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Message from the President and CEO Through a strong commitment to creativity, innovation, and excellence in education, our organization continues to solidify its reputation as a leader in teaching. As in years past, 2008 proved to be very positive on a number of fronts. Not only is UHN training more health profesRobert Bell, MD, CM, MSc, FACS, FRCSC President and CEO sional students than ever before, but we continue to make significant strides in student satisfaction. Our ratings from trainees across various disciplines are higher than they’ve ever been, and our popularity as a teaching site for postgraduate medical residents has reached an unprecedented high. This past year, planning was undertaken to expand education space at UHN to accommodate the continued growth in studentship. We are also well underway to establishing a strong program in clinical simulation, based at Toronto Western Hospital. This effort has been strongly aided by our Vice-President of Education, Dr. Richard Reznick, who has substantial expertise in the field of simulated learning. Providing our students with the opportunity to learn through simulation will not only provide them with invaluable training opportunities, but will enhance patient safety by ensuring that trainees reach a certain level of competency before practicing in a clinical setting. As learning through simulation becomes increasingly prevalent in the education of future health care practitioners, UHN will continue in its efforts to make it a part of its training programs. Our scholarly productivity in the area of health professional education research continues to thrive. Since its inception ten years ago, the Wilson Centre has become an international leader in this very important field of study. Year after year, its researchers and scientists continue to be published broadly in major academic publications, garner prestigious awards, and receive invitations from around the world to share their considerable knowledge. Over the years, UHN has also developed a strong level of expertise in the area of Interprofessional Education. This is highly significant as interprofessional care is seen as an important means by which to address the serious shortage of the health care professionals that exists in this country. Providing students with a solid background in the concepts of interprofessional care will prepare them to work collaboratively using a team approach once they move to the practice setting. This past year, further plans were put in place to establish an IPE Centre, which when fully realized, will be jointly housed at UHN and the Toronto Rehab Institute, and serve the University of Toronto’s affiliated teaching hospitals, as well as students in its health science faculties. As one of the two “hub” sites of this Centre, we will be able to build on our successes in this area, and play an instrumental role in further advancing IPE and influencing the way health professionals are trained. Through our balanced scorecard, we have been tracking various education measures over the past several years. Since all of these indicators have demonstrated improvement, going forward we will find new areas to focus our efforts on to enhance our tradition of excellence in academics and teaching. The continued work that is occurring in this area will undoubtedly ensure that the education of health professionals remains a cornerstone of our organization’s mission. Dr. Robert Bell, President and CEO –1– Report from Dr. Richard Reznick, Vice-President, Education at UHN This past year was one of strong progress for education at UHN. The Wilson Centre, successfully completed an external review, and its Director, Dr. Brian Hodges was re-appointed for another 5-year term. Dr. Hodges’ vision, skill, and Richard Reznick, MD, MEd, FRCSC, FACS dedication have Vice-President, Education contributed in no small part to the success of the Centre. The Wilson Centre has made a significant contribution to the advancement of research in education around the world, as well as the enhancement of our organization’s profile. In 2008, we made considerable steps toward our goal of expanding the use of simulation technology for teaching and learning across UHN’s programs. Fundraising efforts were kick started to establish a telesimulation program based at Toronto Western Hospital. When fully realized, this endeavor will have a significant impact on the education of our health professional trainees and students, and provide our organization’s clinicians with important continuing education opportunities. Its strength will be further bolstered by UHN’s involvement in the newly established Network of Excellence in Simulation for Clinical Teaching and Learning (NESCTL), which seeks to augment the use of simulated teaching and learning across the health professions, by linking simulation facilities and resources at multiple sites across the city. Over the years, the Office of Interprofessional Educational (IPE), under the leadership of Dr. Ivy Oandasan, has been successful in creating courses to enable educators and practitioners to learn the fundamentals of IPE. The number of UHN staff who completed training offered by the Office of IPE rose dramatically this year, and has been instrumental in allowing the concept of interprofessional care to take a foothold over our hospital’s culture.The IPE Centre that is currently being proposed will allow these accomplishments to continue and substantially broaden the reach of IPE. In 2008, John Vincent, a UHN Spiritual Care Manager initiated a pilot program in Inter-Professional Development & Education in Spirituality. It was an opportunity for UHN physicians and staff from all health care disciplines to engage in a reflection model of education focusing on the use of spirituality. This cutting-edge program was the first of its kind in Canada, and was very well received by all participants. Most importantly, it demonstrates another example of how the concept of the healthcare team is gaining traction in our organization. This past year we have focused on trainee satisfaction in our Balanced