Royal College International Collaboration Award Recipients

2019 recipients

“Drs. Hollaar and Lemaire, together with their Lao colleagues, have provided the leadership to create a new medical school, medical training programs and continuing medical education opportunities for hundreds of residents. They work tirelessly with their Lao colleagues to strengthen teaching hospitals and rural teaching sites.”

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Dr. Gwen Hollaar, FRCSC

Dr. Gwen Hollaar is a practicing general surgeon in the Department of Surgery and Assistant Dean of Global Health at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Calgary.

Throughout her career, Dr. Hollaar has been involved in global health projects with a primary focus on medical education. Locally, she participates in preparing and debriefing medical trainees who go on global health electives and mentors residents in global health projects. Nationally, she has led the International Surgery Committee of the Canadian Association of General Surgeons and organized the Bethune Round Table Global Surgery conference in Calgary on two occasions. Internationally, she has led or served as an advisor for medical education projects for the Global Health office at the University of Calgary. Most recently, she has been co-leading the International Institute for Medical Education Leadership where faculty from eight partner institutions in low-middle income countries are brought together to learn, share challenges and share successes in medical education.

Dr. Hollaar has been co-lead on the Laos project with Dr. Jane Lemaire for many years. This project’s success results from the work and commitment of many Lao colleagues and volunteers from Calgary.

Dr. Jane Lemaire, FRCPC

Dr. Jane Lemaire is a practicing consultant in General Internal Medicine and a Clinical Professor in the Department of Medicine at the Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary.

Dr. Lemaire has spent much of her career as a medical educator at the local and national levels. She has received numerous awards for her teaching skills and has spearheaded innovations in medical education locally. Dr. Lemaire served on the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada’s (Royal College) Internal Medicine Committee as a member and then Chair for almost a decade. More recently, she has led research on the evolving role of the clinical teaching unit preceptor within the complex health system model. Dr. Lemaire’s area of research expertise is physician wellness. She is currently a member of the Royal College’s Physician Health Advisory Group.

Dr. Lemaire has participated in global health projects throughout her career, with a focus on the Laos project for the last 20 years. She is the co-lead of the project alongside Dr. Gwen Hollaar, supported by a multitude of invested physician and non-physician volunteers and colleagues both in Calgary and Laos. This immensely productive and successful collaboration has spawned friendships, positive change and hope.

“Dr. Rosen’s role in the initiation and development of a multi-facetted sustainable gynaecologic oncology program in western Kenya, with a Kenyan-based Gynaecology Oncology Fellowship program at its centre, represents the very best in leadership and excellence in advancing postgraduate medical education and training outside of Canada.”

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Dr. Barry Rosen graduated from medical school at University of Western Ontario in 1977. Dr. Rosen interned at Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster British Columbia (BC) and then worked for a year in BC as a family doctor. He completed his obstetrics and gynecology residency at McMaster University in 1983 and his gynecologic oncology fellowship between McMaster University and University of Toronto in 1985.

After completing his fellowship, he joined University of Toronto’s faculty as an assistant professor, working at both Princess Margaret Hospital and Toronto General Hospital (later to become University Health Network). In 1996, he was appointed Associate Professor and in 2010, Professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. In 2001, he was appointed Head of Gynecologic Oncology at University of Toronto and in 2008, Head of Gynecologic Oncology at University Health Network. In 2003, he initiated a gynecologic oncology program at Credit Valley Hospital. Dr. Rosen was on staff at Princess Margaret Hospital from 1985 to 2015.

Dr. Rosen developed an interest in global health 10 years ago during a visit to Eldoret, Kenya. At that time, University of Toronto’s Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology joined Academic Model to Provide Access to Health Care (AMPATH), a program led by Indiana University. AMPATH began more than 20 years ago and it is a consortium of North American medical schools. Moi University and Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital aim to provide comprehensive care through a sustainable health system that reduces health disparities. In addition, its mission includes education and research.

In Sub-Saharan Africa, the most common cause of cancer and cancer death is cervix cancer. While in Kenya, Dr. Rosen helped initiate a cervical cancer screening program and it was through that program that gynecologists began to see, for the first time, early stage cervical cancers that could be treated and cured with surgery. This became the catalyst to developing a gynecologic oncology program at Moi University. During his second visit, he taught two gynecologists how to do a radical hysterectomy, and in collaboration with Moi University, he then developed and initiated a two-year gynecologic oncology fellowship training program which began in 2013. The plan was to do the training in Kenya, in their own environment, with their patient population and through collaboration with the university. We believed this would develop a high-quality program that would be sustainable. This was the first subspecialty training program ever approved by Moi University, and the first of its kind in Sub-Saharan Africa outside South Africa. This program to date has graduated six Fellows and two more are in training. Kenya now has seven gynecologic oncologists, with five trained in this program. The only gynecologic oncologists in Uganda were trained at Moi University.

Since the program started, this group has screened over 75,000 women for cervix cancer, performed 225 radical hysterectomies, and developed a program to treat ovarian cancer and most recently, a strategy to treat gestational trophoblastic neoplasm – a problem much more common in Kenya than in North America.

