Fellow Highlights

Congratulations to Mohamed Abdelrahman (SAFRI 2009), who recently earned his M.D. degree in General Surgery from the Sudan Medical Specialization Board in Khartoum.

Congratulations to Elaine Bezerra (PHIL 2008), Maria José Pereira Vilar (BRAZ 2008), and George Dantas Azevedo (BRAZ 2007), who co-authored a paper entitled “Elective Rheumatology Program with Primary Health Care Focus,” derived from Dr. Bezerra’s FAIMER innovation project. Dr. Vilar presented the paper during a poster session at the 2009 Annual Scientific Meeting of the American College of Rheumatology and the Association of Rheumatology Health Professionals, held October 17-21 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.

Congratulations to Chetna Desai (CMCL 2007) on her recent promotion to Professor, Department of Pharmacology at B.J. Medical College in Ahmedabad, India.

Congratulations to Mohammed Ahmed Hassanien (CMCL 2010), who is the first FAIMER Fellow from a Saudi Arabian university. Dr. Hassanien’s innovation project entitled “A Six Steps Approach for Developing Standardized Student Assessment System in King Abdulaziz University, Faculty of Medicine” will be implemented in two of the university’s academic departments.

Congratulations to Sarah Kiguli (PHIL 2004), who was recently promoted to Associate Professor of Paediatrics in the Department of Paediatrics and Child Health at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda. Dr. Kiguli was also recently appointed to the position of Education Coordinator for the university’s College of Health Sciences.

Congratulations to Savita Marathe (GSMC 2008), who presented a poster entitled “Communication and Attitudinal Skills for Medical Interns” at the 7^th Asia Pacific Medical Education Conference (APMEC 2010), held in Singapore, February 4-8, 2010.

Congratulations to Waithira Mirie (PHIL 2004), who recently earned her doctorate in health science from Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Congratulations to Ranabir Pal (CMCL 2009), who was invited by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) to serve as a faculty member for a three-day workshop on research methodology, held February 18-20, 2010, at Agartala Government Medical College in Tripura, India.

Congratulations to Yinusa Raji (PHIL 2007) on his recent promotion to Associate Professor of Physiology at the University of Ibadan in Nigeria.

Congratulations to Avinash Supe (PHIL 2002), Director of the GSMC-FAIMER Regional Institute, who delivered the keynote address entitled “Medical Education in India: Past, Present, and Future” at the Gujarat Indian Medical Association Conference (GIMACON) 2009, held November 21-22, in Bhavnagar, Gujarat, India.

In December, Maharashtra University of Health Sciences honored Dr. Supe for his lifelong contribution to medical education at the second biennial National Conference on Health Professionals’ Education (NCHPE) held in Pune.

Congratulations to Noor Ahsen (PHIL 2006), who recently led an eight-week faculty development workshop on “Medical Education—An Overview” at her new home institution, Shalamar Medical & Dental College, in Lahore, Pakistan. Sessions began with a presentation on the need for change in health professions education in Pakistan, and went on to cover topics such as modes of learning, consensus building techniques, problem based learning (PBL), concept mapping, learning objectives, assessment methods, multiple-choice testing, objective structured clinical and practical examinations (OSCEs and OSPEs), and program evaluation and quality control. Dr. Ahsen also gave a presentation on the workings of the Shalamar Medical & Dental College Medical Education Department that was attended by the university’s accreditation committee. The presentation’s positive reception provided clear evidence that health professions education is becoming increasingly recognized as an important specialty in its own right in Pakistan.

Congratulations to Venkatesh Doreswamy (PHIL 2007), who was recently nominated to serve in three key positions at his home institution of M.S. Ramaiah Medical College in Bangalore: Joint Secretary of the Medical Education Cell; leader of the team for guidance, monitoring, and preparation of the Evaluative Report on Teaching-learning Methods and Evaluation; and member of the core committee for internal quality assurance to monitor all institutional activities. Dr. Doreswamy credits his FAIMER experience for the recognition he has received.

Dr. Doreswamy has also recently published the following books:

Venkatesh D, Sudhakar HH. Basics of Medical Physiology, 2nd ed. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2010

Venkatesh D, Sudhakar HH. Basics of Medical Physiology for Nursing Students, 3rd ed. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2010

The first book was written for the dental, physiotherapy, medical, and allied health sciences. The second book is targeted toward graduate nursing students.

