UME Quality Committee Scholars of Merit Award
Congratulations to the recipients of the UME Quality Committee Scholars of Merit Award for 2014: Jane Graham, Dr. Shannon Arntfield, Dani Cadieux and Daniela Kwiatkowski.
The Scholars of Merit Award recognizes Schulich Medicine faculty, staff and students who bring innovative and integrative changes and approaches to the undergraduate medical curriculum. Faculty scholars excel in teaching, curricular development and educational leadership and administration.
“The people power that goes into a curriculum is important to recognize,” said Teresa Van Deven, PhD, curriculum oversight coordinator. “On paper, a curriculum can look very sanitized, but when you bring people into the mix that’s when innovation occurs.”
This is the first year for the award. It was developed by the UME Quality Committee under the direction of Drs. Shannon Venance and Michele Weir, committee chairs, with nomination from Van Deven, Matt Longstaffe, Evaluation, Data and Project Management Coordinator, and members of the UME Quality Committee.
Jane Graham, Program Coordinator, Patient-Centred Clinical Methods
Graham was selected for her outstanding contribution to the PCCM course. This course spans both Years 1 and 2 of the undergraduate medical curriculum and serves as a core foundation for clerkship and beyond. Graham is instrumental in coaching, training and scheduling the standardized and volunteer patients, and is known for being resourceful, organized, flexible and creative in her role. She provides creative and experiential learning resources for students, residents and faculty to help develop communication, interviewing and physical examination skills.
Dr. Shannon Arntfield, Assistant Professor, Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology
Dr. Arntfield has been selected for her active role within the undergraduate medical curriculum. She is a lecturer for the Year 2 Reproduction course and has taken a leadership role in the Year 3 Portfolio course, as well as with the mentorship training of Portfolio mentors. This year, she also agreed to provide a lecture on leadership as part of the Physician as Leader Course. Dr. Arntfield uses a variety of teaching methods to engage students, and integrates and shares her knowledge across a number of courses.
Dr. Arntfield chairs the Narrative Medicine group and helps to organize the Stories of Illness and Health events at Western University. As an active educational researcher, she brings a new perspective to medical education in the work that she does with narrative medicine.
Dani Cadieux, Medicine Class of 2016, and Daniela Kwiatkowski, Medicine Class of 2016
Cadieux and Kwiatkowski have been selected for their outstanding work and support of the UME accreditation process, in addition to the commitment they bring through their medical student leadership roles. Both Cadieux and Kwiatkowski have contributed to the undergraduate medical curriculum and student body in many ways during their first two years of medical school, taking on active roles on a number of School committees. They have also attended educational conferences to share their scholarship.
