One hundred and forty-seven graduates will receive their Doctor of Medicine degree from Western University’s Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry this Friday, May 18th at Alumni Hall starting at 9:30 a.m. And while most medical students dream of making a difference once they have their own practice, three of this year’s graduates, Nathan Stall, Yoan Kagoma and Jen Bondy, have already left a lasting legacy by launching Operation Green, the first program of its kind in Canada.
Operation Green (www.operationgreen.ca ) is a student-led surgical supplies recovery program that contributes to international medical aid, while improving sustainability efforts in hospitals here at home. The group collects open, but unused surgical supplies such as gloves and suture packs, and ships them to International HOPE, a humanitarian medical resource organization assisting developing countries. The three students studied the amount of waste generated during a total knee replacement, and found it produced the equivalent of 2,000 garbage trucks of waste per year in Canada, for just one operation. They started their surgical supplies recovery program in one operating room at University Hospital of London Health Sciences Centre, with the assistance of orthopedic surgeon Dr. Douglas Naudie. Now, Operation Green is in seven hospitals in London, Windsor, Chatham and Toronto. In just the first two shipments in 2011, 1,300 pounds of material worth an estimated $26,875 was sent to International HOPE. Hospitals also benefit with reduced waste pickup costs. The students have now written a manual for other medical students on how to start their own Operation Green programs.
“The other thing we’re proud of as an organization, is the amount of awareness that we’ve been able to generate on the environmental impact of health care provisions,” says co-founder Nathan Stall. “We’re seeing real change, with physicians and other health care professionals taking an interest, wanting to know how they can contribute, and being cognizant of how medicine, and the way we practise medicine, affects the environment on a day-to-day basis.”
This year also marks the first convocation for the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry – Windsor Program. There are 24 students in the charter class, and while they have been located at the University of Windsor for their entire four years of training, they are part of the larger Class of 2012, and receive their degree from Western.
Also notable, for only the second time at Schulich Medicine, an honorary degree will be awarded. Alumna Dr. John Noseworthy is the President and CEO of the world-renowned Mayo Clinic. He completed a residency in neurology and neuropathology at Western in 1979 and stayed on as a member of the Department of Clinical Neurological Sciences. In 1990, he joined the Mayo Clinic, where he has held the positions of Chair of the Department of Neurology, Vice-Chair of the Mayo Clinic Rochester Executive Board, Medical Director for Development, and in 2009, was named to head the organization. The American-based Mayo Clinic is the first and largest integrated, not-for-profit group practice in the world. Dr. Noseworthy is also the former editor-in-chief of Neurology, the official journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Media contact: Kathy Wallis, Media Relations Officer, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University, 519-661-2111 ext. 81136, c: 519-777-1573, Kathy.wallis@schulich.uwo.ca
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