Welcome back to all our faculty, staff, and students. Although it seems like a distant memory now, I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday break and was able to share time with family and friends (while following all public health guidelines).
Even though the COVID-19 pandemic is continuing to dominate the world and our local agenda, 2021 is beginning with promise. In the Maritimes, rates of COVID-19 are among the lowest in the world due to the work of our government and public health officials. Although New Brunswick has seen a second wave surge of cases in January 2021, thanks to aggressive public health measures these rates are not escalating. Concerns about new virus variants must keep us vigilant to respect the need for continued aggressive public health measures to keep us safe.
The promise of effective COVID-19 vaccines offers hope that the holidays in 2021 could allow for many more social engagements than this past season. In the Faculty of Medicine, we are proud that the initial Nova Scotian vaccination site has been hosted at the Life Sciences Research Institute (LSRI). I would like to thank Dr. Roger McLeod, our Associate Dean for Research, Innovacore, and the faculty, staff, and students of the LSRI for sharing their space in enabling vaccinations to go forward. It has been here, on campus, where thousands of Nova Scotia’s health care workers have received their vaccines.
Recognizing that there are many complexities in vaccine roll outs, we are pleased that residents and senior medical students who are at the face of health care delivery in the Maritimes have been recognized as health care workers to be vaccinated in the first phase of provincial vaccine delivery plans over the next several months. Similar consideration has been given for other students training to be health professionals and dentists and who are providing front line health care.
Again, our thanks to all faculty, residents, staff, and students who are working so hard to keep the public safe in these challenging times Thank you to everyone for your patience, leadership, and support as we begin a new year together. Below is an update of some of the many things happening in our Faculty.
Celebrating African Heritage Month
African Heritage Month begins on February 1, 2021, and I encourage everyone to use this month to further engage in events, programming and learning opportunities on campus and in our broader community. This year’s African Heritage Month provincial theme, Black History Matters: Listen, Learn, Share and Act, recognizes the important legacy of people of African Descent and the long-standing history in the development of Canada.
There are many ways to participate in African Heritage Month. Dr. OmiSoore Dryden, the James R. Johnston Chair in Black Canadian Studies, launched the inaugural Black Analysis Lecture Series last November. The next lecture in the series will take place on February 23rd, featuring Dr. Delia Douglas. Details for the lecture are still being finalized, please visit the James R. Johnston Chair website for the most up-to-date details and information on this and other events. As well, the Nova Scotia Department of Health and Wellness Diversity Committee is hosting series of virtual discussions that celebrate the important legacy of people of African Descent and the long-standing history in the development of Nova Scotia.
Town Halls: Refresh of the UGME Curriculum
In August 2020, the Curriculum Refresh Committee was formed to assess the strengths and gaps/areas of improvement of the pre-clerkship and clerkship years of the undergraduate medical education program. Over the past six months, the Curriculum Refresh Committee and its working groups have been exploring aspects related to their respective themes through a variety of methods including reviewing current objectives, course content, and student evaluations; conducting environmental scans and literature reviews; and consulting with groups/individuals.
The next step of the curriculum renewal process is to gather feedback from the medical school community on the work to date. The Curriculum Refresh Committee will be hosting a series of virtual town hall feedback sessions that will address each of the key themes that have been identified as part of the curriculum refresh. More information about the town hall feedback sessions, including dates and summaries of each working group’s work to date, can be found on the Dal Med website.
The input of the medical school community into the curriculum refresh process will be critical to its success and I encourage you to participate. With your help, we look forward to continuing the tradition of training medical professionals with a commitment to lifelong learning, excellence in patient care, high ethical standards, and accountability to society for the responsibilities entrusted to them.
COVID-19 Updates
The Faculty of Medicine COVID-19 information page is updated regularly and contains the relevant information for all medical learners, researchers, graduate students, faculty, and staff. Remember to check your emails daily for updates from Dalhousie University, and Public Health directives/health authority notifications. Your continued patience and understanding in this evolving situation are deeply appreciated, and with vaccines now being available, I look forward to the day when we can all safely return to campus.
Return to Campus
In a recent email from Dalhousie University, a number of general updates on Return to Campus and Dalhousie’s ongoing response to COVID-19 are outlined, including planning for spring/summer and fall terms, returns to campus and research, events and gatherings, and travel.
Based on Canada’s current vaccine timeline, we are optimistic Dalhousie will be able to offer an expansion of on-campus learning this fall, followed by a winter term that looks more like our normal academic experience. Several important factors will continue to affect any decisions related to our academic offerings. These include vaccine production and distribution, expanding testing regimens, ongoing public health restrictions, and the state of domestic and international travel.
Voice of the Resident Survey Results
The Postgraduate Medical Education office has released selected results of their 2020 Voice of the Resident (VotR) survey, which is undertaken each year as part of their educational Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) efforts. Dalhousie Medical School is proud of our residency training programs, and pleased to see that on this year’s questionnaire, over 90% of Dalhousie residents rated their training experience as being good to excellent. The survey also revealed some areas for improvement, particularly relating to resident wellness and under-representation of minority groups. In collaboration with our healthcare and community partners in all three Maritime provinces, we are making concerted efforts to address these concerns.
2020 Lieutenant-Governor’s Award for Excellence in Public Administration
Congratulations to Dr. Robert Strang, Nova Scotia’s chief medical officer of health, and an Adjunct Assistant Professor, in the Department of Health Care and Epidemiology, for being named the recipient of the 2020 Lieutenant-Governor’s Award for Excellence in Public Administration. The medal is awarded annually to a person who works in public administration and exhibits the highest standard of excellence, dedication, and accomplishment.
I was extremely pleased to see Dr. Strang recognized for his many years of service guiding Nova Scotia’s public health and health promotion policies at the highest levels. Long before the current pandemic, Dr. Strang was taking strong leadership and advocacy positions on such vitally important health issues as vaping, alcohol and other substance use, tobacco, immunization, physical activity, poverty reduction, healthy eating, and food security. He has long stood for the health of Nova Scotians and Canadians and has been a trustworthy source of clear, accurate, and helpful leader for Nova Scotians then and now.
Arthur B. McDonald Chair of Research Excellence
Congratulations to Dr. John Archibald, Dal’s newest Arthur B. McDonald Chair of Research Excellence. He joins fellow researchers Dr. Randall Martin and Dr. Jean Marshall, who were the inaugural chairholders in 2016, and Dr. Mark Stradiotto, who became chair in 2020. The Arthur B. McDonald Chair of Research Excellence was established as a way to honour Dr. McDonald, a Dalhousie alumnus and Nobel laureate, and to recognize and retain high-calibre professors at the university.
Born in Quebec and raised in Nova Scotia, Dr. Archibald completed his Ph.D. in the laboratory of Dal’s own Ford Doolittle. He then carried out postdoctoral studies with Dr. Patrick Keeling at the University of British Columbia. He returned to Dal as a faculty member in 2003 and is director of Dalhousie’s Centre for Comparative Genomics & Evolutionary Bioinformatics. We are pleased to celebrate the incredible impact Dr. Archibald’s work is having in his field and his role in training the next generation of molecular biologists.
Read more in Dal Med News.
Dr. Charles J.A. Hayes Lifetime Contribution Award
Dr. David Pilon was recently recognized by the Association of Psychologists of Nova Scotia (APNS) with a lifetime contribution award for his extensive advocacy, mentorship, and leadership in psychological services in the province and beyond. Dr. Pilon, director of counselling and psychological services at Dal’s Student Health & Wellness Centre and an assistant professor of psychiatry in Dal’s Faculty of Medicine, is the first recipient of the Dr. Charles J.A. Hayes Lifetime Contribution Award, which is named after a well-respected psychologist and long-time APNS member and pioneer. APNS says the award serves to recognize depth and engagement of long-term service, honouring those psychologists who have spent a significant part of their professional lifetime actively participating in the APNS mentoring and supporting individual psychologists and students, as well as advocating for the profession of psychology at the provincial, national, and international level.