One of the most important goals when establishing this program was sustainability. Management of this program and its fellowship has recently been completely transferred to the Kenyan doctors, and we in North America continue to participate in the education of fellows and residents.

From an academic perspective, Dr. Rosen has published over 140 peer reviewed papers and has given a similar number of peer reviewed presentations. One focus of research has been in hereditary ovarian cancer. In addition, he has established clinical databases in gynecologic oncology at University Health Network, which has provided data for outcome research. Dr. Rosen also worked with CPAC to promote the strategies to collect point of care clinical data.

He recently moved to Michigan in June 2015. He is now Section Head of Gynecologic Oncology for Beaumont Health, and a professor at Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine.

“Dr. Walton has always been a dedicated and passionate educator and has exceptionally committed himself to the betterment of medical students on a global scale.”

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Dr. Mark Walton has been involved in medical education since 1993 when he came on Faculty as a Pediatric Surgeon at McMaster University. He is Professor of Surgery (since 2007) and Vice Dean, Faculty Affairs. He was Assistant Dean, Postgraduate Medical Education (2004-16). Prior to this, he was the General Surgery Program Director (1999-2004) at McMaster University.

He is the past Chair of the Postgraduate Management Committee for the Council of Ontario Faculties of Medicine (PGM:COFM) and the past Chair of the Faculties of Medicine of Canada’s (AFMC) Standing Committee on PG Education. He was a member of the Accreditation Committee (and its Steering Committee) of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (Royal College) from 2004-2010 and has participated in numerous Accreditation visits over the last 10 years as a Surveyor, Deputy Chair and Chair. He was involved in the Future of Medical Education Postgraduate project, as well as the redesign of the CanMEDS framework for the 2015 launch. Dr. Walton was the Vice Chair of the Committee on Specialties at the Royal College and Vice Chair of the Specialty Committee for Pediatric Surgery. He is now Chair of Committee on Specialty Education at the Royal College. He is the inaugural Vice Dean, Faculty Affairs, Faculty of Health Sciences at McMaster University with a focus on professionalism, equity, diversity, inclusion and indigenous health.

Dr. Walton’s recent international work includes facilitating the formal collaboration between the Royal College and Kuwait Institute for Medical Specializations. He also currently serves as an invited expert and consultant for the collaborative on postgraduate medical training.

Dr. Walton’s professional interests include mentoring Medical Educators and Residents, leadership development, systems for human health resource (HHR) planning (Chair of CAPER), the costing of PG education and transitions in academic careers. He consults on approaches to academic healthcare careers and sits on numerous committees related to HHR. In addition he has an active clinical practice in Pediatric Surgery.

In his spare time, Dr. Walton enjoys traveling with his family and participates in a number of sports including triathlons, marathons and hockey.

2018 recipients

Dr. Esam Albanyan, MBBS, FAAP

Infectious Diseases Specialist

• Director, CanMEDS Collaborating Center at the Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs.
• Consultant and Assistant Professor of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, King Abdullah Specialized Children’s Hospital.

“Dr. Albanyan is a world-class clinician-educator who works tirelessly to enhance residency education in the Middle East and elsewhere. He lives the ideals of patient-centred communication, teamwork, health advocacy, professionalism, and lifelong learning.”

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Dr. Albanyan is an infectious diseases specialist, award-winning educator, renowned leader in medical education and an active supporter of Canadian and Saudi Arabian medical collaborations.

Dr. Albanyan was an early adopter of CanMEDS in Saudi Arabia and has been actively promoting CanMEDS for over 10 years. While overseeing residency and fellowship programs, Dr. Albanyan worked closely with the Royal College to train clinician educators and together they deliver CanMEDs workshops across the entire Gulf region. They have been recognized for their excellence in teaching.

Dr. Albanyan actively encourages the next generation of clinician educators to incorporate a Royal College approach to medical scholarship in Saudi Arabia. As a Middle East and North Africa region Ambassador for the International Medical Education Leaders Forum, he ensures that medical leaders from across the globe can share information about key issues in medical education.

Dr. Albanyan has been actively working with the Royal College since 2010. He has participated in the planning committee for the Royal College’s flagship annual International Conference on Residency Education (ICRE) and was a principal collaborator for two successful SACRE (Saudi Arabia Conference on Medical Education) conferences that united program directors from across Saudi Arabia.

Dr. Albanyan is also an active member of the scientific and accreditation committees of the Saudi Commission for Health Specialties, which helps to ensure that the CanMEDS competencies and Royal College standards are incorporated in the new residency curricula and accreditation standards.

“This award means so much to me because of how deeply I value the importance of high quality residency education and it exemplifies the importance of international collaborations to the Royal College. Our work together has generated so many positive changes in our region: a paradigm shift in how our regional programs educate residents; productive bidirectional networks; and lasting friendships. Without the Royal College this could not have happened,” Dr. Albanyan.

