Faculty of Medicine
Office of Professional Affairs
| Location: |
Room C242
Clinical Research Centre
5849 University Ave
Halifax, Nova Scotia |
| Telephone: |
(902) 494-1395 |
| Website: |
http://medicine.dal.ca/departments/opa.html |
| Email: |
DalMedOPA@dal.ca |
Resident and Student Affairs Office
Medical School Admissions Office
| Location: |
Room C124
Clinical Research Centre
5849 University Ave
Halifax, Nova Scotia |
| Telephone: |
(902) 494-1874 |
| Fax: |
(902) 494-6369 |
| Website: |
admissions.medicine.dal.ca |
| Email: |
medicine.admissions@dal.ca |
General Information
Dalhousie Medical School was organized in 1868, but medical teaching was carried out by the independent Halifax Medical College from 1875 to 1911, when the Faculty of Medicine was re-established by the University.
The Faculty provides a complete medical training leading to the degree of Doctor of Medicine (MD). Nationally accredited postgraduate training in family medicine and specialty training is provided in University-affiliated hospitals in Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick. Continuing Professional Development is provided to the practitioners of the three Maritime Provinces.
The Faculty is fully accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education and the Committee on Accreditation of Canadian Medical Schools.
The Medical School has strong research programs in basic biomedical sciences, clinical sciences, population health and medical education.
Mission Statement
To drive excellence in health and health care through world-class medical education and research, and our commitment to social accountability.
Faculty
The Faculty of Medicine has approximately 1,885 faculty members, based in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.
Faculty Council
Faculty Council meets frequently throughout the year, advising Faculty and Deans on academic matters. Faculty Council is responsible for hearing student appeals and for administering the departmental survey process.
Standing Committees of Faculty
There are 16 standing committees of Faculty (Curriculum Committee, Health Sciences Library Committee, Research Advisory Committee, Scholarships and Awards Committee, Admissions Committee, Nominating Committee, Progress Committee, Faculty Awards Committee, Social Accountability Committee, CPD Advisory Committee, PGME Committee, Tenure-Stream Tenure and Promotion Committee, Continuing Appointment [Clinical] Promotion Committee, Faculty Appeals Committee, Global Engagement Committee, Master of Physician Assistant Studies Program Committee).
These committees report annually to Faculty.
Degree
The Degree conferred by the University is Doctor of Medicine (MD). The course extends over four years.
Academic Year
The academic year for the first two years of the medical courses begins late August and extends to the end of May. The final two years of Medicine begin in August of third year and run until May of fourth year, and include transition phases (or PIERs), interspersed between clinical rotations. Students are given opportunities for electives and are expected to complete applications for postgraduate training as part of their fourth year of study.
Graduate Studies
In association with the Faculty of Graduate Studies, courses are given that lead to degrees of MSc or PhD. Qualified students may register concurrently for the MD and graduate degrees (MSc or PhD) in the Faculty of Medicine. Currently available programs include: Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Community Health & Epidemiology, Medical Neuroscience, Microbiology & Immunology, Pathology, Pharmacology, and Physiology and Biophysics (for further information please refer to the Faculty of Graduate Studies Calendar).
Research Opportunities
Research in the Faculty of Medicine is supported mainly by research grants and awards to individual faculty members from national granting agencies including the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, CCSRI, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick Heart Foundations. Substantial additional assistance is made available through endowments to the University from donors, the QEII Health Sciences Centre Foundation, IWK Health Centre Foundation and the Dalhousie Medical Research Foundation.
Faculty Regulations
- Medical students are required to adhere to the general University Regulations. Clinical clerks and residents are subject to the rules and regulations of the hospital department to which they are assigned concerning hours of duty, holidays, etc. Patient care responsibilities override University and statutory holidays.
- Medical students must observe the regulations of the hospitals relative to undergraduate and post-graduate students, and any violation of such regulations will be dealt with as if a University regulation were violated.
- All University regulations respecting fees apply to the Faculty of Medicine. In addition, students who have not paid their annual university tuition fees in full by the end of January will be suspended from the Faculty. If the fees are not paid by February 15, the registration of the student for the session will be canceled. (In this connection it should be noted that the Awards Office and the Office of the Dean of Medicine always give consideration to the provision of bursaries and loans for those in genuine financial need but application for such aid must be anticipated by the student.)
Dalhousie Medical Alumni Association - Scholarships, Bursaries and Studentship Program
The Dalhousie Medical Alumni Association provides scholarships to medical students in their first year of medical school.These scholarships are administered through the entrance awards process. Bursaries are administered through the medical school student financial aid committee.
