Did You Know?

Want to learn more about the FHS and McMaster University? Browse our collection of ‘Did You Know’ facts and tips for a unique look at our incredible organization.

The McMaster the David Braley Health Sciences Centre has an expansive model railroad that was built over seven decades by David Lee of Dundas, Ontario. You can view the model in the indoor garden space on the main level of the downtown health campus.

McMaster University has been named of Canada’s Best Diversity Employers for 2019, in recognition of the University’s ongoing work to advance diversity and inclusion, and to create a culture that reflects the richness of the McMaster community.

You can download an app from the McMaster Museum of Art that takes you on a tour to explore sculptures across the McMaster Campus.

McMaster has won the prestigious Global Teaching Excellence Award based on the strength of its experiential learning opportunities, a commitment to global engagement and the work of the Paul R. MacPherson Institute for Leadership, Innovation and Excellence in Teaching. Organized by the Higher Education Academy in partnership with Times Higher Education, the award recognizes universities with strong, institution-wide approaches to supporting and promoting teaching excellence.

McMaster has a Safety App! Free and available for iOS and Android platforms, the SafetyApp provides information on campus closures, safety alerts, multiple ways to report a concern to McMaster security, support resources and more! Click here for more information.

McMaster’s MGD School of Medicine Niagara Regional Campus runs a ‘Teddy Bear Clinic’ that allows medical students to teach kids about health care in a safe and comfortable environment using teddy bears before they have to go through an experience themselves.

Susan Denburg, Executive Vice-Dean and Associate Vice-President, Academic in the Faculty of Health Sciences has been elected as a Fellow to the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences. Induction into the CAHS is considered one of the highest honours within Canada’s academic community.

A group of professors and students in Health Sciences worked together to create a virtual reality app, called the MacAnatomy Virtual Reality Bell Ringer. Students can use the app to hone their anatomy expertise outside of the classroom.

Donna Strickland, a McMaster alumna who received her Bachelor of Engineering degree in engineering physics in 1982, won the Nobel Prize in Physics, the first woman to do so in 55 years and one of only three in the history of the award.

The David Braley Health Sciences Centre, located in downtown Hamilton, received a World Architecture Award in 2017. The building which is home to the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine’s Department of Family Medicine and the City’s Public Health Services, was designed to reflect the natural landscape of Hamilton and includes physical features that represent the City’s many waterfalls. The building was recognized for its lecture theatres with generous windows, its terraces, and the creative use of stone, wood and planting features throughout.

Sun Life (our benefits provider) offers a mobile app where you can submit claims, check your coverage, access your coverage cards and more. Download the app today. Available through Google Play, The App Store and Blackberry World.

McMaster and the Faculty of Health Sciences have partnered with St. Joseph’s Healthcare, Homewood Health and Homewood Research Institute to establish a national network to treat trauma. Under the leadership of Dr. Margaret McKinnon, the inaugural Homewood Chair in Mental Health and Trauma, the Homewood-McMaster Trauma Research Network will work to establish a network of researchers, evaluators and clinicians to advance clinical practice and outcomes in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and related illnesses.

The Faculty of Health Sciences has established the Indigenous Health Initiative, led by Dr. Bernice Downey, to better integrate Indigenous knowledge and issues into educational and research programs within the Faculty. This comprehensive project aims to address systemic barriers in health sciences education for Indigenous learners, as well as educate faculty and administrators regarding Indigenous health.

Emergency medicine faculty and medical students have designed a unique new board game called GridlockED, which is designed to be an educational tool to help future doctors learn system approaches to multi-patient management in a safe, low-stakes environment. In the game, players work together to treat and prioritize patients. The goal is to take care of as many patients as possible, manage an eight-hour shift and maximize points. Key students involved are from the Niagara Regional Campus of the MGD School of Medicine. Proceeds from the game will support research initiatives in emergency medicine at McMaster.

The Department of Pathology is home to one of only three training programs in Forensic Pathology in Canada.

The McMaster University Medical Journal (MUMJ), established in 2003, is a peer-reviewed student-run scientific publication created to share advances in medicine, augment understanding of the social issues impacting individual and population health, and encourage the discussion of ethical and legal issues as they apply to the profession.

