Elad Holzer, a fourth-year medical student at McGill University is the 2020 recipient of Community-Based Pediatricians Montreal’s Outstanding Medical Student Award, given annually to a student who proved to be outstanding during their pediatric rotation. Elad completed a pediatric selective in the community in February 2020 and a community pediatric elective in December 2020, working in a community office, developmental clinics and the Mackay Rehab Centre, the Philip Layton school for the blind, and social pediatrics, all under the supervision of Dr. Diane Munz, a pediatrician who specializes in Developmental Pediatrics and cares for patients with a variety of special needs.
“Receiving the Community-Based Pediatricians Outstanding Medical Student Award is a tremendous honour,” says Elad. “My experiences working with Dr. Munz in third and fourth year were among my most memorable and meaningful throughout my time in medical school. I have learned so many valuable lessons from her that I will carry with me in my future career.”
“Elad showed excellence in all areas,” notes Dr. Munz. “He made blind non-verbal children smile, he made children who had been injured or mistreated feel less anxious and more secure, hyperactive children calmed down with his attention to them. He could write consult replies and file reviews as well as any first-year paediatric resident. He went out of his way to search for medical information on children from my office seen in the hospital, and for children with complex medical problems referred to the Mackay Rehab Centre when we had no internet access in the CIUSSS Centre-Ouest. His physical exams are excellent, whether neurological, orthopaedic, or demonstrating suprapubic pain in an infant with suspected UTI.”
Elad holds an undergraduate degree in Pharmacology. He has volunteered with children with special needs in a variety of settings since high school. During medical school, Elad was involved with The Friendship Circle of Montreal, an organization that provides assistance and support to individuals with special needs and their families by providing recreational, social, educational and vocational programming. Elad’s volunteer work and experiences during clerkship inspired him to found the McGill Craniofacial Interest Group, McGill’s first-ever inter-disciplinary group uniting medical and dental students with a common interest in craniofacial surgery. He hopes to continue this work in his future career as a physician.
Congratulations Elad!
January 13, 2021