By Matthew Brett
The Class of Medicine 1970 Educational Award for Teaching Excellence and Innovation is now open for applications, with two awards—uniquely for this year—of up to $12,000 each. The application deadline is May 10, 2021 and award details are available on the Institute of Health Sciences Education (IHSE) website.
The award aims to “support a member of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences who wishes to acquire and/or further develop skills that can be directly applied to the education of medical students and/or residents at McGill University.”
Inspired by their own experience as learners, members of the Class of 70 continue to make tremendous contributions to their alma mater after 50 years. Their hope is to further improve medical education for future generations.
Dr. Gordon Crelinsten is President of the Class of Medicine 1970, former Associate Physician-in-Chief at the McGill University Health Centre (Royal Victoria site) and former member of McGill University’s Senate. He is a clinical cardiologist with a special interest in patient care, medical education and biomedical ethics.
“We were lucky enough during our medical school to have excellent clinical teachers who spent a lot of time with us, making sure we had a good foundation in clinical medicine,” Dr. Crelinsten notes. “These teachers were instrumental in forming us as physicians and we thought that we could improve medical education in the contemporary era in ways which might be innovative and exciting for the new generation of medical undergraduate and postgraduate students.”
Dr. Crelinsten fondly lists clinical teachers including Drs. Martin Hoffman, David Stubington, Maurice McGregor, John Beck and others.
Clinical practice has changed over the past 50 years with increased workloads and pressures, limiting time for developing new strategies to transmit knowledge and inspire medical students, Dr. Crelinsten notes.
“We thought this award might allow people to take a little breath, take some time off, and find new ways of imparting bold knowledge to be more effective,” Dr. Crelinsten notes.
This award is not the only contribution that the Class of 70 has made to the Faculty. Over the years, the Class has funded the creation of an educational study room, contributed to biomedical ethics and supported the Steinberg Centre for Simulation and Interactive Learning.
“We’re proud of what our medical school has taught us and feel that we have a debt to return to the school,” Dr. Crelinsten said. “This is a small something for all they have given us.”
Class of Medicine 1970 Educational Award for Teaching Excellence and Innovation call for applicants.
January 20, 2021