Hedda G. Dyer, MB CHB (Edin), MRCS (Edin), MBA, MPH

Biography
Dr. Hedda Dyer is chair and professor, department of clinical foundations (DCF), where she leads a team of faculty, skilled professionals and administrative professionals to consistently deliver exceptional clinical skills training for future physicians and their future patients.
Dr. Dyer’s purpose statement is “to deliver excellence in clinical medical education that is sustainable and holistic, thereby producing future physicians who are committed to excellence in healthcare delivery and patient outcomes.” She is a surgeon, medical educator and researcher. Over the years, her career has encompassed experience in working with a diverse group of students, colleagues, patients and clinical partners in the spheres of education, research, healthcare, leadership and curriculum design. She is passionate about professional development and mentorship.
Joining Ross University School of Medicine (RUSM) in 2006, Dr. Dyer has held various committee appointments and leadership roles, notably as acting chair of DCF, vice chair of DCF, course director of semesters 4X and 05 clinical skills courses from 2013 to 2020, and director of semester 4X/05 hospital program from 2013 to 2017. In 2018, Dr. Dyer became the clinical co-module director of the digestive 1 and digestive 2 module. She served as the co-chair of the Module and Course Director’s (MCD’s) Curriculum Subcommittee with oversight for the design and implementation of the Formative Assessment program. Dr. Dyer is an active member of the Clinical Student Promotions Committee (CSPC) since 2018 and the Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) subcommittee of the Curriculum Committee.
Prior to joining RUSM, Dr. Dyer specialized in the area of breast oncological surgery in the National Health Service in England, United Kingdom. She is also active in clinical community participatory research, focusing on the early detection and diagnosis of breast cancer in limited resource countries since 2008 and breast and ovarian cancer health disparities since 2012. In medical education research, her focus has been on the role of critical consciousness and self-reflection in cultural humility in achieving cultural competency in medical education since 2019, and more recently on the use of standardized patients to improve trauma informed care in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dr. Dyer earned her bachelor of medicine and surgery (MB CHB Ed) degree from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, United Kingdom, and completed her residency in surgery in the United Kingdom, with additional experience in France. She earned her membership of the Royal College of Surgeons (MRCS Ed) from the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh in the United Kingdom. Additionally, Dr. Dyer has a master of business administration (MBA) with a concentration in health services from the Keller Graduate School of Management in Springfield, Illinois.
She is fluent in conversational and medical French as well as intermediate Spanish.
- Medical/Doctoral Degree: Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery [MB CHB (Edin)] from the University of Edinburgh , Scotland, United Kingdom, 2000
- Residency: NHS, Lister Hospital, Stevenage, Hertfordshire, U.K. General Surgery 2004-2006 Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, Hospital Avicenne, Bobigny France , Cardio-Thoracic and Vascular Surgery 2002-2003;
- Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, Hôpital Jean Verdier, Bondy, France 2002 General and Gastro-Intestinal Surgery, Laparoscopic Surgery 2002
- Other Degrees/Training:
- Chamberlain University College of Health Professions: Masters in Public Health 2023
- Keller Graduate School of Management MBA with Concentration in Health Sciences 2012
- Royal College of Surgeons in Edinburgh MRCS Edin 2005
- Université Paris 13, U.F.R. Santé Médecine et Biologie Humaine “Leonardo de Vinci”, Bobigny, France A.F.S.A. General & Digestive Surgery 2002
- Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, Paris Isle-de-France-OUEST, Garches, France A.F.S. Vascular Surgery 2003
- American College of Surgeons Advance Trauma and Life Support (ATLS) Certification 2022
- Developing Faculty Competencies in Assessment: A Course to Achieve the Goals of Competency-Based Medical Education (CBME) November 2015
- Online Teacher Training For The Caribbean (13th. Edition) May 18- June 26-30 2023
- Sexual Assault Management Workshop May 7, May 20, 2023
- Behavioral Economics for Better Public Policies, BancoInteramericano de Desarrollo May 2022
- Fundamentals of Assessment Medical Education (F.A.M.E.) Certification
- Care of the Critical Ill Surgical Patient ( CCrISP)
- Early Detection and Diagnosis
- Breast Cancer
- Limited Resource Countries
- Community Participatory Research
- Epidemiology of Breast Cancer in the Caribbean
- Cultural Competency
- Curriculum Design
- Public Health Medicine
- DeVry 10-Year Service Award, December 2016
- Excellence in Clinical Curriculum Development, RUSM Education Summit, March 2015
- DeVry Award of Excellence, April 2009
- Clifton Dupigny Community College, Class Valedictorian, 1993
- Breast Surgical Oncology, Teaching Clinical Medicine, Clinical research in Improving Early Detection and Diagnosis of Breast Cancer in Limited Resource Countries, Encouraging Medical Student Participation in Clinical Research, Health Sciences Management, Clinical Curriculum Development and Implementation, Teaching Medical Students about Intimate Partner Violence, Cultural Humility and Cultural Competence, Implicit Bias management, Covid-19, public health
- Collaborator: Evaluation of An Innovative Telemedicine Educational Program, Tele-Ambulatory Health Care Experience (Tele-HCE) for Quality Improvement. Ross University School of Medicine.