Congratulations to Surapaneni Krishna Mohan (CMCL 2009) on the following publication:

Mohan SK. Does the SMART Board improve skills of the first year medical students in learning Biochemistry? INTI Journal Special Issue on Teaching and Learning. November 2009; 152-164.

Dr. Mohan also presented this paper at the International Conference on Teaching and Learning, held November 16-18, 2009, in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia. This is one of three paper presentations he gave recently. Dr. Mohan presented a paper entitled “Effect of integrated teaching with case based learning in biochemistry of undergraduate medical curriculum” at the Third International Conference on Medical Education in the Sudan, held in collaboration with the Seventh Scientific Meeting of the Association of Medical Schools in the Arab World, October 28-November 2, 2009, in Khartoum, Sudan. He also presented “Concept mapping as a tool in the teaching of clinical biochemistry of undergraduate medical curriculum” at the 5th Annual Asian Medical Education Association (AMEA) Conference, held October 4-7, 2009, in Bandung, Indonesia.

Additionally, Dr. Mohan was awarded a fellowship and participated in the “DNA Topology Course” conducted by the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) on November 2-7, 2009, in Okinawa, Japan.

Congratulations to Supten Sarbadhikari (PSG 2007), who has been nominated to the Working Group on Health Literacy formed by the Government of India. The group is tasked with developing and implementing the nationwide, electronic Health Information Network proposed by the National Knowledge Commission. To learn more about the project, visit http://www.knowledgecommission.gov.in/recommendations/hin.asp.

Congratulations to Chinmay Shah (GSMC 2008) on the following publication:

Baxi SN, Shah CJ, Parmar RD, Parmar D, Tripathi CB. Students’ perception of different teaching aids in a medical college. African Journal of Health Professions Education. 2009; 1(1): 15-16.

Dr. Shah also recently served as Chair, Planning and Coordination Committee for the Gujarat Indian Medical Association Conference (GIMACON) 2009, held November 21-22, 2009, in Bhavnagar, Gujarat, India.

Congratulations to Rachel Weiss (SAFRI 2009), who was awarded the University of Cape Town, Centre for Higher Education Development’s (CHED) Collaborative Educational Practice Award for her SAFRI innovation project entitled “Community education and the role of the patient information leaflet.”

Congratulations to Seema Anjenaya (GSMC 2009) on her promotion to Professor and Head of Department of Preventive & Social Medicine at Mahatma Gandhi Mission Medical College in Navi Mumbai, India.

Congratulations to Solomon Genet (PHIL 2003), who presented at the Third International Conference on Medical Education in the Sudan held in collaboration with the Seventh Scientific Meeting of the Association of Medical Schools in the Arab World on October 28-November 2, 2009, in Khartoum, Sudan. Dr. Genet’s presentation, entitled “Integrating team approach in medical education, the experience of Jimma University, Ethiopia,” was based on his FAIMER innovation project.

Congratulations to Sarmishtha Ghosh (GSMC 2007), who gave a presentation entitled “Need for Innovative Assessments in Medical Schools Following Traditional Curriculum,” at the International Conference on Teaching and Learning, held November 16-18, 2009, in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia.

Congratulations to Latha Kumar (PSG 2009) on the following publication:

Kumar LR, Voralu K, Pani SP, Sethuraman KR. Predominant learning styles adopted by AIMST University students in Malaysia. South East Asian Journal of Medical Education (SEAJME). 2009;3(1). Available from http://www.md.chula.ac.th/jmet/articleVol3No1/OR6_Latha%20Rajendra.pdf

Dr. Kumar also recently conducted two workshops at her institution. The first was a faculty development workshop on “Themes of medical education research and how to get into FAIMER.” Participants included medical faculty, the physiotherapy department, nursing staff, and hospital administrators and statisticians. The second workshop, entitled “Concept map—an effective and active T-L method” was conducted for faculty and postgraduate departments.

Congratulations to Rita Sood (PHIL 2005), who has been invited to serve as a faculty member for a five-day, international training course jointly developed by the Karolinska Institutet and the British Medical Journal. The course, entitled “Leading for Change in Health Professional Education,” will be held May 17-21, 2010, at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden.

