2017 essay contest winners

For the 2107 round of the Pam and Rolando Del Maestro William Osler Medical Students Essay Awards, students from across the Faculty of Medicine, (now the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences), submitted research proposals and were matched with mentors drawn from the library’s Board of Curators and various departments at McGill. Out of the final essays submitted, three finalists were selected to present their research on Osler Day, November 1st, 2017.

Congratulations to our winners! This year saw a tie for first place:

Clare Fogarty for the essay "Sanitation, Sanity, and (Moral) Suitability: The History of the Medical Inadmissibility of Immigrants into Canada (1840s-1950s)". Clare was mentored by Professor David Wright of the Department of History and Classical Studies. You can also read her reflective piece on working with print and digital collections on this project.

André Lametti for the essay "Ars uero longa: Teaching Hippocrates in Medieval Italy". André was mentored by Professor Faith Wallis of the Department of Social Studies of Medicine and jointly with the Department of History and Classical Studies and also a member of the Osler Library Board of Curators. You can also read his reflective piece on working with manuscripts and ancient texts.

Second place was awarded to:

Philippe-Antoine Bilodeau for the essay "A Tale of Two Brains: Cortical Localization and the Neuron Doctrine in the 19th and 20th Century". Philippe-Antoine was mentored by Professor Thomas Schlich of the Department of Social Studies of Medicine. You can also read his reflective piece on the research skills he learned working on this project. Philippe-Antoine presented his paper via Skype while doing his rural family medicine rotation in South Africa.

The 2017 competition was very impressive and as such we decided to share them with you. Here are in alphabetical order the other submissions we received. Thank you so much to all the students, mentors, judges, and sponsors who supported the contest. We look forward to next year’s presentations.

Rockey Chen, “Healthcare Beyond Earth: A Discussion of Healthcare in Space in the Context of Social and Political Factors Interacting With the Future of Mars Colonization”. Mentor: Dr. Robert Thirsk. See reflective piece here.

Esther ShinHyun Kang, “Taking a Toll on the Patience of Patients”. Mentor: Dr. James Brophy. See reflective piece here.

Philip Leger, “Medicine in its Environment: A Repudiation of Domination and Detachment; A return to Trust and Immersion”. Mentor: Dr. Marilyn Scott. See reflective piece here.

Alexandre Ni, “The Future of Medicine: A Fresh Look at Hippocratic Medicine and the Roots of Whole-Body Care”. Mentor: Professor Faith Wallis. See reflective piece here.

Raheem Remtulla, “Is Psychiatry Failing the Transgender Community?” Mentor: Dr. Pierre-Paul Tellier. See reflective piece here.