Trainee Excellence in Education Award

This award was first presented in 2002. It is awarded to a CCS Member-in-Training to acknowledge his or her extraordinary accomplishment in all aspects of medical education in any of the cardiovascular fields, including adult cardiology, cardiovascular surgery, pediatric cardiology, or pure research.

For the Love of Teaching

Dr. Joel Price’s father—a physician and exceptional medical educator himself—was an important role model early in his life. As his training progressed, he continued to hold teachers in high regard.

“It’s a privilege to share knowledge that students can absorb,” he says.

Dr. Price teaches the cardiac surgery lecture at University of Ottawa. With Dr. Lam, he developed a didactic on-line lecture from which students learn the material. Then they attend his face-to-face lecture where they discuss case studies among themselves and answer questions. Students rate the lecture highly.

“So highly,” he bemoans, “that I keep getting the unpopular Friday afternoon slot.”

So highly that the university awarded him a Certificate of Teaching Excellence for Senior Residents.

Recently, Dr. Price has been able to combine research and education. He is conducting a randomized controlled trial to examine the effect of simulations on the ability of residents to perform vascular anastomoses. The simulators have several benefits, notably the opportunity for repetitive, deliberate practice in a low-consequence environment.

“The idea,” he says, “is to demonstrate that simulations provide a viable adjunct to surgery for developing technical skills.”

Dr. Price is Chief Resident of Cardiac Surgery at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute.