The Leaders in Indigenous Medical Education (LIME) Network has received a prestigious international award – the ASPIRE Award for Excellence in Social Accountability. The Aspire Award is developed under the auspices of the Association for Medical Education in Europe, the leading international association for medical education.
The ASPIRE Award recognises medical, dental and veterinary schools that excel in assessment of students, student engagement, social accountability of the school and faculty development. This is the first time the international award has been presented to a program representing a collective of schools. The LIME Network supports collaboration between medical schools in Australia and New Zealand to advance the development, delivery and evaluation of quality Indigenous health initiatives.
The reviewers highlighted that the LIME Network Program and its members clearly demonstrate a strong commitment to social accountability, noting that it is ‘[a]n impressive bi-national initiative with a focus on a topic of national (and indeed) global priority, within a clear construct of social accountability. Key outcomes and impact have been, and continue to be achieved, through a model that is inclusive, participatory, and community oriented.’
The review panel also observed ‘the LIME Network operates to bind all medical schools together creating greater impact than could be achieved by any alone, or by any smaller grouping.’ Professor Shaun Ewen, LIME Network Project Lead, said that ‘the Network has contributed to transforming the future Australian and New Zealand health workforce. Indigenous leadership, better trained physicians, more diversity through the recruitment and graduation of more Indigenous medical students. Indigenous people taking their rightful place.’ Professor Nicholas Glasgow, President of Medical Deans congratulated the LIME Network: ‘This is a great achievement for LIME Network members, particularly the LIME Reference Group and secretariat. It is a tribute to the innovation evident in the field of Indigenous health and medical education made possible through their collaborative work.’
The LIME Network is a project of Medical Deans Australia and New Zealand, and receives funding from the Australian Government Department of Health. The Network is dedicated to ensuring the quality and effectiveness of teaching and learning of Indigenous health in medical education, as well as best practice in the recruitment and graduation of Indigenous medical students.
Contact: Carmel Tebbutt, CEO Medical Deans, +61 2 8084 6557, +61 437 476 267 or admin@medicaldeans.org.au Odette Mazel, Research Fellow and Program Manager, Leaders in