The Ottawa Conferences on the Assessment of Competence in Medicine and the Healthcare Professions were set up by Professor Ian Hart (Ottawa, Canada) and Professor Ronald Harden (Dundee, UK) in 1985
The Ian Hart Award for Innovation in Medical Education is made in memory of the late Ian Ritchie Hart, who was a leader in medical education with an international reputation.
A conference was held in Ottawa in June 1985. Initially it was planned that 60 to 100 would participate. In the event, 250 participants came from 19 countries and four continents.
