"The goal of a CME AWAY® conference by Sea Courses is to provide the very best opportunity for health care professionals to not only LEARN but to CONNECT with peers in a stimulating yet RELAXING environment."
CME AWAY® by Sea Courses provides physicians and other health care workers the opportunity to explore the world, learn about their profession and connect with their peers. Freed from the interruptions and hectic pace of everyday life, conference attendees have the opportunity to embrace learning with renewed enthusiasm.
The Sea Courses’ team specializes in creating the ideal CME experience that combines quality education with an experiential journey. We offer cruises and land trips to parts of the world that are not only vacation experiences, but learning experiences as well. Our goal is first and foremost to deliver the very best CME program. But in addition to this and recognizing the limited time physicians have available away from their practice, we also want to deliver the very best vacation experience. One reason that our conferences are so highly rated is because we’ve made it our business to anticipate the needs and desires of our guests. We firmly believe that by taking care of all the details of your travel, we will enhance the learning aspect of your CME AWAY® experience. You will quickly realize the incredible value with combining continuing education with a trip away from home. Our surveys continue to validate that destination CME’s offer three key advantages over traditional local classroom CME events:
Participants have extended opportunities to interact formally and informally with faculty and peers.
Sessions occur throughout the entire duration of your trip, allowing time for reflection and further questioning of what has been learned.
Attendees not only come from several disciplines and health professions, but also from many provinces, states and countries – all of which adds to the group interactive discussions,
Even though your primary goal is to be educated, you will accomplish so much more on a CME AWAY® by Sea Courses … The health benefits of time away, the learning experience that is a big part of travelling the world, a vacation experience with family and colleagues. These are the unique advantages of the Sea Courses’ CME AWAY® environment.
Who We Are
Sea Courses is recognized as Canada’s leader in CME (Continuing Medical Education) seminars. We are the only company in Canada with a primary focus and mandate of providing physicians with a range of CME AWAY® opportunities on cruise ships, at resorts and on custom designed tours. Founded in 1995 by Dr. Martin Gerretsen and Mr. Harvey Strydhorst, the company was specifically designed and developed to provide physicians and allied healthcare partners with continuing education courses. On June 30, 2015 Sea Courses merged with Ontario based travel agency group, Uniglobe Adventure House Travel. This is a Canadian owned and operated independent agency led by Mr. Ron Dawick, a travel industry leader with over 52 years of retail travel, airline and tour operator management experience.
What We Do
We provide physicians and allied health care partners with continuing education courses on board cruise ships, at select resorts and on custom designed tours around the world. Along with all the newly expanded Sea Courses team, the founders Martin Gerretsen and Harvey Strydhorst continue their pivotal roles in the merged operation. The company now offers:
CME conferences on land, at sea and on tours
Expanded full travel services including air arrangements, travel insurance and any additional travel arrangements required
New technology/resources to further ease the booking process
Principles of CME Programmes
Live, accredited courses for health care professionals
Evidence-based with practical pearls and take-home messages
Opportunities for in depth discussions and case study evaluations
Unbiased and with no pharma-industry sponsorship
Opportunities for networking between faculty and participants
Opportunities to foster health, wellness and rejuvenation
About Our Faculty
The Faculty members for each Sea Courses program are carefully selected. Faculty are chosen based on their knowledge of their subjects, their presentation skills based on previous evaluations as well as input from various sources and their ability to transfer knowledge in the most effective and entertaining manner. Both their topics and their learning objectives are reviewed by the planning committee for that program. Many of the Faculty have been involved in the development of National Guidelines and been involved in the development and review of many CE presentations. As our courses are designed to allow for maximum interaction between faculty and attendees, we look for speakers/presenters that can work as a team and are open to feedback and discussion.
Our History
Sea Courses came into being in 1995. It was the creation of family physician Dr. Martin Gerretsen and his business partner Mr. Harvey Strydhorst. The first CME AWAY® trip operated in 1996 and this has been followed by almost 400 more trips since then.
Initially all trips were on cruise ships. The daily itineraries made for the ideal situation, i.e. having classroom sessions while at sea, leaving participants free time in the ports of call. Survey results provided the company with ideas for new cruise destinations. But, the survey results also indicated that physicians would welcome land tours as well and these were introduced to compliment the cruise offerings. The key elements that research indicated physicians were looking for were a medical learning experience, the opportunity to explore and learn about different cultures and time to relax with family. All CME AWAY® programmes are certified by the College of Family Physicians of Canada.
In 2015, the company was acquired by Ron Dawick, a travel industry leader with over 45 years of airline, tour operator and retail travel experience. The travel agency team now helps CME AWAY® participants with all of their travel needs making CME AWAY® by Sea Courses a truly one stop CME and travel provider.
Commitment
CME AWAY® by Sea Courses provides physicians and other health care workers the opportunity to explore the world, learn about their profession and connect with their peers. Freed from the interruptions and hectic pace of everyday life, conference attendees have the opportunity to embrace learning with renewed enthusiasm.
The Sea Courses’ team specializes in creating the ideal CME experience that combines quality education with an experiential journey. We offer cruises and land trips to parts of the world that are not only vacation experiences, but learning experiences as well. Our goal is first and foremost to deliver the very best CME program. But in addition to this and recognizing the limited time physicians have available away from their practice, we also want to deliver the very best vacation experience. One reason that our conferences are so highly rated is because we’ve made it our business to anticipate the needs and desires of our guests. We firmly believe that by taking care of all the details of your travel, we will enhance the learning aspect of your CME AWAY® experience. You will quickly realize the incredible value with combining continuing education with a trip away from home. Our surveys continue to validate that destination CME’s offer three key advantages over traditional local classroom CME events:
Participants have extended opportunities to interact formally and informally with faculty and peers.
