Harmen Tiddens (1923–2002): A butterfly’s impact on medical education

The history of medical education scholarship is often overlooked. Moreover, although productive educational researchers are often recognized for their scholarly contributions in peer-reviewed publications, the impact of others who are not active medical education researchers may be unknown to contemporary educators and scholars. This short paper describes the contributions of Harmen Tiddens, MD PhD to Utrecht and Maastricht Universities where he established the environment and supports for scholars to undertake profoundly influential work. Through his leadership as the founding Dean of Maastricht’s new medical school, Dr. Tiddens facilitated educational principles that became exemplary for generations of health professions education scholars and curriculum developers, nationally and internationally.