
An office of Military Academic Medicine launches at Western’s Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, an expansion of partnerships between the school and the Canadian Armed Forces.
A new office connecting the Canadian Armed Forces and the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry will help train military doctors and strengthen existing research and partnerships.
The Office of Military Academic Medicine aims to make Schulich a world leader in military medicine. Led by Schulich professor Dr. Vivian McAlister, the office builds upon a long-standing relationship between the school and the Canadian Forces.
The partnership brings together the administration of current military physician education, research and partnership activities into one office and positions Schulich to identify new opportunities to collaborate and expand current activities.
“The office will facilitate interactions between the school and the Canadian Forces,” McAlister said. “We will grow the relationship, which is already more than 100 years old, so that Western becomes a world leader in military medicine and humanitarian care.”
Schulich Medicine’s undergraduate medical education program provides medical training for members of the military through the Medical Officer Training Plan. They also provides specialized training for military physicians in programs such as surgery, anesthesia and psychiatry through its residency training programs as well as clinical rotations for training in the Physician Assistant Program.
Schulich is also involved in military medicine research collaborations including a Chair in Military Critical Care Research and extensive research into military trauma care; trauma resuscitation and injury patterns; and managing civilian trauma. Faculty are currently involved in understanding injury patterns in modern combat in order to treat injuries on the battlefield more effectively and are developing and testing devices and equipment to improve care.
“While we want to provide an excellent service to members of the armed forces who come here to learn and work, we also want to create new opportunities to develop care of disadvantaged people in areas of the world that are less fortunate than ours,” said McAlister.
A snapshot of the history and ongoing partnerships between the Canadian Forces and Schulich can be found in Stories of Service.