8 July 2009

Prestigious award for Professor Ronald M Harden

Professor Ronald M Harden of the University of Dundee will next week receive a prestigious award recognising his contribution to high quality research in medical education and for promoting good educational practice.

He will receive the Richard Farrow Gold Medal, awarded by the Association for the Study of Medical Education (ASME), at the organisation’s annual scientific meeting in Edinburgh on Wednesday, July 15th, 2009.

Professor Harden expressed his delight at receiving the award, saying, 'I am honoured to receive this award from an association which has done so much to improve the standards of medical education in the UK and internationally.'

'I am pleased that the award is intended to be forward-looking as well as valuing past achievements.'

Professor Harden was formerly Teaching Dean and Postgraduate Dean at Dundee, as well as director of the University’s world-renowned Centre for Medical Education. The development of an approach to the assessment of clinical competence now been adopted as a gold standard internationally was among his many achievements.

His contributions to excellence in medical education have attracted numerous awards, including the Hubbard Award from the National Board of Medical Examiners in the USA and the Mentoring, Innovation and Leadership in Education Scholarship Award from the National University of Singapore.

Professor Harden was awarded an OBE by the Queen for his work in medical education and was the winner of the Karolinska Institute prize for research in medical education. He is currently General Secretary of the Association for Medical Education in Europe (AMEE), based at the University.

The ASME is a membership organisation that doctors, healthcare workers and medical educators from any specialty and level are invited to join. The Richard Farrow Gold Medal is named after a late member of the organisation, and was established to recognise and honour individuals for their contributions to the goals of the ASME, which are to:

• promote high quality research into medical education;
• provide opportunities for developing medical excellence;
• disseminate good educational practice based on research evidence;
• inform Government and other organisations on medical education; and
• develop relationships with other organisations and groups involved in health care education.

For media enquiries contact:
Grant Hill
Press Officer
University of Dundee
Nethergate Dundee, DD1 4HN
TEL: 01382 384768
E-MAIL: g.hill@dundee.ac.uk