Read more about Dr. Pilon’s well-deserved recognition in Dal Med News.
Arthritis Society Top 10 Research Advances of 2020
Congratulations to Dr. Jason McDougall, whose research was recently featured by the Arthritis Society of Canada on their Top 10 Research Advances of 2020. Dr. McDougall’s research identified a natural cannabinoid system in animal joints that is effective in relieving neuropathic and inflammatory pain associated with osteoarthritis. He also discovered new cannabis constituents that may help patients better manage their pain.
SKIP’s First Annual Report to the Community & Video
Congratulations to Solutions for Kids in Pain (SKIP), a national knowledge mobilization network, on the release of their inaugural annual report to the community. With cross-Canadian collaboration and a singular vision to improve pain management for children, SKIP has achieved many significant milestones over the past year. To read their annual report, click here.
Music in Medicine
I was heartened to read in a CBC article earlier this month, that Dr. Andrew Lynk, chief of pediatrics at Dalhousie and the IWK Health Centre, was highlighted for composing songs to help cope with the stresses related to being a physician. Physician wellness is of the utmost importance, and Dr. Lynk’s message to students and other health care workers to have an outlet to deal with the weight of helping families through some of their most difficult moments is an admirable one. To read the full CBC article, click here.
Global Health Awards
Congratulations to the 2020 Global Health Award winners: Ms. Rachel Ollivier, Dr. Brendan Morgan & Dr. Lisa Barrett. The Global Health Awards were established to recognize the outstanding contribution made to the global health community by our medical faculty and residents as well as students in Medicine, Health and Dentistry. For more information about the Global Health Awards, please visit the Global Health Office website.
2021 Nova Scotia Health Quality Award Winners
Congratulations to all Faculty of Medicine faculty and staff who were recently recognized by the 2021 Nova Scotia Health Quality Awards. The Nova Scotia Health Quality Awards are a celebration of the incredible work taking place across the organization in support of quality improvement, patient safety, patient experience, diversity and inclusion and teamwork. To view this year’s winners in each category, click here.
Beatrice Hunter Cancer Research Institute Cancer Research Training Program Awardees
Congratulations to Mr. Nick Dawe, Dr. Smitha George, Ms. Kateryna Kratzer, Mr. Vishnu Kumar and Dr. Sina Mazinani, for being named the newest recipients of the Beatrice Hunter Cancer Research Institute Cancer Research Training Program (CRTP) awards. To date, the Beatrice Hunter Cancer Research Institute has awarded over $4.9M in stipend support to 136 Dalhousie Faculty of Medicine graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and residents. Through the CRTP, trainees have access to a program designed to expose them to all aspects of cancer research. Stipend support for the five newest CRTP trainees is provided by the Dalhousie Medical Research Foundation through their Rosetti, Sawyer and C. MacDougall endowments, as well as funds provided through DMRF from the Telus Motorcycle Ride for Dad and an anonymous gift to support a breast cancer research project.
To learn more about these projects please visit the BHCRI website.
DRMF Capital Grant competition
I am pleased to announce that the following researchers were the successful recipients of the DRMF Capital Grant competition. Applications for research equipment from investigators in the Faculty of Medicine were judged on the basis of scientific merit, impact on the research program and perceived need.
- Deniz Top (Division of Medical Genetics, Department of Pediatrics, Department of Pharmacology)
- Sandra Meier (Department of Psychiatry)
- David Langelaan (Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology)
- Zhenyu Cheng (Department of Microbiology & Immunology)
- Ketul Chaudhary (Department of Physiology and Biophysics)
- Cheryl Kozey (School of Biomedical Engineering, School of Health and Human Performance)
- Kerry Goralski (College of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmacology, Department of Pediatrics)
- Eileen Denovan-Wright (Department of Pharmacology)
- Rebecca Moyer (School of Physiotherapy)
Congratulations to all!