The concept of problem-based learning (now used world-wide) was pioneered in the School of Medicine at McMaster in the 1960s, as a new, more holistic approach to medical education. PBL, often called small group, self-directed learning, is a hands-on approach where the problem drives the learning. Students do not try to solve the problem presented, but rather the problem is used to help the students identify their own learning needs as they attempt to solve the problem, and pull together, synthesize and apply information to the problem, and work effectively to learn from group members.

The Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research is a world-leading centre of transdisciplinary infectious disease research. The IIDR has become synonymous with innovation in the area of antimicrobial resistance. The Institute is committed to advancing the next generation of antimicrobial strategies for the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of infectious disease.

The Faculty of Health Sciences has been partners with Hamilton Health Sciences since 1968, and St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton since 1969.

Mentoring a Ugandan hematologist at a Hamilton hospital, partnering on occupational therapy research for those living with HIV in Zambia, and teaching internal medicine at the first medical school in Namibia are just three examples of the vast array of initiatives that members our Faculty of Health Sciences are fostering in Africa. Read the Faculty’s series on advancing health in Africa.

In an ongoing partnership with the Hamilton community, the School of Nursing launched ‘Health in the Hubs’ in 2011. Along with neighbourhood planning teams, the SON is working to identify and address priority health issues within several Hamilton neighbourhoods, to make them a healthier place to live. The idea behind the project is that addressing the social determinants of health is crucial to developing long-term solutions to improving health.

McMaster and the Faculty of Health Sciences is considered the birthplace of evidence-based medicine, which is described as one of the most important medical advances in the past 150 years, according to the British Medical Journal. EBM integrates the best research data with clinical expertise and patient values, with the goal to use the best evidence to give patients the best possible care. David Sackett, one of the School of Medicine’s founding fathers, is considered the ‘father of evidence-based medicine’ who along with Gord Guyatt (who coined the term in the 1990) and Brian Haynes, led the EBM movement in its application to clinical practice.

The Health Sciences Library (HSL) (located on the 2^nd floor of the HSC) features elegant design elements and artwork that can be found throughout the library. Among other pieces, the “Tree of Knowledge” can be viewed just inside the library entrance, and a large Inuit whalebone sculpture is found in the Heersink Reading Pavilion. The HSL also boasts a warm, comfortable, quiet study and refection space in the C. Barber Mueller History of Health and Medicine Room, and provides study space with a spectacular view of campus in the Heersink Reading Pavilion.

Dogs @ Mac is an innovative program at McMaster, in partnership with the SPCA, where certified therapy dogs are available through drop-in sessions to help students improve their mental health and well-being, thereby assisting with their academic achievement.

It’s part of a long standing midwifery tradition that all graduating midwives in Ontario wear red shoes to their convocation – to stand out from the crowd.

Our Bachelor of Health Sciences Program is the only program in Ontario that draws on the full range of departments within health sciences, including clinical departments of medicine, pathology, psychiatry, and health research methods, evidence and impact. This interdisciplinary, applied approach to health education is part of what makes the BHSc one of the most competitive undergraduate programs in Canada.

The Faculty of Health Sciences has over 5700 students in medicine, nursing, rehabilitation science, physician assistant and midwifery, as well as undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate residency programs in health sciences.

The Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine has two regional campus locations, the Waterloo Regional Campus and the Niagara Regional Campus.

Roberta Bondar, the first female Canadian astronaut in space, graduated from McMaster’s MD program in 1977, and joined the FHS as an Assistant Professor of Medicine from 1982-1984. In 1983 she was selected as one of the six original Canadian astronauts and began her training as a member of the Canadian Space Agency in 1984. She launched into space on January 22, 1992 for an eight day mission aboard the Discovery shuttle, where her and her team conducted scientific experiments in the First International Microgravity Laboratory.

If Hamilton is affected by a major storm that would pose a danger to faculty, staff and students on campus or that would prevent many from coming to campus or returning home safely, non-essential operations at the University will “close”, which is more affectionately known as a “Snow Day”!

While walking around main campus, be sure to look up to see banners on campus light posts showcasing some of the University’s researchers and their work, including 13 faculty members from the FHS. As part of the University’s Brighter World campaign these banners are a reminder of the talent that resides at McMaster and in the Faculty of Health Sciences, and even includes notable alumni such as Roberta Bondar, Lincoln Alexandar and founder Senator William McMaster.

