Dr. William McCready, associate dean of faculty affairs at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM), has been honoured by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario. Described by his colleagues as an “outstanding physician,” Dr. McCready was instrumental in the establishment of a renal unit at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre and has been a driving force in the development and growth of medical training in Northern Ontario.

Dr. McCready graduated from Queen’s University in Belfast, Northern Ireland in 1975, became a research fellow at Toronto Western Hospital in 1979, and soon thereafter entered residency training in nephrology, completing his training in Toronto and Saskatoon. In 1982, he relocated to Thunder Bay, where he led the way in the creation of an outstanding renal dialysis care team for the community.

Dr. McCready has been teaching residents in the former Northwestern Ontario Medical Program (NOMP) since 1982. This interest led to his roles as specialty coordinator in Family Medicine North, elective co-ordinator for NOMP and, finally, as chair of NOMP.

During his tenure as chair, postgraduate programs in the Royal College specialties were started in partnership with McMaster University. He also participated in the efforts to ensure the Northern Ontario School of Medicine became a true pan-Northern institution.