- Collaborator: Evaluating validity and reliability of the Advanced Interview Skill Training examination of fourth and fifth semester students, at Ross University School of Medicine. Ross University School of Medicine.
- Principal Investigator: Cultural Humility: Building Life-long Capacity for Cultural Competence. Ross University School of Medicine.
- Collaborator (Principal Investigator-Dominica); “Evaluation of Genetic Risk in Caribbean Women with Breast or Ovarian Cancer” collaboration with the Campbell Family Institute for Breast Cancer Research Princess Margaret Hospital), Biobank (Toronto General Hospital), Ontario, Canada, and University of Miami Medical School, Miami.
- Funding amount: USD 2,000,000.00, Source: Susan G. Komen Foundation.
- Principal Investigator: “Improving Breast Cancer Care in the Commonwealth of Dominica - a Limited Resource Country.” Funding amount: USD 10,000.00, Source: Ross University School of Medicine
- Resiere, D., Mehdaoui, H., Dyer, H., Chabartier, C., Cabié, A., Inamo, J., Compton, K., Neviere, R., Megarbane, B., & Kallel, H. (2021). Covid-19 in the Caribbean: lessons learned from the ongoing international medical and scientific cooperation. Globalization and health, 17(1), 55. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12992-021-00706- 3
- George, S., Donenberg, T., Alexis, C., DeGennaro, V., Jr, Dyer, H., Yin, S., Ali, J., Butler, R., Chin, S. N., Curling, D., Lowe, D., Lunn, J., Turnquest, T., Wharfe, G., Cerbon, D., Barreto-Coelho, P., Schlumbrecht, M. P., Akbari, M. R., Narod, S. A., & Hurley, J. E. (2021). Gene Sequencing for Pathogenic Variants Among Adults With Breast and Ovarian Cancer in the Caribbean. JAMA network open, 4(3), e210307. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.0307
- Dyer H, Stelly D, LeFever Watson G, 2020, 'Intimate Partner Violence: Using Standardized Patients to Improve Trauma-Informed Care in the era of the Covid-19 Pandemic', MedEdPublish, 9, [1], 79, https://doi.org/10.15694/mep.2020.000079.1 (Authors contributed equally)
- Sanchez-Covarrubias A, Cerbon D, Barreto-Coelho P, Donenberg T, Akbari M, Ali, J, Butler R, Curling D, Dodds L, DeGennaro V, Dyer H, Halliday D, Narod S, Reis I, Schlumbrecht M, Turnquest T, Wharfe G, Hurley J, George S (2020). Reproductive risk factor patterns in the Caribbean affecting Breast cancer age of onset. American Society of Clinical Oncology 2020 meeting. (Authors contributed equally)
- Sophia HL George, Talia Donenberg, Mohammad Akbari, Cheryl Alexis, Gilian Wharfe, Hedda Dyer, Sook Yin, Theodore Turnquest, Jameel Ali, Vincent DeGennaro Jr., Steven A. Narod and Judith Hurley (2016) Abstract B50: Breast cancer in the Caribbean – A six-country cohort; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev March 1 2016 (25) (3 Supplement) B50; DOI: 10.1158/1538-7755.DISP15-B5. (Authors contributed equally)
- Sophia HL George, Talia Donenberg, Mohammed Akbari, Cheryl Alexis, Gillian Wharfe, Sook Yin, Hedda Dyer, Theodore Turnquest, Vincent DeGennaro, Steven Narod and Judith Hurley Abstract P3-08-06: Demographics of breast cancer in a cohort of Afro-Caribbean women Cancer Res May 1 2015 (75) (9 Supplement) P3-08-06; DOI: 10.1158/1538-7445.SABCS14-P3-08-06. (Authors contributed equally)
- Sophia H.L. George, Sophia H.L. George, Judith Hurley, Talia Donenberg, Hedda Dyer, Anca Milea, Anca Milea, Patricia A. Shaw, Patricia A. Shaw and Patricia A. Shaw (2014)Abstract PL03-01: Origins of ovarian cancer, the biology of premalignancy, and cancer health disparities; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev November 1 2014 (23) (11 Supplement) PL03-01; DOI: 10.1158/1538-7755.DISP13-PL03-01. (Authors contributed equally)
- Talia Donenberg, Sophia George, Mohammad Akbari, Cheryl Alexis, Gillian Wharfe, Sook Yin, Hedda Dyer, Theodore Turnquest, Steven A. Narod, Judith Hurley, (2014) Abstract P012: Evaluation of Bahamian BRCA Founder Mutations in the Caribbean. Proffered papers and posters submitted to the Fifth International Symposium on Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer, BRCA: Twenty Years of Advances. (2014). Current Oncology, 21(2), e358–e391. https://doi.org/10.3747/co.21.2077.