Scorecard. We have seen increases in both medical and nursing student satisfaction with respect to their teachers and to their programs. We are extremely pleased with all the goals we have met and proud of the achievements we have had to date. The credit for these successes goes entirely to all of our professional teaching staff, who day in and day out show an incredible dedication to training the next generation of healthcare workers. –2– 2009 Advisory Council on Education Since its inception in 1999, this committee has met bi-monthly to provide a forum for educational leaders across all of the health professions at UHN to meet and oversee, from a governance perspective, education at University Health Network. These meetings ensure that there is an on-going vehicle to provide dialogue across the professions and institutions that make up UHN as well as to continue the promotion and implementation of interprofessionalism. Advisory Council on Education 2008 are: Dr. Richard Reznick, Vice-President of Education, Chair Dr. Pamela Catton, Director, Oncology Education Dr. Jacqueline James, Director, Wightman-Berris Academy Mary Ferguson-Pare, PhD, Chief Nursing Executive Claire Mallette, PhD, Director, Nursing Education, Placement & Development Karim Bandali, PhD, Director, Academic Strategic Advancement, Michener Institue Emily Musing, Director, Pharmacy Administration Maggie Jugenburg, Manager, Corporate Planning Anne-Marie Smith, Eating Disorders, Day Centre Maria Tassone, Director, Allied Health Bogusia Trojan, Director, Libraries John Vincent, Senior Chaplain, Chaplaincy Michael Wong, Education Coordinator, Pharmacy Admin Anne Marie Holmes, Manager, Medical Education Office Paula Cripps-McMartin, Manager, Allied Health, Physiotherapy Margaret Duff, Coordinator, Nursing Education and Research Lisa Durkin, Practice Leader Allied Health, Clinical Nutrition Venita Indewey, Director, Human Resources, Organization, and Employee Development –3– Studentship at UHN (2008) 3488 Students Library & Info Services(2) Pharmacy (106) Allied Health (214)* Michener Institute (64) Nursing (1100) Medicine (2002) * Includes OT, PT, SLP, Nutrition, Chaplaincy, Psychology, Social Work, Allied Health Admin, Medical Engineering –4– Wightman-Berris Academy Faculty of Medicine, UHN The Wightman-Berris Academy is the largest of the University of Toronto’s academies and home to more than 400 medical students every year as well as several hundred elective students from the rest of Canada and around the world. In 2008, we enrolled 98 of the 224 first year students in the Faculty of Medicine for their preclerkship and 104 third year students for clerkship. The University Health Network partners with Mount Sinai Hospital to form the Academy and collaborates with a number of community hospitals and agencies around the GTA to ensure that our students receive the highest quality educational experiences ranging from primary ambulatory care and public health to highly specialized internationally renowned clinical programs. The Wightman-Berris Academy is considered highly desirable by the student body, being the first choice as academy site for students entering the University of Toronto in 2008. The Academy office recruited over 500 tutors in the preclerkship to fulfill the need for teaching our students in small clinical groups, problem-based learning groups Jacqueline Elizabeth James, BSc, MD, MEd, FRCPC, Director and seminars. We secured approximately 100 individual research placements for our second year students. The Academy staff facilitates the important task of evaluating both faculty and students on activities taking place here. In the clinical clerkship, supervision is generally on a oneto-one basis for 16 clinical rotations. Our tutors continued to receive outstanding ratings for teaching effectiveness. Preclerkship-Years 1 and 2 Students come to the Academy to learn the skills of history taking and physical examination in a course called the Art and Science of Clinical Medicine. They explore etiology, pathophysiology, and diagnostic and management strategies in problem-based learning sessions and seminars in courses coordinated and housed at the Academy called Metabolism and Nutrition, Brain and Behaviour, Pathobiology of Disease and Foundations of Medical Practice. The Helliwell Centre at TGH not only forms the hub of activities for our own students, but is open to medical students from across the campus for use for study sessions and peer teaching groups. State of the art computers, printers and plasma screens have been added to enhance the learning experience at the TWH Medical Education site. When students are learning in facilities outside the UHN, the Academy has ensured that they have educational and diagnostic equipment for use so that they feel at home when away from home. We have partnered very successfully with Credit Valley and Toronto East General Hospitals to provide clinical teaching for the Art and Science of Clinical Medicine for groups of first and second year students. In the Determinants of Community Health students are exposed to an interdisciplinary approach to community health in Year 1 and an individual research project in Year 2. Several DOCH projects conducted at the UHN have been published. The Academy has a well-received mentorship program for preclerkship which pairs students with a physician in a discipline of their choice. Mentors can provide an opportunity for guidance, role modeling and career exploration for our students. A successful new program, called “VIP at the WB” was launched this year to recruit and prepare volunteer ambulatory patients to interact in clinical skills teaching sessions. The students learn how to take medical histories and examine these patient volunteers who can share their own medical stories with the students. This program enhances existing exposure students have to inpatients. The patients, tutors and students have found the program enriching and rewarding. –5– Wightman-Berris Academy Faculty of Medicine, UHN Cont’d. Clerkship-Years 3 and 4 Clerkship begins with Passport to Clerkship, introducing many of the challenges and excitement of this