CAME Wooster Family Grant in Medical Education
Congratulations to Dr. Andrew Glennie, an orthopedic surgeon and assistant professor at in Dalhousie’s Department of Surgery. Dr. Glennie is the principal investigator of the project, Exploring Faculty Perceptions of Medical Student Mistreatment in Surgical Clerkship. He is the 2021 recipient of the grant, which is awarded to recognize excellence in medical education. Dr. Glennie is the head of surgical clerkship and a member of the simulation advisory committee for both undergraduate and post-graduate medicine. He is also a member of the post-graduate training program in the Division of Orthopedics and focuses significant effort on unique competency assessments.
Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition
Congratulations to Medical Neuroscience PhD student, Tareq Yousef, on finishing third in Monday’s Three Minute Thesis (3MT) Eastern Regional competition! The third-place medalist competed virtually against six other grad students from Atlantic Canadian and Quebec universities. He was also the winner of Dal’s 2020 3MT competition. The annual event, organized by the Faculty of Graduate Studies, challenges master’s and doctoral students to share the complexities of their research in front of an audience and a panel of judges with only one PowerPoint slide and three minutes to make their point. You can watch Tareq’s presentation on YouTube and learn more about the competition and past winners on Dal Med News.
CMA Foundation COVID-19 Support for Medical Learners Bursary
The Canadian Medical Association Foundation is introducing a second round of a bursaries for medical students and residents experiencing extraneous or unanticipated expenses resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. The bursary is designed to provide immediate relief for unexpected financial needs such as the inability to meet essential living expenses due specifically to COVID-19. While it is not intended to be a source of long-term funding or to replace lost income or to support discretionary expenses, students and residents at Dalhousie Medical School are able to apply for short-term assistance to support anyone who may be experiencing financial hardship as a direct result of COVID-19. The deadline to apply is February 12 by 5PM. To learn more about the CMA Foundation COVID-19 Support for Medical Learners Bursary and its application process, please visit the Dal Med News website.
Mini Medical School 2021
The 15th year of Mini Medical School launched on January 13th with a fully virtual delivery of presentations. Mini Med School is a great example of the way the Faculty of Medicine gives back to the community, with faculty members sharing some of the same material medical students learn, to the public. Those who attend can hear from leading physicians in their field on a wide range of topics in a virtual setting. The program is set to run Wednesday evenings from January 13, 2021 – February 24, 2021, and there will be no cost to attend. To view the full program, click here.
Dal.ca Web Renewal Project Survey
As you have likely already heard, Dalhousie is embarking on a multi-year project to deliver a new university website. The Web Renewal Project Team wants to hear more from you on how we can build a better dal.ca to meet the communication needs of our community. Their team is currently in the planning phase of the project and are seeking feedback in this early phase to identify key considerations, challenge assumptions, and inform the path forward. If you haven not already done so, please share your perspective by completing a 5-minute Dal.ca user survey. The survey will be open until January 31.
2021 Annual Faculty Meeting
Save the date! The 2021 Annual Faculty Meeting will be held on Tuesday, June 8, 2021 at 5 p.m. An agenda with background information including written reports will be circulated closer to the date.
If you have any questions regarding the format of the Annual Meeting, please contact the Chair of Faculty Council, Dr. Karim Mukhida (kmukhida@dal.ca) or Anne Weeden (anne.weeden@dal.ca).
Mental Health Supports
For faculty, staff and students, I encourage those who need it to reach out and find support through Dalhousie’s Student Health & Wellness Centre, committed to providing quality primary and mental health care services. Appointments may be booked online or by calling 902-494-2171. Employee and Family Assistance is also available for confidential support at 1-800-387-4765 or http://workhealthlife.com.
As we begin 2021, I want to take a moment to reflect on 2020. Despite uncertain times, I took great pride and satisfaction in seeing the Dal Med community adapt quickly change based on the circumstances that surround us. Your efforts contribute to realizing the promise of better days to come, here at Dalhousie and throughout the world.