(Authors contributed equally) - Sanchez-Covarrubias, A. P., Chery, M. J., Barreto-Coehlo, P., Alexis, C., Ali, J., Diaz-Barbe, A., Butler, R., Bowe, S., Curling, D., DeGennaro, V., Dodds, L. V., Dyer, H., Halliday, D., Jeudin, P., Lowe, D., Samaroo, K., Wharfe, G., Schlumbrecht, M., Reis, I. M., Hurley, J., … George, S. (2024). Reproductive Risk Factor Patterns in Caribbean Women With Breast Cancer Across 4 Generations. JAMA network open, 7(10), e2438091. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.38091
- Rose, I. D., Murray, C., Hodges, A. M., Dyer, H., & Wallace, S. (2023). Perceived Role of the School Nurse in Providing Pertinent COVID-19 Information to the School Community: Experiences of Public Health Graduate Students With School-Aged Children. The Journal of school nursing : the official publication of the National Association of School Nurses, 10598405231193429. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/10598405231193429
- Resiere, D., Mehdaoui, H., Dyer, H., Chabartier, C., Cabié, A., Inamo, J., Compton, K., Neviere, R., Megarbane, B., & Kallel, H. (2021). Covid-19 in the Caribbean: lessons learned from the ongoing international medical and scientific cooperation. Globalization and health, 17(1), 55. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12992-021-00706-3
- George, S., Donenberg, T., Alexis, C., DeGennaro, V., Jr, Dyer, H., Yin, S., Ali, J., Butler, R., Chin, S. N., Curling, D., Lowe, D., Lunn, J., Turnquest, T., Wharfe, G., Cerbon, D., Barreto-Coelho, P., Schlumbrecht, M. P., Akbari, M. R., Narod, S. A., & Hurley, J. E. (2021). Gene Sequencing for Pathogenic Variants Among Adults With Breast and Ovarian Cancer in the Caribbean. JAMA network open, 4(3), e210307. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.0307
- Dyer H, Stelly D, LeFever Watson G, 2020, 'Intimate Partner Violence: Using Standardized Patients to Improve TraumaInformed Care in the era of the Covid-19 Pandemic', MedEdPublish, 9, [1], 79, https://doi.org/10.15694/mep.2020.000079.1
- Member of Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh
- Member of the General Medical Council of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
- Member of the Barbados Medical Council
- Member of the Barbados Association of Medical Practitioners (BAMP)
- Member of African Caribbean Cancer Consortium ( AC3)
- Member of Association of Medical Educators of Europe (AMEE)
- Member of Dominican Medical Association
- Member of American Society of Breast Surgeons
- Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) Certification, Biomedical Research, June 2020 - June 2023
- RUSM Certificate 305- Teaching and Learning in Medical Education (Medical Sciences) Bridgetown, Barbados, November 2019
- TBLC Fundamentals Track Workshops, July 2019
- American Heart Association Basic Life Support Skills (CPR and AED) Program, Knoxville, Tennessee, June 2018
- Essentials of Proposal Writing Online Workshop, August 2018
- American College of Surgeons Advance Trauma and Life Support (ATLS) Certification, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2017, 2022
- Developing Faculty Competencies in Assessment: A Course to Achieve the Goals of Competency-Based Medical Education (CBME), November 2015
- Basic Research Skills Certification: Caribbean Health Research Council 56th Annual Council & Scientific Meeting, Guyana, April 2011
- Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) Certification, University of Miami, 2010
- American Society of Breast Surgeons Basic Breast Ultrasound, May 2008
- Fundamentals of Assessment Medical Education (F.A.M.E.) Certification, September 2008
- Core Skills in Oncoplastic and Breast Reconstruction Surgery, September 2007
- Teaching the Teachers to Teach Course, May 2006
- Basic Laparoscopic Skills Course, November 2005
- Care of the Critically Ill Surgical Patient (CCrISP) Certification, January 2005
- United States Medical Licensing Examinations (USMLE)/Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates, Permanent Certification, January 2004
- Basic Surgical Skills, November 2003