In March 2017, McMaster was the first University in Ontario to sign the Okanagan Charter, a clarion call for higher education to promote the well-being of people, places and the planet.

In December 2003, Michael G. DeGroote announced an historic gift of $105 million to McMaster University, intended to support health care research and education. In tribute, the School of Medicine was renamed the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine, the first Canadian medical school to bear the name of a benefactor. Mr. DeGroote donated a further $50 million in May 2014 with a vision of developing innovation in health leadership, biomedical engineering, entrepreneurship and more.

McMaster’s Indigenous Circle and Gathering Place was created as a space for learning, reconciliation and the remembrance of Indigenous people and the histories now erased from this land.

In October each year, MD students are invited, along with their families, to the “White Coat Ceremony” at which they are presented with their first white coat. In the pocket of these coats, first year medical students will find a handwritten note of advice from an MD alumni, providing a link between the past and present in a meaningful way.

Health Research Services provides support for research within the Faculty of Health Sciences, including guides to research and the grant-writing process, funding sources and more.

The Faculty of Health Sciences is proud to be affiliated with two major academic hospital systems – Hamilton Health Sciences and St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton – as well as many community healthcare facilities and groups in the Hamilton region and beyond.

The Health Sciences Library Archives houses over 42 linear feet of records of administrative and planning materials from 1966 to present for the Faculty of Health Sciences. This is in addition to the 26, 5, and 50 linear feet of records for the Schools of Nursing, Rehabilitation Science and Medicine, respectively. The archives, established in 1974, collect and preserve historically important records for the FHS and HHS.

A new research centre, the Michael G. DeGroote Centre for Medicinal Cannabis Research, launched by McMaster University and St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton seeks to understand the use of medicinal cannabis in managing pain, and other clinical indications, as well as its potential for addiction and other adverse events.

A portion of Albert Einstein’s brain is preserved and held for medical research at the McMaster brain bank. One-fifth of Einstein’s brain is preserved in a jar somewhere in a McMaster lab. Neuroscientist Sandra Witelson has been studying the great man’s grey matter for more than 20 years.

While walking the halls of HSC, be on the lookout for TUG the Robot who delivers specimens to the various labs and clinics in the building.

Martin Short, Eugene Levy, Dave Thomas and John Candy all graduated from McMaster University in the 1970s.

A Friendship Bench sits in the lobby of the Health Sciences Library as a safe haven where individuals may reach out and connect with others. The bright yellow bench serves as a permanent, physical and year-round reminder to students to take a moment out of their day to sit, breathe, and talk (or think) about their mental health and that of their friends. It is intended to inspire peer-to-peer conversations about mental health to reduce the stigma and encourage more students to seek help.

Dr. Norm Buckley, Director of the Michael G DeGroote Institute for Pain Research and Care and past Chair of Anesthesia, was part of a jeopardy clue in 2016, “Norm Buckley, anesthesia chair at Canada’s McMaster University, studies this sensation, both acute and chronic” with the correct response being “What is pain?”

One of our students in the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine, Sam Lambert and his boyfriend Paul Mitskopoulos, won The Amazing Race Canada in Summer 2017 which included $250,000 in cash, two new SUVs and a trip for two around the world!

McMaster University is the first campus in Ontario to become 100% tobacco and smoke-free as of January 1, 2018.

Our Assistant Dean of Midwifery, Eileen Hutton, is the first midwife to be inducted as a Fellow into the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences, one of the highest honours for members of the Canadian health sciences community.

The Faculty of Health Sciences’ Biosafety Level 3 Lab is one of the few centres in Canada equipped to support research on infectious disease and the world’s most deadly pathogens.

McMaster was named Canada’s most research-intensive university in 2017 and 2018 by Research Infosource.

All-gender washrooms are available in a number of buildings across campus that anyone, regardless of gender identity may use. All FHS buildings on main campus have at least one all-gender washroom, including HSC, IAHS and MDCL.

The Education Program in Anatomy holds an annual Service of Gratitude to honour those who donated their bodies to the program. Family, friends, faculty, staff and students come together to remember those who gave so others may learn.

Did You Know?

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