new phase in the student’s medical education. In clerkship, students become an integral part of the health care teams in our clinics and wards, performing diagnostic and therapeutic procedures with a graded level of responsibility, and being “on call” , while still continuing to learn and study. They continue to develop the profession’s roles of manager, communicator, advocate, scholar and medical expert under the excellent role modeling of our faculty. In departmentally based rotations such as Medicine, Surgery, Family Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Psychiatry, Pediatrics, Diagnostic Imaging and Emergency Medicine, clerks learn more advanced clinical skills from our faculty, residents, and allied health partners. Given the depth and breath of our clinical programs, students have considerable choice of the type of clinical exposure they feel would be most beneficial to them. The UHN is an extremely popular site for elective students. In 2008 we had over 400 elective students, approximately 200 from other universities in Canada, and 100 international students. Eight clinical clerks were awarded the Golden Stethoscope Award in 2008. This award recognizes students with characteristics that make them “the kind of student that you would wish to walk into your room if you were a patient" and is made possible by a generous donation from Mr. Robert Burton. Interprofessional Education Pilot interprofessional educational placements for students on general internal medicine and psychiatry have been planned. These learning experiences are designed to bring learners from different health care professions together to learn about and from each other around a clinical case. The aim of these programs is to prepare students for their future role in caring for patients as part of an interdisciplinary team and to lay the foundation for a fundamental understanding of how to provide excellent patient care through improved communication, collaboration and management skills. The doors of the Helliwell Centre are now open to students in the University of Toronto’s Rehabilitation Medicine and Speech-Language Pathology programs. We encourage these students to use study space, lounge facilities and computer labs along side medical students with the hope of fostering collegial interactions between disciplines in a less structured way. Faculty Development The Helliwell Centre is host to several faculty development sessions annually, providing space and equipment for use by course directors and members of the Centre for Faculty development to hold educational sessions. Our large classroom allows for teleconferencing for distributed educational events. Information Systems Our students have unrestricted access to computer labs and seminar rooms are equipped for wireless connectivity to keep up with the demand for electronic communication systems which enhance their ability to research medical topics and access up to date learning materials. –6– Residents and Fellows University Health Network is one of the largest teaching hospitals in Canada. We train future physicians at all levels, including undergraduate medical education, postgraduate medical education, and fellowship education. Arguably, our specialized programs provide a perfect environment for our residents and fellows. We have training programs in 44 Royal College specialties. Fuelled by a positive and highly supportive accreditation in 2007, our residency programs continue to flourish and UHN, in many if not most programs, is amongst the top hospital of choice for our trainees. Not only do our residents find our very challenging patient population to be of great educational benefit, they also are appreciative of the tremendous infrastructure we have for clinical care and training, in particular a sophisticated IT operation that includes a state-of-the-art patient record and a virtual library. In addition to our large residency program, in the past year we trained 584 clinical fellows from 59 countries. This is a fundamental part of our teaching program and distinguishes our hospital from many others in the province. It strengthens our mission of a focus on reaching beyond our hospital walls to our community, to our country, and indeed globally. In addition to clinical training, this past year UHN trained 34 research fellows. Most of these individuals are engaged in scientific quests through our research institutes and are actively pursuing a Masters’ degree or Ph.D. degree. Finally, it is important to emphasize that not only do our trainees benefit from the excellent teaching that they get from our faculty, but our faculty are indeed enriched by our residents and fellows who play an invaluable role in helping inpatient care, are often central to our research mission, and most of all, challenge us to reflect on our practices and continue to improve. Richard K. Reznick, MD, MEd, FRCSC, FACS Vice-President Education –7– Nursing New Leadership for Nursing Education Since September 2006, Dr. Claire Mallette has worked with UHN as the Director of Nursing Education, Placement and Development. Her mandate is to focus on the learning needs of nurses across the learning continuum from the nursing student to the nurse nearing retirement. She has re-energized UHN’s group of nursing educators, and has worked to ensure that UHN has a strong program to enable newly graduated RNs to transition from the role of student to that of Registered Nurse. In collaboration with internal and external partners, new programs in undergraduate and graduate studies are being developed for UHN nurses and students. Student Education During 2008, UHN provided 1069 nursing student placements.This is a slight increase in the total number of students from 2007. In addition, the focus of education is gradually shifting away from continuing education programs, toward placements leading to an undergraduate or graduate degree. Nursing at UHN places its Nursing Student Placements at UHN main emphasis on students 2007 2008 from the local nursing programs at University of Toronto,York University, Ryerson University, and Humber Institute of Advanced Undergraduate 741 829 