Sessions occur throughout the entire duration of your trip, allowing time for reflection and further questioning of what has been learned.
Attendees not only come from several disciplines and health professions, but also from many provinces, states and countries – all of which adds to the group interactive discussions,
Even though your primary goal is to be educated, you will accomplish so much more on a CME AWAY® by Sea Courses … The health benefits of time away, the learning experience that is a big part of travelling the world, a vacation experience with family and colleagues. These are the unique advantages of the Sea Courses’ CME AWAY® environment.
Who We Are
Sea Courses is recognized as Canada’s leader in CME (Continuing Medical Education) seminars. We are the only company in Canada with a primary focus and mandate of providing physicians with a range of CME AWAY® opportunities on cruise ships, at resorts and on custom designed tours. Founded in 1995 by Dr. Martin Gerretsen and Mr. Harvey Strydhorst, the company was specifically designed and developed to provide physicians and allied healthcare partners with continuing education courses. On June 30, 2015 Sea Courses merged with Ontario based travel agency group, Uniglobe Adventure House Travel. This is a Canadian owned and operated independent agency led by Mr. Ron Dawick, a travel industry leader with over 52 years of retail travel, airline and tour operator management experience.
What We Do
We provide physicians and allied health care partners with continuing education courses on board cruise ships, at select resorts and on custom designed tours around the world. Along with all the newly expanded Sea Courses team, the founders Martin Gerretsen and Harvey Strydhorst continue their pivotal roles in the merged operation. The company now offers:
CME conferences on land, at sea and on tours
Expanded full travel services including air arrangements, travel insurance and any additional travel arrangements required
New technology/resources to further ease the booking process
Principles of CME Programmes
Live, accredited courses for health care professionals
Evidence-based with practical pearls and take-home messages
Opportunities for in depth discussions and case study evaluations
Unbiased and with no pharma-industry sponsorship
Opportunities for networking between faculty and participants
Opportunities to foster health, wellness and rejuvenation
About Our Faculty
The Faculty members for each Sea Courses program are carefully selected. Faculty are chosen based on their knowledge of their subjects, their presentation skills based on previous evaluations as well as input from various sources and their ability to transfer knowledge in the most effective and entertaining manner. Both their topics and their learning objectives are reviewed by the planning committee for that program. Many of the Faculty have been involved in the development of National Guidelines and been involved in the development and review of many CE presentations. As our courses are designed to allow for maximum interaction between faculty and attendees, we look for speakers/presenters that can work as a team and are open to feedback and discussion.
Co-Chairs, Scientific Planning Committee
Medical Advisory Board
Dr. John Axler
MD CCFP FCFP
John Axler MD, CCFP, FCFP is an Assistant Professor in the U of T Faculty of Medicine, Dep’t of Family and Community Medicine. His CME career began in the 1980’s when he organized “The Fundamentals “ at what was then known as the Toronto East General Hospital and has been actively involved in CME since then for over 40 years. He was the Director of Continuing Education Projects for U of T Faculty of Medicine, Dep’t of Family and Community Medicinefrom 2003 to 2011 and was then the Director of Continuing Education from 2011 to 2016. He was the Course Director for Saturday at the University and the Course Director for Pri-Med (formerly Primary Care Today) from it’s inauguration in 2003 until 2012. He currently is the co-director of CME AWAY® by Sea Courses and Director of Medical Affairs for the International Centre for Evidence Based Medicine. He is the 2009-2010 co-winner of the U of T faculty of Medicine Colin Woolf award for Long Term Contribution to Continuing Education and the 2011 co-winner of the DFCM award for ex-cellence in CME. He has helped develop over 300 certified CME programs, the Course Director of over 130 CME conferences , an invited speaker to over 100 CME programs and an author or co-author of over 100 published articles. He was in full time active family practice and on active staff at MGH from 1969 to 2012 and has since done locums at the Albany Clinic since 2012.
President & Owner
Management
SuZanne Gosrani
Burlington, Ontario
Margaret Barrie
Burlington, Ontario
Kirsten Dawick
Burlington, Ontario
Denise Zammit
Burlington, Ontario
Operations & Administration
Patricia Allen
Burlington, Ontario
Karen McCormick
Vancouver, British Columbia
Travel Advisors
Wanda Zadrey
Vancouver, British Columbia
Peter Banh
Vancouver, British Columbia
Rachel Clause
Burlington, Ontario
Ginny Coles
Burlington, Ontario
Lucia Jorge
Burlington, Ontario
Linda Lavoie
Burlington, Ontario
Lisa Metzger
Burlington, Ontario
Telma Prior
Burlington, Ontario
Sea Courses came into being in 1995. It was the creation of family physician Dr. Martin Gerretsen and his business partner Mr. Harvey Strydhorst. The first CME AWAY® trip operated in 1996 and this has been followed by almost 400 more trips since then.
Initially all trips were on cruise ships. The daily itineraries made for the ideal situation, i.e. having classroom sessions while at sea, leaving participants free time in the ports of call. Survey results provided the company with ideas for new cruise destinations. But, the survey results also indicated that physicians would welcome land tours as well and these were introduced to compliment the cruise offerings. The key elements that research indicated physicians were looking for were a medical learning experience, the opportunity to explore and learn about different cultures and time to relax with family. All CME AWAY® programmes are certified by the College of Family Physicians of Canada.
In 2015, the company was acquired by Ron Dawick, a travel industry leader with over 45 years of airline, tour operator and retail travel experience. The travel agency team now helps CME AWAY® participants with all of their travel needs making CME AWAY® by Sea Courses a truly one stop CME and travel provider.
1-800-268-3273
cruises@seacourses.com
