Mel Schneider's fcp e-Portfolio

Welcome to Mel’s fcp e-portfolio. As the year goes by I’ll add to this.

July 19 2012. Yesterday I glanced over Christina Hendricks’ dossier. How thorough! How am I ever going to be able to match that or even come close to it? Oh well, this is going to be a real learning experience. The irony here is the object is to achieve excellence in teaching and learning – I hope I can get a C+. Just kidding, but maybe not.

Aug 7, 2012. I would like to provide an abbreviated autobiography so that if you read this you can get some idea as to how I got here. I was born in Montreal in a very good year – 1949. I also grew up there and graduated from Monkland’s High in 1966. In 1970 I achieved a BSc from McGill and was very fortunate to be accepted to the Faculty of Dentistry at McGill. Following graduation in 1974 I did a rotating dental internship at the Royal Victoria Hospital and in 1975 my wife of 4 years and I ventured to Vancouver and made this place our home. Following approximately 2 1/2 wonderful years of a dental associateship at the Camgara Dental Group, I began a solo practice. I remained in the same premises for over 30 years. I enjoyed every minute of being a dentist. I am a very lucky man.

Teaching at UBC Faculty of Dentistry came quite natural to me and I volunteered my services in preclinical and clinical settings for over 30 years. It was my way of giving back to the profession as so many other dentists do. However, about 6 years ago I developed Parkinson’s Disease and my dental practicing days were soon over. But not so was my teaching. It had only just begun. Lex MacNeil was Associate Dean at the time and offered me a faculty position as Clinical Facilitator (later called Clinical Advisor). The role no longer placed me in an environment of teaching on a 1 to 1 basis in a clinical setting. Rather, I was placed in charge of 22 third and fourth year students and looked after a variety of concerns. Some of these concerns include patient management and dealing with conflicts (student// patient/ instructor/ student). I run seminars where students discuss treatment planning options. I hold one to one meetings with students where the students describe their patient treatment plans to me. My role is to advise and grade the students. Lastly, I am a Clinic Liaison. I make sure that the clinic runs smoothly on my watch. Since I began my position 5 years ago there was no formal training or education to hone my skills. We (5 of us)  were left to our own volition to get results. When I heard about the FCP in SoT&L from fellow dental educators I felt that this was an opportunity to secure some training that could make me a better educator and help validate my position. And that is why I’m here.