Dr. Sood also has been selected by the Association for the Study of Medical Education (ASME) as a member of its Policy Group.

Congratulations to Muhammad Tariq (PHIL 2009) on his recent Award for Significant Contributions to Postgraduate Medical Education in recognition of “distinction and excellence as a mentor, educator, and researcher” at Aga Khan University in Karachi, Pakistan.

Congratulations to Sattar M. Bhatti (CMCL 2008) on his appointment to a five-year term as Principal of Christian Medical College, Ludhiana, in India.

Congratulations to Vanessa Burch (PHIL 2001), Co-Director of the Southern Africa-FAIMER Regional Institute (SAFRI), who is a 2009 recipient of a National Excellence in Teaching and Learning Award. Dr. Burch is one of four awardees selected from educators at public higher education institutions across South Africa. The Higher Education Learning and Teaching Association of South Africa (HELTASA), in collaboration with the Higher Education Quality Committee (HEQC), presented the awards at the annual HELTASA conference, held November 25, 2009, at the University of Johannesburg. As part of her award, Dr. Burch was invited to give a presentation during a plenary session at the conference.

Congratulations to Wilma de Witt (SAFRI 2008) on her recent promotion to Adjunct Professor, Department of Paediatrics, in the University of Pretoria School of Medicine in South Africa.

Congratulations to Mubuuke Gonzaga (SAFRI 2009) and Elsie Kiguli-Malwadde (PHIL 2005), on the following publication:

Gonzaga MA, Kiguli-Malwadde E, Francis B, Rosemary B. Current knowledge, attitudes and practices of expectant women toward routine sonography in pregnancy at Naguru Health Centre, Uganda. Pan African Medical Journal [Internet]. 2009;3(18). Available from http://www.panafrican-med-journal.com/content/article/3/18/full

Mr. Gonzaga will also represent Makerere University's College of Health Sciences at a conference on problem-based learning in medical education to be held in February 2010 at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada.

Congratulations to Neelkamal Kapoor (CMCL 2009), who was awarded the 2009 International EML Haagedoorn Award in Cancer Education. Dr. Kapoor is the first recipient from India in the award’s 11-year history.

In October, Dr. Kapoor also delivered a plenary presentation entitled, “Expanding the definition of healing—cancer education in India,” at the International Cancer Education Conference held in Houston, Texas.

Congratulations to Enoch Kwizera (PHIL 2007), who has joined the Senate of the Colleges of Medicine of South Africa (CMSA), the national certification agency for postgraduate training, as an Associate of the College of Clinical Pharmacologists.

Congratulations to Jyoti Nagmoti (PSG 2007), who was elected to a three-year term as an Executive Council member of the Indian Association of Medical Microbiologists.

Congratulations to Edwin Nwobodo (PHIL 2004) on his promotion to Professor and on his appointment to Dean of Basic Medical Sciences at Nnamdi Azikiwe University in Nnewi, Nigeria.

Congratulations to Ranabir Pal (CMCL 2009), who has been awarded a three-year membership to the International Epidemiological Association through the association's Elmer Villanueva Sponsorship Fund.

FAIMER Fellow Dr. Hemangini K. Shah (GSMC 2008) recently collaborated with colleagues from Goa Medical College in Goa and the Seth G.S. Medical College in Mumbai to conduct a two-part certificate course in Medical Education Technology. The sessions were held at Goa Medical College on August 11-14, 2009, and October 6-9, 2009. This is the second time the faculty has conducted this course.

Congratulations to Venu Gopala Rao Tanneru (CMCL 2007) on his nomination to a committee studying the evaluation methods being taught in medical and dental courses at 32 medical colleges affiliated with the Dr. NTR University of Health Sciences. Assembled by the Principal Secretary for Health, Medical and Family Welfare for the state of Andhra Pradesh, the committee is tasked with identifying unethical practices and suggesting solutions.

Dr. Tanneru was also nominated as Chair of the Core Committee on Medical Education for Dr. NTR University of Health Sciences, which plans and monitors the medical education technology training units at affiliated colleges through three of the university’s regional centers.

