Honouring our educators

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Posted March 15, 2010

By Kyle Glennie

Two of the Faculty of Medicine’s finest educators have been awarded Canadian Association of Medical Education (CAME) Certificates of Merit.  Dr. Heather Armson of the Department of Family Medicine, and Dr. Jacques Bouchard, from the Departments of Surgery and Clinical Neurosciences, will be honoured at the CAME Annual General Meeting later this year.

“I feel honored to have been chosen for this award,” says Armson.  “It reminds us that each contribution we make enhances the medical education environment and hopefully translates into better patient care.”

Two Faculty of Medicine members awarded CAME Certificates of Merit. Top: Dr. Heather Armson. Above: Dr. Jacques Bouchard.The CAME Certificate of Merit is given to one or more candidates from each medical school as chosen by a committee at their home university. The award recognizes valuable contributions to medical education including teaching, evaluation, educational leadership and course coordination.

Armson’s educational work includes clinical postgraduate training of family medicine residents and clinical clerks. She is also a former faculty development officer for the Department of Family Medicine.  Training the next generation of family doctors is a crucial step in the continued improvement of health care in Canada, and promoting family medicine to medical students is something Armson strongly believes in.

“Family medicine is a wonderful career and I hope I model the deep satisfaction associated with taking care of patients and their families over many years.”

Those sentiments on the importance of medical education are echoed by Dr. Jacques Bouchard. “Medicine cannot progress without research and without translating that research to our clinical work and to the new generation of physicians.  In my own practice I only treat one patient at a time, but by educating young physicians I am able to help thousands of patients indirectly by making the students the best doctors they can be.”

Both Armson and Bouchard will receive their certificates at the CAME Annual General Meeting held in conjunction with the 2010 Canadian Conference on Medical Education in St. John’s, Newfoundland on May 2, 2010.