Announcement: Dr. Gary Tithecott appointed as Acting Vice Dean, Undergraduate Medical Education
I am pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Gary Tithecott as the Acting Vice Dean, Undergraduate Medical Education at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University effective September 1, 2020 for a one-year period.
The Vice Dean, Undergraduate Medical Education is a new leadership role at the School, developed to align with the overall leadership reorganization.
The Vice Dean will be responsible for the curriculum vision, implementation and quality of undergraduate medical education at the School. The individual will work collaboratively with other decanal leaders, faculty and learners on all aspects of medical student education, including admissions and medical student education in the London, Windsor and Distributed Education campuses. Additional responsibilities for the Vice Dean role include: advancing curricular social accountability; international medical student education; core and elective distributed medical education; and creating collaborative master's degree opportunities for students in the Doctor of Medicine program.
Dr. Tithecott graduated with his Doctor of Medicine from the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry in 1979 and his Masters in Business Administration in 2011 from the Ivey Business School at Western. Following two years in Family Medicine, he entered a residency in Paediatrics at The IWK Health Centre, Dalhousie University, and fourth year at the Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto. Dr. Tithecott was a consulting Paediatrician in Chatham-Kent from 1986 until his second term as Associate Dean, Undergraduate Medical Education in 2016. While in Chatham, he held a variety of senior local health care leadership roles. He currently practices and is a leader in the Department of Paediatrics at Schulich Medicine & Dentistry and London Health Sciences Centre.
Dr. Tithecott has served in and led many Canadian medical education committees including two terms as Chair of the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada (AFMC) Undergraduate Medical Education Committee. He is currently the Co-Chair of the AFMC Student Questionnaire Committee and the Co-Chair of the Undergraduate Medical Education Committee of the Council of Ontario Faculties of Medicine. He has led in-hospital accreditation processes for the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance and the recent London Health Sciences Centre accreditation. Dr. Tithecott was a leader in the School’s undergraduate medical education accreditation of 2015 and has contributed as a peer reviewer for Canadian medical schools and internationally.
Dr. Tithecott has been a valued educator for medical students across his career and received the Dr. Douglas Bocking Award in 2017. Dr. Tithecott is a strong proponent of distributed medical education and competency-based learning. He is presently leading, with other UME Program faculty and staff leaders, the innovation of the School's Undergraduate Medical Education curriculum.
Please join me in congratulating Dr. Tithecott on this new role.
John Yoo, MD, FRCS(C), FACS
Dean, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry
Western University