Learning and Technology. UHN attracts a small number of Graduate 33 50 students from universities across Canada; often these students are Other 221 190 attracted to UHN because of its reputation, and because they hope to work at UHN after graduation. UHN is a member of the Hospital Total 1002 1069 University Nursing Education Committee (HUNEC), an education advisory committee comprised of members from the Lawrence Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, University of Toronto and affiliated teaching hospitals. The purpose of this committee is to facilitate and sustain innovation and excellence in nursing education at the University of Toronto. Once again this year, University Health Network is collaborating with the Lawrence Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing to provide an Agency Based Clinical experience for a cohort of students who will graduate in spring 2009, and for a second cohort of students who will graduate in spring 2010. In this education model, students will have all clinical placements (except long term care, obstetrics, and pediatrics) at UHN throughout their BScN program. Claire Mallette, RN, PhD Director of Nursing Education, Placement & Development Staff Education and Professional Development Many nurses will say that a key reason they choose to work at UHN is the availability of ongoing opportunities for learning and professional development. At UHN a group of 36 Educators and 3 Nursing Education Coordinators offer educational support to nursing staff. The number of Educators working at UHN is continuing to grow. In 2008, several Educators were hired into temporary positions to specifically focus on supporting new graduates in their first few months of employment. Feedback from new graduates indicated that support from Educators was a crucial part of their successful orientation to UHN. –8– Nursing Cont’d. UHN provides all newly hired nurses with a comprehensive orientation program. In 2008, 132 experienced nurses were hired and oriented to UHN. In addition, supported by the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care New Graduate Initiative, 221 new graduates participated in a two-week program of classes, eLearning courses, and computer training, followed by a twelve-week unit-based orientation and mentorship tailored to individual learning needs. UHN continues to use the Lawrence Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing Simulation Lab during initial orientation, and for a call-back day held six-weeks after hire. UHN’s acute care and critical care units require nurses to have specialized knowledge and skills. UHN sponsors staff nurses to attend specialty courses as part of the standard orientation to specialized units or departments. During 2008, UHN sponsored 47 nurses to attend the High Acuity program, and 42 nurses to attend the Critical Care Nursing Program at the Humber Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning. As a result of the influx of baccalaureate-prepared new graduates during 2008, approximately 40% of UHN’s nurses have now achieved at least a baccalaureate degree. Since 60% of UHN’s nurses are prepared at the diploma level, UHN continues to provide space for two cohorts of the Ryerson University 19 BScN degree completion program on site. This program is popular with UHN’s seasoned RNs who wish to pursue a BScN degree. Degree Preparation Statistics for UHN Nurses - 2008 Total RNs Highest degree obtained: undergraduate degree Highest degree obtained: graduate degree Total RNs with degrees RNs with undergraduate degree in progress RNs with graduate degree in progress 3097 1095 115 1210 236 76 35% 4% 39% ELearning at UHN Nursing continues to expand the use of eLearning for our staff, nursing students and new hires. In 2008 we offered more than 30 web-based courses and established web-based registration for over 100 instructor led-classes. This year we also focused on the management and reporting capabilities of the system – providing managers with the ability to view staff’s training activities, and greatly expanded our reporting capabilities. Nursing has become a leader in the implementation of eLearning throughout the organization and continues to build on this strength by incorporating some of the latest learning technologies such as avatars, mobile learning strategies and other web-based learning activities into our course offerings. –9– Nursing Cont’d. UHN offers a scholarship program to support nurses in their formal education programs; 23 scholarships were presented to nurses in the 2007/2008 academic year. Nurses receiving UHN Scholarships in 2007-2008 Orma L. Benson Scholarship Joyce Hill, RN – CIU, TWH Cathy Johnson, Project Manager – Nursing Informatics, UHN Bolton Family Fund Scholarship Joanne Hunter, Primary Care Nurse Practitioner - Family and Community Health, TWH Kathleen Butcher Scholarship Hagar Arkhurst, RN - OR, TGH Yau-Fong Cheung Memorial Scholarship Mara Langevin, Clinical Coordinator – Cardiology, TGH Kambria Ernst, Telehealth Coordinator – Nursing Informatics, UHN Frances K. Falconer Nursing Scholarship Leonardo Alfaro, NM – Emergency Department, TWH Mary Ferguson-ParéPrize for Innovation in Nursing Linda Nusdorfer, APN - MSICU, TGH The Frank Gerstein Charitable Foundation Advanced Education Award for Cardiovascular Nursing Farida Roy, RN - CVICU, TGH Juliet Wilson, Clinical Coordinator - Electrophysiology Department, TGH The Frank Gerstein Charitable Foundation Advanced Education Fund for Palliative Care Nursing at Princess Margaret Hospital Julia Rock, RN – 16P, PMH Frank “Chippy” Gross Scholarship Rosalie Magtoto, Clinical Coordinator - Spinal Program, TWH Evelyn Hall Education Award Nancy Shoemaker, RN - 16P, PMH Marianne Johnston Memorial Scholarship Alicia Moonesar, RN – Multi-Organ Transplant, TGH Dr. Susan Lenkei-Kerwin Professional Development Award Helen Pappas, RN – CICU, TGH Lewis Family FundProfessional Development Award For Excellence in Nursing Dorina Baston, Patient Care Coordinator - 4A West, TGH Linda Flockhart, NM – CVICU, TGH Medical Staff Association Nursing Award for End-of-Life Care Jocelyn Brown, RN - 16P, PMH Linda Nusdorfer, APN - MSICU, TGH Nursing and Professional Services Staff Scholarship Leonardo Alfaro, Nurse Manager - Emergency Department, TWH Sophie Rygier Scholarship Joyce Liu, RN – 8A Fell, TWH Ginat Schleifer Nursing Award Scholarship Maya Kubura, RN – 5B West, TGH Ilse Tacoma Nursing Award Scholarship Samantha Mayo, RN – 14B, PMH The Betty Watt Prize for Courageous Leadership in Nursing Nicole Helmer, RN – 17A, PMH Learning is not limited to formal education programs at colleges and universities. UHN nurses participate in a wide variety of learning events offered within the organization. Conferences such as the UHN Nursing Forum, the Krembil Neurosciences Symposium, Nursing Research Day or the Annual Emergency Conference, provide nurses with the opportunity to learn by presenting to their peers, as well as listening to a variety of renowned speakers. Other events such as annual professional development days, online courses, face-to-face in-services and workshops are designed to ensure that nurses stay current with best clinical practices. Together these education events are designed to support a spirit of inquiry and contribute to high quality practice environment for our staff and our patients. A new learning opportunity is being developed with Nipissing University. The Nipissing University initiative is based on the recognition that healthcare organizations in the future will need to support knowledge workers; engage generations of ‘new’ workers; and connect patients and families as partners in health. The aim of the program is to graduate next-generation nurses; practice-ready scholar practitioners, able to re-define the role and practice of Nurses within an interprofessional heath care context. UHN Nurses will have a key role as mentors and faculty in this new program. UHN is currently in a partnership with York University to develop the York-UHN Nursing Academy. The Academy will accelerate the knowledge and practice of nursing in order to promote health locally, nationally and globally and redefine“the possible”in nursing research, education and practice.The Academy will integrate learning and advanced research through two interrelated programs; research, and education and professional development. A Nursing Research Chair, housed at the Academy, will focus primarily on developing a program of research in interprofessional patient centred care. The York Campus will coordinate educational offerings in areas such as patient-centered care, components of a continuum of learning for nurses, work-based learning, leadership and management development, and interprofessional team collaboration. –10– Allied Health Allied Health’s longstanding commitment to education is highly valued and recognized both internally and externally to UHN. Allied Health professionals are educators within our academic affiliates and the national community, providing over 270 supervised clinical and research placements for diploma, undergraduate, postgraduate and fellowship programs. In the past year, Allied Health has taken on new and exciting opportunities that demonstrate our commitment and strength in reflective learning and interprofessional education (IPE). This year, we share with you a sampling of stories that highlight how we live our Allied Health vision of ‘innovation through collaboration’ as we continue to grow our educational enterprise. Integrating Interprofessional Education Placements in Acute Care Allied Health showcased their expertise as educators, facilitators and leaders as UHN piloted the Maria Tassone, first IPE student placements in acute care in Toronto. Sixteen students from allied Director, Allied Health and Professional Practice health, medicine, and nursing participated in two pilots within the Krembil Neuroscience Program (KNP) at TWH and the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre (PMCC) at TGH. Data from students and clinical faculty indicates the experience was highly successful in fostering understanding of IPE concepts. One student noted,“I learned a lot about the roles of different health care professionals and how they impact collaboration. It helped me to improve patient care and provide more holistic care.” Patti McGillicuddy, IPE leader notes,“The placements also enable staff to reflect on their individual and team practice, as well as facilitate collaborative learning opportunities.” The facilitation teams, clinical faculty and hosting units made these placements a huge success and have paved the way for a UHN-wide IPE program. As a balanced score card initiative, IPE placements provide an opportunity to experience interprofessional (IP) collaboration and further enhance education and care for all staff and students. Enabling Collaborative Practice and Educational Excellence Creating the first Allied Health Educator role to promote continuing education and professional development is another example of IP and collaborative leadership. Charlene Reynolds, who is currently in the role, has enabled program activities such as IPE placements; facilitating research to enhance patient care; and IPE rounds that include the whole team. Collaboration with all professions is integral to the role and to the effective functioning of the entire PMCC team. As this role continues to be evaluated over the next year, we look forward to sharing our learnings with other programs at UHN. Leading Patient-Centred Care Education Andrea Sharp, a social worker in the HIV program at TGH, has been working in a seconded role of ‘patient-centred care (PCC) course facilitator’ at UHN. Having co-facilitated and co-designed over 30 comprehensive PCC courses, Andrea has been able to see how Allied Health staff are supported in PCC education. With the support of program leadership, Andrea and her colleagues are providing the three-day comprehensive PCC course to an intact team. “This is the first time that an entire health care team is taking PCC training together,” reports Andrea. “It is really helpful that a team is coming into the course with an existing rapport and that we are seeing good collegial support between staff as they learn from, with and about each other.” Staff and leaders are