Monash Memo - 19 September 2001

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Medical appointments building on strength

The Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences is continuing its development of the new five-year medical degree, with the announcement of two major appointments.

Professor Brian Jolly (pictured right) from the University of Sheffield in the UK will become the university's new Professor of Medical Education, while Professor Julian Smith (left), formerly of The Alfred, will take over as the new head of the Department of Surgery at Monash Medical Centre.

Dean of the faculty Professor Nick Saunders said the appointments were an exciting moment in the life of the faculty and pointed the way forward in medical education at Monash.

In welcoming the two new academics, Professor Saunders said both men would contribute greatly with skills and knowledge which could only serve to benefit the whole faculty.

"Professor Jolly will play a pivotal role in the continuing development of the new five-year medical (MB BS) degree, with the first intake of students commencing in semester one in 2002," Professor Saunders said.

As head of the Monash Centre for Medical Health Sciences Education, Professor Jolly will play a pivotal role in the promotion of scholarship and research, academic staff development in teaching and learning, evaluation of academic courses and the development of appropriate assessment methods.

"His experiences at the international level will benefit greatly the faculty's many other degree programs, including the Bachelor of Biomedical Sciences, the Bachelor of Radiography and Medical Imaging and the Bachelor of Nutrition and Dietetics," Professor Saunders said.

Professor Jolly studied psychology at Birmingham University, before undertaking graduate studies in educational film and television production in Manchester.

In 1988 he was a visiting professor in medical education at the University of Toronto. He was also director of the Medical Education Unit at the University of Leeds Medical School, and senior warden at Devonshire Hall, Leeds, from 1996 to 1999.

Professor Saunders said the appointment of Professor Smith, who will be based at Monash Medical Centre, would provide important links with health providers.

"As one of the most respected surgeons at The Alfred, one of Monash's teaching hospitals, Professor Smith brings with him a wealth of experience and knowledge of the Monash medical programs," he said.

"His position further serves to strengthen the relationship between Monash University and our partners at both Bayside and Southern Health."

Professor Smith has worked towards establishing and maintaining a world-class program of lung volume reduction surgery for patients with advanced emphysema.

His current research activities are concerned with the experimental evaluation of the Ventrassist artificial heart, an implantable rotatory pump designed for intermediate-term mechanical support of the circulation.