International ASPIRE award presented to U of S College of Medicine
SASKATOON – The College of Medicine at the University of Saskatchewan has been recognized internationally through the 2018 ASPIRE-to-Excellence Award in Social Accountability at the 2018 Association for Medical Education in Europe conference, in Basel, Switzerland.
“This award provides incredibly significant and valuable feedback on the great work our college is doing across education, research and community engagement to address the most important health concerns of our province,” said Dr. Preston Smith, dean of the College of Medicine. “It tells us that our efforts to engage and support Indigenous and under-served communities, with our partners in government, education, research and health care, are on track.”
Presented by ASPIRE, the International Recognition of Excellence in Education, which is supported by the International Association for Medical Education, the award is reserved for the medical school that demonstrates deliberate and sustained efforts to integrate social accountability into all functions and shows international leadership.
Among the college’s significant social accountability achievements of the past year was the implementation of the new Diversity and Social Accountability Admissions Program (DSAAP), which, beginning with the new first-year class of 2018-19, reserves six of the 100 seats in the medical doctor degree program for individuals from socioeconomically challenged backgrounds. The college continues to be a leader in Canada in Indigenous admissions, with 12 self-declared Indigenous students among the 100 incoming first-year students for 2018-19.
Read more on the university's news site.