Dalhousie Medical Alumni Association
The DMAA has been serving the medical school and medical alumni since 1958 and today is comprised of over 7000 medical alumni, both MDs and post-graduate medical specialists, practicing all over the globe. The mandate of the association is to foster strong connections and collaborations among Dalhousie medical alumni, students, and the Faculty of Medicine.
The DMAA provides reunion planning assistance, the VoxMeDAL alumni journal, networking opportunities, and educational opportunities in clinical and research. The DMAA also works to provide financial support for DMAA Entrance Scholarships, bursaries, Dalhousie Medical Student Society student projects, two Resident Research Awards, and convocation awards, including our distinguished Gold and Silver Ds.
Unique features of the DMAA include a strong network of medical alumni who volunteer and strive to increase participation in activities and support the Dean of Medicine and the medical school. The board of directors, all of whom are graduates of Dalhousie Medicine, meet quarterly to provide governance and leadership over DMAA operations, goals, and projects. Please take the time to visit our website, alumni.medicine.dal.ca, and read the latest issues of VoxMeDAL to get a perspective of our history and culture. Feel free to drop by the DMAA office or contact us at medical.alumni@dal.ca or (902) 494-8800.
Sir Charles Tupper Medical Building
The Sir Charles Tupper Medical Building was completed in the summer of 1967. This 15-storey structure, the chief Centennial Project of the Government of Nova Scotia, is named after Sir Charles Tupper, one of the founders of the Faculty of Medicine, a Father of Confederation, and the only physician to have been Prime Minister of Canada.
The Tupper Building houses the W. K. Kellogg Health Sciences Library which occupies part of the first and all of the second floor of the Tupper Building. The Kellogg Library Learning Commons is located on the second of the Collaborative Health Education Building (CHEB).
The Library has an extensive print and multi-media collection but the majority of the periodical collection and many books are available electronically through the Library website www.libraries.dal.ca.
The Tupper Building also houses the following: teaching, research and administrative facilities of the Departments of Medical Neuroscience, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Physiology and Biophysics, Pharmacology, Microbiology and Immunology, and Pathology; space for the undergraduate and graduate teaching of science students; study, and dining areas for medical graduate and undergraduate students; the Animal Care Centre; the Dalhousie Medical Alumni Association Office; and, MedIT.
The School of Biomedical Engineering is located in the Dentistry Building.
DMNB Building
The Dalhousie Medicine New Brunswick (DMNB) building is located on the University of New Brunswick’s Saint John (UNBSJ) campus and overlooks the Saint John Regional Hospital. Renovations began in 2009 and were completed in the summer of 2010 in time to welcome the first cohort of DMNB students in September of that year.
Equipped with state-of-the-art videoconferencing technology designed to allow the Dalhousie Medicine curriculum to be delivered from a distance, the Dalhousie Medicine New Brunswick building is a two-storey structure that houses classrooms, clinical spaces, tutorial rooms, administrative offices, meeting rooms, a student lounge, common areas, and a biomedical research facility, which opened in 2013.
The establishment of this laboratory space for Dalhousie Medicine New Brunswick researchers was made possible by the moneys raised in the 2011 Capital Campaign chaired by Lynn Irving in cooperation with the Dalhousie Medical Research Foundation. These funds also supported the purchasing of necessary equipment and the creation of a Chair in Occupational Medicine.
Clinical Research Centre
The Centre (formerly Dalhousie Public Health Clinic), which was constructed in 1923 following a gift from the Rockefeller Foundation, was originally built to house the outpatient services of the clinical departments. The Centre is now physically connected to the Tupper Building and, together with a block of space connecting the two buildings (the Link), houses the Atlantic Research Centre (ARC), and the administrative units of the Dean’s Office, and the Department of Bioethics.
Family Medicine Centres
The Department of Family Medicine has residency sites and education centres throughout the three Maritime Provinces. These centres house the academic administrative, research and educational resources for the department. The first of the sites opened in Halifax in 1970 and is now located on Brenton Street with clinical teaching sites within the Halifax municipality. Since that time eight more centres have opened across the Maritimes: Family Practice Teaching Unit in Saint John, NB (1975), Family Medicine Teaching Unit, in Fredericton, NB (1995), in the Cape Breton Healthcare Complex in Sydney (1998), at the Moncton Hospital in Moncton, NB (1999), the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Charlottetown and the Prince County Hospital in Summerside, PEI (2009), the Annapolis Valley Health Authority in Nova Scotia (2012), the Southwest Health Authority in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia (2014), and in North Nova with learners distributed in Truro, Amherst and New Glasgow (2019). Inverness also opened a satellite teaching site affiliated with the Sydney site in 2019. Antigonish will join the North Nova Site in 2020. Additional clinical placements occur within many communities in Nova Scotia, PEI and New Brunswick.
