Dear Colleagues,

On behalf of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Calgary I send you a warm, western welcome to Alberta. It is a pleasure to be the host faculty for CCME 2012 – Global health and Medical Education: Beyond Boundaries.

In Alberta we are stretching the boundaries of health care with our Alberta Academic Health Network (AAHN), our province wide health sciences centre.  The University of Calgary is partnering with the University of Alberta and Alberta Health Services in embracing a new vision of academic health care. The goal is to create a fully integrated approach to health care by linking clinical services, health education and research to create new knowledge, improve healthcare delivery and improve the health of Albertans.

The University of Calgary’s Faculty of Medicine is also stretching boundaries in areas such as our Global Health and International Partnerships Program. We have active programs in Laos, Kenya, Tanzania, Sudan and the Philippines and partnerships with two Chinese universities.  This year will see the graduation of the first MSc students from the new Public Health Program we co-sponsored with Bugundo University in Tanzania.

The Faculty of Medicine is very diverse, including 62 residencies, six different education programs, and our MD students enjoy a unique three year academic program based upon clinical presentations, which includes interaction with patients in the first year. Unlike many faculties, we have an undergraduate science program called the Bachelor of Health Sciences (BHSc) program. The research-intensive program attracts the University of Calgary’s top students and focuses on various aspects of health and health research. We have 2400 students enrolled in MSc and PhD programs in basic sciences, community health, and medical education. Click here to continue