Congratulations to Ashwini Appaji (PSG 2008) on her selection as a member of the Medical Education Cell at M.S. Ramaiah Medical College in Bangalore, India. Dr. Appaji has also recently been promoted from Lecturer to Assistant Professor.

Congratulations to Amol Dongre (PSG 2008) on the following publication:

Dongre AR (PSG 2008), Deshmukh PR, Garg BS. Using the ‘transect walk’ as a public health teaching and learning tool [Abstract]. Medical Education. 2009;43(11):1093-1094.

Another paper, entitled “Portfolio-Based Approach for Teaching Community Medicine Among Medical Undergraduates and Assessment of Their Learning in a Medical College of Rural India,” has been accepted for publication in the South East Asian Journal of Medical Education.

Congratulations to Rashmi Kusurkar (GSMC 2006) on the following recent publication:

Kusurkar R (GSMC 2006), Kruitwagen C, ten Cate O, Croiset G. Effects of age, gender and educational background on strength of motivation for medical school. Advances in Health Sciences Education [Internet]. 2009 Sep 23. Available from: http://springerlink.com/content/v56l457623383083/

In October 2008, Dr. Kusurkar joined the Center for Research and Development of Education at the University Medical Center Utrecht in the Netherlands. As a Researcher in Education there, Dr. Kusurkar is focusing on motivation in students to attend medical school. She is pursuing her Ph.D. in Medical Education concurrently.

Dr. Kusurkar credits her FAIMER fellowship with providing direction for her research.

Congratulations to Gboyega Ogunbanjo (PHIL 2007) on his recent appointment as Head of Department, Family Medicine and Primary Health Care at the University of Limpopo (Medunsa Campus), South Africa. Professor Ogunbanjo has also been elected Senior Vice President of the Senate of the Colleges of Medicine of South Africa (CMSA) for the next triennium.

Congratulations to Alwyn Louw (SAFRI 2008) on placing first in the Medical Teacher poster prizes at the Association for Medical Education in Europe (AMEE) 2009 conference. Alwyn’s poster, entitled “Refinement of the interdisciplinary foundation phase in an undergraduate health sciences curriculum based on initial perspectives of students and lecturers,” was developed in collaboration with Juanita Bezuidenhout (PHIL 2005), Ben van Heerden (PHIL 2006), and M. van Heusden, all of Stellenbosch University in South Africa. The poster deals with the findings of Alwyn's SAFRI curriculum innovation project.

Suresh Chari (GSMC 2009), Sushil Pande (GSMC 2009), and other Department of Medical Education and Technology (MET) colleagues co-conducted a one-day workshop on administrative skills for professors and associate professors at N.K.P. Institute of Medical Sciences in Nagpur, India. Twenty-five educators actively participated in the program and feedback was very positive.

In addition, on behalf of the MET department, Sushil Pande and other MET colleagues conducted half-day sessions on research methods and related issues for new residents during their three-day orientation program. The program was very much appreciated by residents as it will help them prepare more effectively for conducting dissertation projects.

Congratulations to Sujata Kanhere (GSMC 2006), who recently completed a three-month advanced International Clinical Fellowship in Pediatric Neurology from Leicester Royal Infirmary of the University Hospitals of Leicester, National Health Services (NHS) Trust, and University College London (UCL) Institute of Child Health and Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, NHS Trust, in the United Kingdom.

Congratulations to Dinesh Badyal (CMCL 2007) on the publication of his CMCL-FAIMER project in the April 2009 issue of Alternatives to Laboratory Animals, the journal of the Fund for the Replacement of Animals in Medical Experiments:

Badyal DK, Modgill V, Kaur J (CMCL 2009). Computer simulation models are implementable as replacements for animal experiments. Alternatives to Laboratory Animals. 2009;37(2):191-195.

Congratulations to Praveen Iyer (GSMC 2007) who presented his FAIMER innovation project, entitled “Current Postgraduate Medical Curriculum in Anatomy: Perception of Postgraduate Students and Teachers of Anatomy,” at the 56th National Conference of the Anatomical Society of India, held in December 2008 at Banaras Hindu University in Varanasi, India.

