From the desk of George Kim: Meet Dr. Michel Haddad, co-regional academic director, Kent-Lambton

In this month’s update, I am pleased to introduce you to Dr. Michel Haddad, co-regional academic director for Kent-Lambton.

In his role, Dr. Haddad will join Dr. Susan Munro in providing leadership in all educational programs and processes across the medical education spectrum in the Kent-Lambton hub. They will work collaboratively with the Undergraduate and Postgraduate education programs, and Continuing Professional Development.

They will also be responsible for promoting and fostering the perspective of rural and regional health care in the undergraduate and postgraduate curriculums, while liaising with rural and regional faculty members in our education and continuing professional development programs.

Tell us about your background.
I obtained my bachelor's in Physiology from Western University; my medical degree, a master’s in epidemiology, and my residency in cardiac surgery at the University of Ottawa; a heart failure surgical fellowship from the University of Maryland, and a critical care fellowship from Schulich Medicine & Dentistry. 

What is your specialty?
I have specialized in both Cardiac Surgery and Critical Care and practised both specialties in Philadelphia prior to moving back to Ontario in 2010 to lead the Intensive Care Unit at the new hospital in Sarnia.

What has been your past experience with distributed education?
I have been involved in resident education in Sarnia since 2010.

What will be the first things that you will do in your new role?
I would like to increase the involvement of our local physicians with educational activities at Schulich Medicine, and increase resident exposure and education to our community.

I’d also like to increase the breadth of specialties available to rotating residents and students and provide them with excellent learning experiences.

What do you hope to achieve in your first year?
I hope to increase local physician faculty appointments and link up with the other distributed education leads to examine ways to optimize and increase learner experience throughout Southwestern Ontario. 

What do your believe are some of the opportunities and challenges facing distributed education for medical schools in Canada?
Getting buy-in from community physicians to get involved with teaching and be able to provide a rich experience in various specialties to rotating learners is a major opportunity for medical schools.