Affiliated Hospitals
The majority of clinical departments are located in one of the affiliated teaching hospitals. The major teaching hospitals include the QEII Health Sciences Centre, the Nova Scotia Hospital, the IWK Health Centre, and the Saint John Regional Hospital. Other affiliated and associated institutions in Nova Scotia include Canadian Forces Health Services Centre, Cumberland Regional Health Care Centre, Annapolis Community Health Centre, St. Martha’s Regional Hospital, Victoria County Memorial Hospital, Western Kings Memorial Hospital, Sacred Heart Hospital, Dartmouth General Hospital, East Coast Forensic Hospital, Glace Bay Healthcare Facility, Inverness Consolidated Memorial Hospital, Valley Regional Hospital, Queen’s General Hospital, Cobequid Community Health Centre, Soldiers Memorial Hospital, Twin Oaks Memorial Hospital, Buchanan Memorial Community Health Centre, Aberdeen Hospital, Northside General Hospital, Saint Mary’s Memorial Hospital, Cape Breton Regional Hospital, Colchester Regional Hospital, Hants Community Hospital, and Yarmouth Regional Hospital.
Other affiliated and associated institutions in New Brunswick are part of the Horizon Health Network that serves the regions of Miramichi, Moncton, Saint John, Fredericton and the Upper River Valley. It also has provincial responsibility for some tertiary healthcare and a number of unique provincial programs. It plays a major role in research, education, innovation and health and wellness. Horizon Health operates 12 hospitals and more than 100 medical facilities, clinics and offices providing medical services ranging from acute care to community-based health services to New Brunswick, Northern Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.
Affiliated and associated institutions in Prince Edward Island include Western Hospital, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, and Prince County Hospital.
Other facilities include the Centre for Collaborative Clinical Learning and Research located at 5793 University Avenue, 3rd Floor, Collaborative Health Education Building (CHEB). The centre supports the development of critical diagnostic and patient care skills through simulation-based learning and assessment methods.
Dalhousie Medical Students' Society
All medical students are members of this Society, which exists to promote the welfare and general interests of the medical undergraduates, including social and sports activities, relations with the Faculty and with the Students’ Union of the University. The Society presents honours and awards to outstanding medical students.
The president and vice-president of the Medical Students’ Society, the presidents of the four undergraduate courses and the president of the Residents Association of Nova Scotia are members of Faculty. The Presidents of the Medical Students’ Society and Residents Association of Nova Scotia are ex-officio members of Faculty Council. Medical students are members of the following Faculty committees: Medical Education, Student Financial Aid, Admissions, Faculty Awards and Health Sciences Library. Regular monthly meetings are held by the Dean with the president of the Medical Students’ Society.
The Society also represents students at professional bodies for physicians at each Maritime Province and nationally via the Canadian Federation of Medical Students.
Office of Community Partnerships and Global Health
Dalhousie University
Director: Shawna O’Hearn
Location:
C-241 5849 University Avenue
PO Box 15000
Halifax, NS B3H 4R2
Tel: (902) 494-1965
Email: gho@dal.ca
Website: https://medicine.dal.ca/departments/core-units/global-health.html
The Faculty of Medicine at Dalhousie University serves the communities in which it is embedded and our wider society through its activities in research, education, and community engagement. Demonstrating responsiveness and accountability to the communities we serve in the three missions of education, research, and clinical care is central to our social accountability mission.
As part of the Faculty of Medicine, the Office of Community Partnerships and Global Health is responsible for providing support to programs, departments and schools within the Faculty in achieving greater social accountability. The Office is home to:
- Global Health Education
- International Partnerships including supporting international medical and graduate students
- Community Engagement programming through Service Learning
- Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Accessibilty programming
- Indigenous Health
- Promoting Leadership in health for African Nova Scotians (PLANS)
- Francophone Health
The Office of Community Partnerships and Global Health offers:
- Training in global health through mini courses, predeparture and certificate programs
- Events focusing on relevant and timely global health issues including global health rounds, speakers, and conferences
- Opportunities to become involved in research and mentorship.
- Annual awards are presented to a student, resident and faculty member who demonstrates leadership in global health
- PLANS and Indigenous Health in Medicine (IHIM) offer programming (e.g. summer camp, mentorships), resources (e.g. health program and career information), and attend community and school events to provide health career preparation and support to:
- youth in junior high and high school including parents/families
- community members, education and health organizations
- current post-secondary students
- teachers, student support workers, and guidance counsellors
- post-secondary staff and faculty