Congratulations to Tejinder Singh (PHIL 2003), who was recently invited to join the Editorial Board of the Medical Education section of the International Journal of Surgery.

Congratulations to Mangala Subramanian (GSMC 2009), who recently conducted a session on educational objectives at a workshop on Training of Trainers (TOT) at Vydehi Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre in Bangalore, India. Also serving as instructors in the workshop were FAIMER Regional Institute Fellows Komaladevi Sampath Damodar (PSG 2008) and Jayalakshmi Lingaraj (PSG 2009). Sessions at the workshop were very interactive and all of the participants were highly appreciative.

Congratulations to Biplab Jamatia (CMCL 2009) who recently earned his Postgraduate Diploma in Distance Education from the School of Education, Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi, India.

Congratulations to Feroze Kaliyadan (PSG 2008) on his appointment to the position of Associate Professor, Department of Dermatology, at the Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences in Kochi, India. Dr. Kaliyadan has also been selected to serve as a reviewer for the Indian Journal of Dermatology, Venereology and Leprology.

Congratulations to Angel Magar (CMCL 2009), who served as a member of the Scientific Subcommittee on "Modern Trends in Medical Education" in Kathmandu, Nepal, January 30 – February 1, 2009. As part of his activities, Dr. Magar presented the following papers: "Mini Clinical Evaluation Exercise (mini-CEX)," "Microteaching," and "Careers in Medical Education." Dr. Magar highlighted the FAIMER fellowship programs as a potential opportunity for those who wish to pursue a career in medical education. In recognition of his efforts, Dr. Magar was honored by the President of the Federal Republic of Nepal, the Right Honorable Dr. Ram Baran Yadav, as well as Kathmandu University Vice Chancellor, Dr. Suresh Raj Sharma.

Following his work on the subcommittee, Dr. Magar participated in key health professions conferences in Nepal, where he advocated strongly for improvements in academic medicine. He took part in the 24th All Nepal Medical Conference, April 15–17, 2009, in Kathmandu, where he presented papers on "Need of Medical Educationist in Nepal," "Good Editorial Practice," and "How to Edit Scientific Papers in English — Daily Editorial Work." In addition, Dr. Magar attended the Regional Meeting of the South Asia Forum for Health Research, June 4–5, 2009, in Kathmandu, where he presented a paper on "Life as an Editor: Nepalese Perspective," and led a session on journalism in medical education. The session addressed the topic of improving scientific research and writing to advance academic medicine.

Congratulations to Amrita Mishra (CMCL 2009) on her recent appointment to the position of Chief Coordinator of Research by the Director of Ayurved in the state of Maharashtra in India. The scope of the position encompasses research in medical education. Dr. Mishra will be working with the deans of medical colleges in the state of Maharashtra, beginning with integrated teaching as the first step in introducing medical education into the Ayurved Fraternity.

Congratulations to Baranitharan Ramamoothy (PSG 2008) on his recent appointment to the position of Vice Principal at the PSG College of Physiotherapy in Coimbatore, India.

Congratulations to Saira Banu (PSG 2007) on her short-term assignment as a Surveillance Medical Officer under the National Polio Surveillance Project. This position is with the World Health Organization, Country Office for India. The place of posting is Ernakulam, in the state of Kerala.

Saira’s new assignment will give her an opportunity to learn and apply field epidemiology. She reports that she is realizing (with gratitude!) how to lead her team by applying skills like team building, conflict management, planning and program evaluation, acquired through the FAIMER leadership program, and that every day has been a new learning opportunity.

Congratulations to A. M. Ciraj (CMCL 2008), who attended the 6th International Medical Education Conference, held April 1–3, 2009, at International Medical University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The theme of the conference was "Reflections on Innovations." Dr. Ciraj presented a paper on "Effectiveness of PBL in a hybrid curriculum: Faculty and student perceptions." The study was conducted as a part of his curriculum innovation project during his fellowship at the CMCL-FAIMER Regional Institute.

Congratulations to Vinod Pallath (GSMC 2008), who presented a paper entitled "Tangible Impact of Curricular Reforms on Students' Perceptions of Educational Environment," at the International Medical Education Conference held at International Medical University, Malaysia, in April 2009. Vinod reports that this paper is based on work connected to his FAIMER project.