciences Centre, took part in volunteer medical missions to the Philippines, contributed to papers published in scientific journals and gave numerous presentations in the field of plastic surgery.

 

On that note, be well and good luck to everyone writing exams. I know many of you will be working as hard as ever, but I hope all of you have an opportunity to enjoy some sunshine now that spring is here.