Dr. Omar Selim receives the 2019 Dr. Karen Mann Catalyst Grant
Congratulations to Omar Selim, MD, MSc, the newest recipient of the Royal College Dr. Karen Mann Catalyst Grant in Medical Education Research. Dr. Selim is a PGY4 resident in the Division of Vascular Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, at the University of Toronto. He is also a research fellow with the University Health Network’s Temerty-Chang Telesimulation Centre.
Dr. Omar Selim
Dr. Selim’s research to focus on diabetic wound management
Dr. Selim describes his work as being important to medical education for two primary reasons.
“The first is how it clearly shows the effectiveness of applying a Knowledge-to-Action (KTA) framework to medical education research,” he says. “Developing and refining the Diabetic Wound Assessment Learning Tool (DiWALT) within this framework has allowed us to develop an educational product that is of interest to educators, and methodologically rigorous, in a relatively short span of time.”
The second reason has to do with saving costs for the health system.
“Diabetic foot wounds comprise a third of diabetes-related health care expenditures and are the primary cause of amputation in Canada. Few studies focus on how to teach and assess wound management. Given the importance of ‘assessment for learning’ in Competence by Design, the development and refinement of the DiWALT addresses the need for improved education on this disease process. This can only improve the outcomes for patients suffering from diabetic wounds.”
About the catalyst grant
This grant supports Royal College Resident Affiliates and early career clinician educators. It was created in honour of the late Dr. Karen Mann, PhD, who was a passionate educator, scholar and adviser. Her outstanding contributions to medical education, particularly through mentorship and support of young researchers, helped shape the careers of many Canadian scholars and contributed to the strength of medical education research in Canada. The aim of this grant is to encourage entry into medical education research through the use of mentorship.
