Objective
The goal of this one-year fellowship is to increase the number and quality of professionally trained medical educators in Canada by providing training in the science of medical education to selected promising candidates. The program is to help specialists acquire knowledge and skills in the field of medical education in order to develop educational programs, evaluation methods and medical education research that apply to any phase of the continuum of medical education.
Eligibility
Applicants must register in a Masters- or PhD-level university program leading to a degree in Education, or a subject field/program of study closely related to medical education. The candidate must be registered and attending university as a full-time or part-time student, either within Canada or abroad.
Applicants must be Canadian citizens or permanent residents.
Applicants must be Fellows of the Royal College in good standing or residents who, at the time of the application, are registered in a program accredited by the Royal College.
Applicants must provide a letter of support from a Canadian Faculty of Medicine; residents must also provide a letter of support from their RCPSC Residency Program Director indicating that the Program Director has approved the resident's intended course of study in education.
This fellowship funding is for one year. Applicants may reapply for one additional year of funding; however, repeat or renewal applications will be considered on a competitive basis with all other applications received in the same year, and will require an outline of the progress of the previous year's work.
Submission
Applications must be submitted by completing the official grant form. Applications must be submitted electronically at awards@royalcollege.ca.
All supporting documents must be submitted in one (1) PDF document, which follows the sequence of the application form.
Selection
The Royal College Educational Research and Development Committee acts on behalf of the Awards Committee to select successful candidates on the basis of overall merit using the following criteria:
the applicant's education and experience relevant to medical education;
the benefits to the applicant, to the medical education, or to the institution where the applicant will work;
the quality of the scholarly work or medical education project to be undertaken (this may be a research project, a development project or an innovation related to medical education);
the evaluation of the proposed scholarly work or medical education project;
quality of mentorship.
Number
One or more fellowships may be awarded each year.
Value
$45,000 for residents and Fellows per year of study. An amount equivalent to 75% of the award will be given at the beginning of the 12-month funding period and the remainder upon receipt of a final report on completion of the 12-month funding period.
Closing Date 5 p.m. ET, August 31, 2012 (date of receipt) for the year 2013 fellowship. Late applications will not be considered. Fellowships should ideally begin in 2013, but may commence in 2012. However, disbursement of money awarded for the 2013 fellowship will not occur until March 2013.
Additional information
Your application should be presented in the following manner:
Letter of introduction: please attach a letter describing your previous medical education related activities and future plans for a career in medical education. Also include a brief description of your proposed degree program and explain how this program will be of particular value to you and to medical education or to the institution where you will work.
Two letters of reference: one reference letter must be authored by a Fellow of the Royal College, and the other reference letter must be authored by the applicant's mentor/supervisor.
Reference letters should include a discussion of the applicant's general clinical and professional abilities, the applicant's medical training and experience, the applicant's scholarship in medical education, and the applicant's potential for a career in medical education.
The mentor's/supervisor's reference letter must provide an outline of the mentor's/supervisor's plan for mentoring the applicant, the mentor's relevant experience, and the resources available where the work will be carried out.
Letter(s) of acceptance, if available: If a letter of acceptance is not available at the time of application, the award will be conditional on provision of a letter of acceptance as soon as it becomes available and in advance of the planned studies.
Letter of support from a Canadian Faculty of Medicine (and RCPSC Residency Program Director, if applicable): Institutional letters of support should outline the applicant's past accomplishments, quality of scholarly work to be undertaken by the applicant, the applicant's potential for a career in medical education, and the impact this training will have on the applicant's career and practice community. If it is anticipated that the applicant will return to a faculty position, discuss the applicant's anticipated faculty position (if known), and the applicant's anticipated workload, including percentage of protected time the applicant will have to pursue medical education scholarly activities in the future.
The letter of support should be authored by the Dean or Associate Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, or the applicant's University Departmental or Divisional Chair.
Answer to question 19: Please enter your name in the upper right-hand corner of each page submitted.
The applicant’s curriculum vitae.
The applicant’s mentor’s/supervisor’s curriculum vitae.
Answers to frequently asked questions
This fellowship is not restricted to Canadian universities. You can go anywhere in the world providing that the centre you plan to visit is a recognized centre of excellence in the relevant field.
Applicants will receive an acknowledgement email upon receipt of the application.
Applicants will be notified of competition results via email by mid-December 2012. It will not be possible to obtain results by telephone.
Late applications will not be considered.
We prefer receiving the complete application in one package, but if a letter of reference is to be sent under separate cover, it must also be received at RC headquarters by 5 p.m. ET, August 31, 2012. If a letter is sent directly from your reference at the last minute, it should be emailed to awards@royalcollege.ca.
Grant Administrator
Awards and Grants Section, Office of Professional Affairs
The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada
Telephone: 613-730-8177 / 1-800-668-3740, ext. 355
E-mail: awards@royalcollege.ca
