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Dalhousie Medical Alumni Culture and Traditions Personal reflections from Dalhousie Medical Graduates The following testimonials capture the culture and sense of “belonging” to their beloved Dalhousie Medical School. These shared views bind their identity to medicine and demonstrate their deep connection to their alma mater. Alumnus and alumna mean in Latin “to nourish or be nourished” by a university, college, educational facility or post-secondary institution (Farlex, 2013).
“For me, acceptance into Dalhousie Medical School was one of the most transformational periods in my life. There are those moments when people never forget where they were and what they were doing in that moment. For me, one of those signature moments was where I was and what I was doing when I opened that envelope and was first made aware that I was accepted into Dalhousie Medical School. “The medical education and the clinical skills that I acquired at Dalhousie Medical School are really the reason that I am standing here today. Dal medical alumni learn from the finest teachers and mentors, not only in the region or country, but in the world. I can honestly say this because I have done post-graduate training across other institutions in Canada and across the United States. I’ve interacted with faculty, Fellows, students, and residents from Melbourne to Moscow, and I will tell you that Dalhousie graduates are the finest in the world.” Dr. David Dodick, MD Class ’90
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“Dalhousie medical alumni are a unique group of people who were selected out of a highly competitive applicant pool. They dedicate themselves to medicine and a lifetime of serving patients. They become experts in a specialty or field in which other people have no or very little understanding. After committing themselves to four grueling years of intense existence, there is an earned sense of accomplishment and confidence that binds ‘us’ as a group.” Dr. Merv Shaw MD Class ’65