Dr. Michael Strong, Dean

The message above addresses our plans to develop a school of public health at Schulich Medicine & Dentistry, beginning with a Masters progam in 2012.

These regular updates via video, paired with the articles below, help keep us all connected with the activities at the School. Please feel free to share your comments, ideas or insights by posting on the blog below or emailing me.

Take care and all the best for 2011.

More hands-on training for Schulich medical students

The Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry will be able to provide more hands-on training for medical students at simulation centres, through mock patient visits and in community health centres, thanks to a $20-million investment from the provincial government.

Schulich is one of five southern Ontario medical schools to share in this latest funding announcement, made December 13, 2010, by Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities John Milloy at Western.

Our School will receive $3.37 million, which will also be used to invest in additional resources and training to improve faculty teaching skills and recruit more community-based instructors.

"This is an important announcement for Schulich and Western," says Western President Amit Chakma. "This is a significant increase in funding which enhances our ability to provide a high-quality education to Ontario's medical students. This is wonderful not only for Western, but for all our medical schools. It will make a difference."

By 2011, Milloy says the provincial government will have created 260 new first-year medical school spaces, a 38 per cent increase since 2004-05.

In addition, the province is investing $35 million over three years to help medical schools build the specialized rooms, labs, and equipment they need to train future doctors.

"We have to ensure our students have access to the most up-to-date and innovative training," said Milloy in making the announcement. "We have to make sure our medical schools have the resources they need in order to train their students. We are already expanding first-year medical spaces to create more opportunities for medical students to train and prepare for careers as doctors. Today's investment is part of our Open Ontario plan to help ensure that, no matter which southern Ontario medical school a student attends, they will receive an innovative and interactive education."

Minister of Health and Long-Term Care and MPP for London North Centre Deb Matthews says the investment in Ontario medical schools will pay future dividends for Ontarians.

"We are going to be able to invest in those things that actually enhance a student's education, so that when they begin practicing medicine they would have had an even better education than they currently have," she says. "We are determined to improve the quality of health care in this province; and in order to improve quality of care we're going need to have the best - the best-trained physicians."

(from Western News, December 13)

Dental students raise $10,000 for Make-A-Wish

Congratulations to the nearly 50 Schulich dental students who grew mustaches in November to raise more than $10,000 for Make-A-Wish Foundation of Southwestern Ontario. They raised almost $10,000, doubling their 2009 total, for a London child's wish to come true.