active participants in this pilot as they work together to create a vision for PCC on their unit. Andrea also sees the benefit of team training in supporting changes in practice. “One of the challenges of PCC training is sustainability and knowing what people need for ongoing support. It is easier to inspire them to take ownership of the values when they are able to support each other in a team setting.” –11– Allied Health Cont’d. Patient-Centred Care in Medical Imaging In Medical Imaging (MI), Julie Mathewson, Professional Practice Leader and Mary May, Charge Technologist have worked with PCC facilitators to create an innovative medical imaging program. Together, they have designed a half-day workshop with training materials and scenarios tailored to their practice. One of the challenges is that a typical patient interaction may be only a few minutes. Julie indicates, the goal of the workshop is for “each staff member to take away one thing that they can do differently in the future to be more patient-centred.” Since the program’s inception, almost 90% of full-time MI staff attended the workshop. The team has experienced positive and innovative changes in practice, such as the development of a wait-times board at PMH, and the creation of patient pamphlets on different imaging modalities. Staff have recognized improvements in practice and the impact on their interactions with patients. One technologist noted, “I always thought I practiced good patient care, but just making one or two minor changes to the way I ask questions has made my interactions with patients even better.”ask questions has made my interactions with patients even better.” Leading Collaborative Learning in Dysphagia Care Eight years ago, Speech-Language Pathologists (SLP) at UHN committed to improving dysphagia care in Toronto by planning monthly education rounds. What started as a small local group of dedicated professionals has now developed into a strong UHN-led provincial group. A member from Baycrest states,“It is an invaluable forum for SLPs across the city, province and country to share cases, research, knowledge and ideas related to practice.” Through of telehealth rounds, this group has expanded to include over 170 members at 30 facilities in 18 cities in Ontario. An indication of the value and quality of the rounds is the fact that this expansion occurred through word of mouth of satisfied participants. Many participants work in remote areas in sole-charge positions with limited peer support and education. These rounds have provided them with a forum to discuss evidence-based practice and to access continued learning, benefiting patients in these remote areas. Teaching with Technology New technologies have recently enabled clinical teaching to move from the unpredictability of the bedside to a controlled, simulated environment. The Respiratory Therapy team at TGH opened an in-house simulation teaching program this year using SimMan. This high fidelity manikin can talk, breathe and be programmed to change breathing and heartbeat patterns to mimic clinical scenarios. Phoebe Lam, Anesthesia Assistant (AA) at UHN, has led the coordination of teaching with SimMan. Many health care professionals, including AAs, nurses, physicians and students have benefited –12– The Michener Institute for Applied Health Sciences Changing the Face of Clinical Education The Michener Institute is Canada’s only post-secondary institution devoted exclusively to applied health science education, providing a critical function in the healthcare system for the education of current and future applied health professionals. As the first educator to introduce inter-professional collaboration into an applied health sciences curriculum, Michener is an advocate in advancing the benefits and principles of team-based patient care, principles also held fast by UHN. UHN remains a key clinical education partner for the Michener Institute. This mutually beneficial affiliation continues to inspire our respective faculties to provide Michener students with the Best Experience, Best Education. Our shared commitment for student success, teamwork and inter-professionalism has provided positive outcomes for the students, and most especially, for the patients in their care. In our continuous attempt to strengthen our ties and contributions to UHN (as well as our other clinical partners), Michener has embarked upon an innovative approach to clinical education by establishing and implementing a series of strategic objectives. 1. The Clinical Education Leadership Council was established in the spring of 2008. The inaugural meeting was on June 26. The overarching purpose of this innovative Council is to build strong working relationships with clinical sites through increased communication and collaboration. Karim Bandali, Associate Vice President, Business Development Chair, Cardiovascular Perfusion, The Michener Institute for Applied Health Sciences Excellence in clinical education is a key goal that is shared between The Michener Institute and The University Health Network (UHN). The focus on patient-centered care in a team-based environment is why Michener chooses UHN as a clinical education partner - and why our students have successful experiences in their clinical rotations at UHN. We are proud that UHN’s leadership at this council has been instrumental in helping shape the future of our clinical education strategy. 2. 2008/09 marks the rollout of Michener’s Inter-professional Collaboration Certificate for Clinical Educators. The IPC certificate consists of 6 modules: Introduction to Interprofessional Education and Collaboration (IPE/IPC); Roles, Stereotypes, and Power; Effective Communication and Conflict Management Skills; Maximizing Team Performance, and Leadership in Health Care Settings. Of the over 850 participants who have completed at least one module to date, 28 are UHN health care professionals. 