Accreditation, awards and acknowledgements
Since the March newsletter, Schulich Medicine has completed the formal site visit associated with its 2015 accreditation review. There was strong participation from our Windsor Program, with a number of faculty involved in a series of accreditation meetings via video conference from Windsor on Monday, April 13.
Meanwhile half of the accreditation team visited Windsor on Tuesday, April 14, while the other half were based on the main campus in London.
One cannot be too certain of the outcome until the official written report is received later this fall, however I think it safe to say that when the accreditation team left Windsor, they seemed very impressed with our collective efforts to date.
Comments by senior School officials following the exit interview also suggest a positive outcome for the School generally speaking. We now await the accreditation report with a certain amount of anticipation. We will be able to share more details in the fall.
Hot on the heels of the accreditation visit, the Windsor Program Celebration of Excellence event was held at the beautiful St. Clair Centre for the Arts on April 16. This is the Windsor Program’s signature event and it did not disappoint. Those in attendance were treated to some wonderful moments.
I must confess that for me, Dr. Douglas Kneale’s talk about the importance of medical education from the perspective of an educator (he is the University of Windsor’s new Provost and Vice President, Academic) and a parent (his daughter is now an alumna of the School graduating just a few weeks ago) was a definite highlight.
You can view photos from the event here.
As is tradition, during this event we honoured the graduating class. While not all Class of 2015 students were able to attend, the entire class was in our thoughts and we wish them all the best as they go forward into their residency training. Kudos to Dr. Phillip Tremblay who spoke very eloquently on behalf of the class as he thanked faculty and staff for their support throughout the past four years.
During this year’s Celebration of Excellence we also took time to honour Brian Mazer, professor emeritus, Faculty of Law, University of Windsor. Brian is a very special individual, who has played many roles throughout the years. Unquestionably, he was instrumental in bringing Western University and the University of Windsor together for the purpose of training physicians in Windsor.
More recently, Brian has been helping to orchestrate an updated affiliation agreement between the two universities. This is no small assignment when you consider the depth and breadth of the medical education program in this community.
I would like to express profound appreciation to Brian on behalf of the entire Schulich Medicine team. Brian was unable to attend our celebrations on April 16. Therefore, I wanted to share once again our appreciation and note the tremendous value he has brought to the Windsor Program and the broader community.
Congratulations is also extended to Dr. Wassim Saad, academic director, Medicine (PGE), on receiving a Canadian Association for Medical Education (CAME) 2015 Certificate of Merit Award. A long-standing member of our Windsor Program, we are proud of Dr. Saad’s achievement. Dr. Saad was joined in receiving this honour by Drs. David Dixon and Faisal Rehman.
I also want to congratulate the Medicine Class of 2015 on their graduation. Thank you for giving us the privilege of being part of your academic and professional journey. Here’s wishing that each of you experience enjoyable, successful careers as you work to reduce and prevent the pain and suffering associated with illness and disease.
Wishing you all a safe and happy summer.
