Dr. Rose Hatala is the recipient of the 2019 Medical Council of Canada (MCC)’s Outstanding Achievement Award in the Evaluation of Clinical Competence.

A professor in the department of medicine at the University of British Columbia and a general internist and palliative care physician at St. Paul’s Hospital, she is recognized for demonstrating sustained excellence in Canadian health care and health care research. The award recognizes an individual who has made a significant and vital achievement in the field of assessment and evaluation of clinical and professional competence in the health professions. This award is unique as it recognizes a broad range of health disciplines.

“I’m thrilled and honoured to have been selected for this award,” says Dr. Hatala. “Students, residents and ultimately patients are the focus of my educational endeavours and I am continually learning from them and being inspired by them. I am extremely fortunate to have had great mentorship and support throughout my career from my colleagues in medicine and education. It’s a privilege to be part of this collaborative and supportive academic community.”

Dr. Hatala is also the director of the Centre for Health Education Scholarship’s (CHES’) Clinical Educator Fellowship. She joins 13 other recipients who have been recognized with this prestigious award since 2001.

Dr. Hatala completed her clinical training, as well as her MSc focused on educational research, at McMaster University.

She came to the UBC in 2003 and was the Associate Program Director for the UBC Internal Medicine Residency Program from 2005-2015. Since September 2015, she is the Director of the Centre for Health Education Scholarship’s Clinical Educator Fellowship.

She tries to bridge the gap between assessment theory, suggested best practices and real-world implementation of assessment methods. She also tries to foster collaborations between PhD educational researchers, front-line clinicians and institutions. She has spent time investigating the use of simulation-technology for learner education and assessment.

In 2013, she was awarded the UBC Faculty of Medicine’s Distinguished Achievement Award for Excellence in Education and in 2014-2015 the UBC Killam Teaching Prize.

A version of this article originally appeared on the Medical Council of Canada website.