3. In 2008/09, Clinical Adjunct Professor, Clinical Coordinator and Clinical Educator status appointments were introduced for clinical staff in order to strengthen the relationship between Michener and clinical staff who work closely with Michener students. Through status appointments, clinical staff are acknowledged for the vital role they play in the clinical education of students through specific benefits and professional development opportunities. It is our aim to have all UHN clinical staff who work with Michener students to be awarded a status appointment within the next year. Of the over 300 status appointments made to date, 32 have been awarded to UHN staff. UHN clinicians work in concert with Michener’s faculty, to support student success in the clinical environment. The clinical experience enhances our students’ discipline-specific skills, provides opportunities for inter-professional collaboration, builds professional competencies, and improves communication skills. Michener students are immersed in patient care to enable them to draw on their academic preparation, apply their knowledge in actual clinical situations, and interact with professional peers in an environment where patient safety is vital. Our hope is that our innovative approach to clinical education further enhances the clinical education experience of our students while recognizing and appropriately supporting the contribution of our UHN colleagues. –13– Pharmacy The Pharmacy Department at UHN is a leader in training undergraduate and post-graduate pharmacy students and pharmacy technician students. We continue to foster a strong academic teaching commitment to pharmacy schools and pharmacy technician training colleges. The department of pharmacy currently teaches over one hundred students per academic year for the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Toronto (U of T). We also provide physical training site and preceptors for approximately twenty-five pharmacy technician students from Humber, Centennial and Sheridan Colleges. Through their involvement with the Doctorate of Pharmacy or undergraduate program, the number of pharmacy staff with cross-appointments in the Faculty of Pharmacy at U of T continues to increase. Clinical pharmacists hold Lecturer, Assistant Professor and Associate Professor level status. UHN remains the main teaching site for U of T Pharmacy Programs. Our staff continue to be recognized for their excellent contributions to teaching with awards given to our pharmacists each year. photo credit: Stephen Uhraney Emily Musing, BScPhm, Director, Pharmacy Admin Student Education UHN pharmacists continue to demonstrate a commitment to education with a great desire and aptitude to teach. Over 40 pharmacists actively participate in the education of undergraduate pharmacy students with the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy. Pharmacists facilitate intensive clinical Case Study Seminars in groups of 8 - 9 students in disease states such as Infectious Disease, Asthma and COPD, Diabetes, Congestive Heart Failure and Hypertension. Many also act as Teaching Associates for 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th year Professional Practice labs and oral exam adjudicators for the undergraduate program and the Pharmacy Examining Board of Canada (PEBC). In addition several pharmacists act as mentors and actively lecture in the International Pharmacy Graduate training program at the Faculty of Pharmacy. This year, pharmacists participated in Interprofessional Education and Collaboration (IPE/IPC) initiatives at UHN in the area of cardiology and cardiovascular surgery. We look forward to expanding our involvement with IPE/IPC initiatives starting up in the areas of General Internal Medicine and Neurosurgery. University of Toronto: Student Early Exposure Program - Hospital Site Visit This program was originally developed in 2002 by UHN’s Pharmacy department and the Faculty of Pharmacy to introduce 2nd year undergraduate pharmacy students to hospital pharmacy practice. UHN was the pilot site and has since continued to play a pivotal role in the administration and coordination of the program. Since then the program has expanded to include most hospitals in the Greater Toronto Area giving students an exposure to basic hospital pharmacy operations, the role of the hospital pharmacist and their relationship with patients and other healthcare professionals. UHN continues to be a champion of the program taking on approximately 20% of the 2nd year class across all three sites. University of Toronto: Structured Practical Experience Program A concentrated experiential component of the undergraduate Pharmacy program, at U of T, takes place in the winter of the graduating year. Students spend 8 weeks in in-patient hospital and community pharmacy practice. This year, UHN took 14 students between January 2008 and April 2008 in numerous clinical areas. In addition, 2 students completed their placement in our out-patient retail pharmacy. –14– Pharmacy Cont’d. This program provides unique opportunities for students to apply and further develop knowledge, skills and professional values. While on site at UHN, students had many opportunities to participate in educational rounds within the pharmacy department and also contributed to educating staff at UHN through presentations at nursing in-services and physician noon rounds. University of Waterloo The School of Pharmacy at the University of Waterloo is the first new school of pharmacy in Canada in 20 years. This year UHN provided an opportunity for three students from the University of Waterloo to complete their co-op experiential placement, the first ever cohort of undergraduate pharmacy students from the university. Students focused on project based work such as the development of electronic patient education tool, medication reconciliation and in the area of clinical trials. Students also had the opportunity to participate in the departments’ education rounds and to shadow clinical pharmacists from a number of areas. Doctorate of Pharmacy Program The Department of Pharmacy offers three different residency programs each academic year. UHN takes 3 pharmacy residents within its General Hospital Pharmacy Practice Residency program. This fully accredited 52-week post-graduate training program includes rotations in all aspects of hospital pharmacy practice and is