2024 Harry S. Morton Travelling Fellowship in Surgery

The Harry S. Morton Travelling Fellowship in Surgery, established by The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada in 2013, is funded from the investment income of the H. S. Morton Exchange Fellowship Fund of Canada. Dr. Morton obtained his medical degrees from the Royal London Hospital Medical School in England and joined the Royal Canadian Navy in 1938. Following the Second World War, he taught at McGill and practiced as Chief Surgeon at Queen Mary’s Veterans Hospital in Montreal. He was made a Patron of the Royal College of Surgeons in 1999. Dr. Morton died in Halifax in December 2001.

General Policies

  • The purpose of this Travelling Fellowship is to advance and to promote the study of and research in surgical training, and the practice of surgery, and to support the building of capacity and additional expertise within Canada’s academic surgical programs.
  • The Travelling Fellowship funds visits to the United Kingdom of three to twenty-four months duration; visits may be broken into separate time blocks but must be completed within two years.

Eligibility

  • Applicants must be Fellows of the Royal College certified in a surgical discipline, or residents in the final year of their surgical training who will be admitted to Fellowship in the Royal College prior to December 31, 2024. In the latter case, the award will be conditional upon admission to Fellowship (including payment of membership dues). Fellowship must remain in good standing for the duration of the funded activity.
  • Applicants must be permanent residents of Canada and must reside in Canada.
  • The Travelling Fellowship provides funds for Canadian surgeons and surgical residents travelling to the United Kingdom and may be used to support surgery-related clinical, scientific, or medical education studies or research. The Travelling Fellowship will provide extended training support (3 months or more) for individuals with academic surgical career plans when they return to practice in Canada
  • Nominations must be endorsed by a  Dean of a Canadian Faculty of Medicine, with support from a relevant surgical department Chair. The recipient will be responsible for the arrangements and itinerary for the Harry S. Morton Travelling Fellowship.
  • Fellowships should ideally begin in 2024, but may commence as early as July 1, 2023. Timing of disbursement of money awarded is determined by the start-date of the Fellowship and the Royal College’s fiscal year.
  • The Awards Committee of the Royal College selects the recipient(s).
  • This fellowship is restricted to UK medical centres in the field of Surgery.
  • Applicants will be notified of competition results via email by the end of January 2024. It will not be possible to obtain results by telephone.
  • Late or incomplete applications will not be considered.

Award

  • Fellowships are supported by a grant of up to $50,000 per year, pro-rated monthly. The selection is based on the overall merit of the application and the degree to which the proposal meets the described objectives; however the income available to the applicant may be considered in the adjudication of applications of equal merit.
  • In years in which more than one award is granted, priority will be given to the selection of at least one applicant for whom the duration of fellowship is at least 12 months.
  • An amount equivalent to 75% of the award will be given at the beginning of the fellowship and the remainder upon receipt of a final report at the end of the fellowship.
  • Fellowships approved for funding beyond one year will receive subsequent years’ funding following receipt of a satisfactory progress report on completion of one year’s study.
  • One (1) or more fellowships shall be offered annually. The number shall be determined by the Awards Committee based on available funding.
  • This fellowship is restricted to UK medical centres in the field of Surgery.

Application Requirements

  • Application must be accompanied by a letter of introduction which outlines the following information;
    1. Full Name
    2. Email
    3. Royal College ID#
    4. University and year of primary specialty certification:
    5. Specialty (if more than one please indicate):
    6. Location of Fellowship;
    7. Duration of Fellowship (start date, end date, length in months);
    8. Topic of Fellowship.
  • Applications must be endorsed by a letter of nomination from a Dean of a Canadian Faculty of Medicine, and a letter of support from a relevant Surgical Department Chair. Furthermore, two additional letters of reference from Royal College Fellows must be provided. Letters should be no more than two pages in length. Only two support letters (from Royal College Fellows) will be considered by the Committee. If the applicant includes additional letters, these will be removed. Letters should ideally be enclosed with your application.
  • If a letter of acceptance is not available at the time of the application, the award is conditional on provision of a letter.
  • Application must be accompanied by a proposal letter which answers the following items (this letter is separate from the introduction letter):
    1. Present in detail a) the nature and purpose (objective) of your proposed study;
      • why you have selected the center(s) you plan to visit;
      • the reason why this fellowship will be of particular value to you, your home institution and your community.
    2. Present in details your future career plans.
      • The applicant must also provide curriculum Vitae (without profile picture), abbreviated if necessary (maximum of 10 pages).

Please submit your application via our online platform – 2024 Harry Morton Traveling Fellowship application. It is also preferred for support letters to be submitted via the online platform.

Submission Deadline
September 6, 2023 – late applications will not be considered

Questions about the Harry S. Morton Travelling Fellowship in Surgery?
Please contact awards@royalcollege.ca

The first $500 of an educational grant is exempt from income tax; grants in excess of $500 must be included in income in the year received. The Royal College will be issuing a T4A Supplementary for grant income received within each calendar year. Please refer to Canada Customs and Revenue Agency (CCRA) Income Tax Act, Interpretation Bulletin IT-75R4 for an explanation of taxation of scholarships. Successful applicants in receipt of one or more grants/awards exceeding $500 within the calendar year will receive a T4A.