Submitted by: Dyan Colpo, Cleveland Clinic, Simulation and Advanced Skills Center
Melih Elcin, MD, MSc, CHSE, Hacettepe University, Department of Medical Education & Informatics, Receives ASPE Outstanding Educator of the Year Award for 2019
In recognition of the outstanding talent within the Association of Standardized Patient Educators, we annually honor an individual ASPE member through the “Outstanding SP Educator Award.”
To be eligible for the award, the nominee must:
- Be an active member of ASPE
- Have been involved in SP education/training for more than seven years
- Have made significant contribution to the SP community by providing professional development and/or guidance to newcomers to the field
- Be recognized as a leader by working with varied levels of faculty within their own institution, the SP community, and in national or international organizations (i.e., ASPE, AAMC, CAME, NBME, ECFMG, etc.).
Melih Elcin was presented with the Outstanding Educator of the Year Award at the ASPE annual conference in Orlando, Florida on June 9, 2019. Melih, a physician and educator, has learned about, endorsed, and championed Standardized Patient methodology at Hacettepe University in Turkey since 2003. After spending four months as a visiting scholar at Mt. Sinai School of Medicine in 2004, he returned to his university in his home country of Turkey and started the first center designed for communication and clinical skills training, The Training and Assessment Center, with the first SP program in Turkey! He did not stop there. Melih proceeded to introduce SP methodology to other medical schools in Turkey through seminars and workshops and organized the Inaugural Meeting for Turkish Standardized Patient Educators. Today, there are over 20 medical schools in the country that have incorporated SP encounters into the curriculum, which is more than one new program per year! As the head of the Department of Medical Education & Informatics, he founded and became the first head of the Department of Simulation in Health Sciences. He has recently been appointed as the director of the Center for Interprofessional Collaboration & Simulation.
Melih, who has been an active member of ASPE for 15 years, is “appreciated for his educational contributions and international insight.” We are delighted that in addition to his many and varied endeavors, Melih still found time to contribute to ASPE by serving on the Board of Directors as both a Member Liaison and Chair of the International Committee!
Congratulations, Melih, our 2019 SP Educator of the Year!
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