Dr. Harish J Amin, MBBS (London), MRCP (UK), FRCPC, FAAP
Paediatrician and Neonatologist

• Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary.
• Pediatric Medical Site Lead, South Health Campus, Calgary.

“Dr. Harish J. Amin is an outstanding educator who has demonstrated leadership and excellence internationally in advancing postgraduate medical education in pediatrics and neonatal training. He is selfless, generous, supportive and a highly valued colleague. He makes a difference.”

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Dr. Amin is a highly respected clinician, educator, and researcher who has helped establish standards of excellence in pediatric education in Canada and internationally. Recent work in curricula development led to new competency–based training for the next generation of pediatricians.

A standout achievement is Dr. Amin’s leadership in advancing postgraduate medical education through the Global Pediatric Education Consortium (GPEC) – an international collaboration with goals aligned with the Royal College’s vision for the best in universal health and care. His contributions include development of globally-relevant residency training core competencies and standards that serve as a stimulus for improved pediatric healthcare around the world.

Dr. Amin has also been integral in creating the first Global Pediatric Curriculum. Currently considered the ‘gold standard’, the curriculum has been adopted in over 25 countries and translated into Spanish and Portuguese.

Dr. Amin has been actively involved with the Royal College for over 17 years. He is a founding member of the Royal College Exam Board in Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine, past Chair of the Specialty Committee in Pediatrics and current Chair of the Specialty Committee in Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine.

Dr. Amin is also a member of the Specialty Committee in Pediatrics and Exam Board in Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine. He has been a Royal College accreditation surveyor for the Royal College since 2009.

Dr. Maitham Husain, MD FRCPC
Pediatrician and Clinical immunologist

• Director, NBK Children’s Hospital, Ministry of Health, Kuwait
• Assistant Professor, Clinical Immunology, Health Science Center, Kuwait University
• Head of Accreditation and Quality Affairs Office, Kuwait Institute for Medical Specialization

“Dr. Husain is a world class medical educator whose determination, hard work and innovation is leading Kuwait to becoming a world leader in postgraduate medical education. He is an excellent collaborative partner and Royal College ambassador.”

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Dr. Husain is a medical educator dedicated to advancing postgraduate medical education, and an International Medical Education Leaders Forum (IMELF) regional ambassador for Kuwait.

Dr. Husain has played a central role in developing and implementing an educational collaboration between Kuwait Institute for Medical Specialization (KIMS) and the Royal College to improve residency programs and training. The collaboration focuses on three critical medical education areas: accreditation, faculty development and examination.

Dr. Husain efforts have resulted in CanMEDS-based competencies being integrated into postgraduate training programs and standardized trainer/trainee evaluations at KIMS. Under his guidance, these efforts aimed to improve patient care and earned KIMS the coveted Royal College Institutional Accreditation in 2017.

Dr. Husain is also championing KIMS to work towards achieving Royal College accreditation that will culminate in KIMS programs being recognized as equivalent to Canadian programs, which will make graduates eligible for Royal College examination and certification.

In addition to his contributions in medical education, Dr. Husain is a leader in establishing pediatric stem cell therapy and improving pediatric care in Kuwait. A key achievement is leading the first pediatric national cancer and stem cell transplant at NBK Children's Hospital.

Dr. Husain is also committed advocate for patient safety. As a surveyor in the National Accreditation Program for Quality in Healthcare, he promotes quality and patient safety culture among healthcare workers.

“Through excellence in medical education, leading clinical care and promoting quality in healthcare, I strive to inspire young leaders and physician to better society’s health,” says Dr. Husain.

Dr. Haichao Li, MD
Respirologist

• Vice President, Professor of Respiratory Medicine, Peking University First Hospital.
• Consultant Physician, Division of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Peking University First Hospital.

“Dr. Li is visionary, flexible, adaptable and open minded. He values the act of collaboration and understands the complexities of doing so. He is the foremost pioneer in post-graduate training in China and a true innovator.”

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Dr. Li is a clinician, researcher and educator and deeply committed to improving medical undergraduate and residency programs. He has worked in partnership with the Royal College for many years.

Dr. Li introduced CanMEDS in China in 2012 and since then has helped to revolutionize medical teaching and training models. His work resulted in Peking University First Hospital (PUFH) integrating CanMEDS best practices and competency-based medical education into all residency programs and training. Likewise, he influenced Peking University Health Science Center to adopt CanMEDS into its curricula of internship stage in PUFH.

Well known for his innovation and creativity, Dr. Li founded a resident clinical skills and knowledge tournament in Beijing that functions as a national platform for increasing medical education literacy. In 2014, in cooperation with the Royal College, Dr. Li organized the first medical education conference in China – the China Conference on Residency Education (CCRE). It has become an annual event contributing greatly to standardizing residency education in China.

In August 2015, the Royal College accredited the First Hospital and the Peking University Health Science Center. Leading and motivating his colleagues to prepare for the successful completion of this international process, Dr. Li was central to this success. This was the second hospital in the world to meet these international standards.