offered in conjunction with the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy at U of T. This past year a Concentrated General Pharmacy Residency Program was offered to a staff pharmacist who expressed great interest in pursuing residency training to gain expertise in numerous practice areas. The Primary Ambulatory Care Pharmacy Residency program accepted its first pharmacy resident this past year and the post-Doctorate Pharmacy Residency Program specializing in HIV continued to offer its residency program. In all three programs, residents developed expertise in numerous different clinical areas and gain exposure to administration responsibilities, teaching, research and presentation skills. Awards A total of nine awards were given to UHN pharmacists in 2008. Highlight a few of these awards; Emily Musing was awarded with Canadian Society of Hospital Pharmacist (CSHP) – Ontario Branch Mentorship Award for her significant and invaluable contribution to mentorship and education of pharmacists. Olavo Fernandes was awarded a Pharmacy Practice Commitment to Care Award for championing medication reconciliation projects at UHN. Our past resident, Cathryn Sibbald’s dedication and determination during the residency year were acknowledged with the Paul Halligan Memorial Pharmacy Resident Award. Anna Lee, also a resident this past year, was awarded the CSHP – Hospital Pharmacy Residency Award. Publications/Presentations Pharmacists contribute actively to advancing medical knowledge through numerous research projects. This year six pharmacy lead research projects have been presented to large audience members at both local and national pharmacy bodies and international medical communities. Furthermore pharmacists collaborated with physician groups and allied health professions to publish three research projects in internationally recognized journals. –15– Oncology Education Team Leadership Pamela Catton MD MHPE FRCPC, Director Oncology Education Audrey Friedman MSW, Director Patient Education and Survivorship David Wiljer PhD, Director Knowledge Management and Innovation Janet Papadakos MEd, Manager Patient Education and Survivorship Sara Urowitz PhD, Manager Education Informatics Jennifer Jones PhD, Joyce Nyhof Young PhD Researchers The Oncology Patient Education Program has continued to grow and improve the “cancer experience” of patients, and those close to Pamela Catton, MD MHPE, FRCPC, them, served by the Cancer Director Program at UHN. This year the Oncology Education team focused on knowledge exchange and collaboration among the whole care team, health professional and patient alike, to activate patients in their care and promote selfmanagement programs. Oncology Patient Education Program highlights for 2008 include: was expanded to provide a General Cancer site where all patients can find information and a Gynecological site, extending the reach of collaboration. In addition, it has been the focus of several research initiatives including GyneGals, an NCIC funded study to explore the feasibility of running online support groups for women with posttreatment sexuality and body image concerns. In addition we are currently working with the Myeloma Canada to build a new community for individuals with Multiple Myeloma. eCancer for Breast Cancer Survivorship is a new clinical and research tool developed to collect data at the point of care and create templated reports for clinicians. This tool promotes inter-professional collaboration and improves communication with patients by creating a collaborative care plan to help cancer survivors manage difficult physical, emotional, psychosocial and spiritual issues throughout their cancer journey. Collaborative Tools Recognizing that collaboration is key for effective care, Oncology Education has focused on creating environments, products and services that foster high quality interactions between health care professionals and cancer survivors. The past few years have seen the explosion of interactive information and communication technologies using Web 2.0 technologies; Oncology Education has recognized the value of these technologies to educate staff and provide real-time, online support to patients and their families through technology such as Caring Voices. Caring Voices: (www.CaringVoices.ca), an online community of support for cancer survivors was launched in October 2006 as a pilot for breast cancer patients. In 2008, this site Knowledge Exchange The provision of high quality cancer information to our patients and their families continues to be a core activity for Oncology Education. The Program created almost 6% more new pamphlets this year, revised 200% more pamphlets than last year and saw an increase of almost 29% in ordered materials to 186,830 pieces. However, this year saw an additional focus on the exchange of information between health care professionals, with an important focus on inter-professional learning.The Program provided 239 educational consults to staff, an increase of 132% from 2007. –16– Oncology Education Cont’d. Patient Education Lunch & Learns In this year, an all new roster of Patient Education Lunch and Learns was developed to ensure that all staff have the knowledge they need to support cancer patients and their families throughout their continuum of care. Launched in 2007, the Lunch & Learns are well attended each month and the attendance has increased by 198% for a total of 388 participants. In addition, the programs have been webcasted and archived so that staff can access these important educational resources anywhere, anytime. The presentations can be found on the intranet at http://142.224.240.50/1/page/Home.aspx ELLICSR Successful applicants for a research infrastructure grant from the Canadian Foundation for Innovation in 2006, Drs Catton, Wiljer et al. received notification in early 2007 of the match by the Ontario Research Fund. This was the green light to proceed with the 3.3 million dollar construction project to develop the world’s first survivorship research centre. Located in the basement of the Robert R. McEwan wing of the Toronto General Hospital, and designed by HOK architects, the Electronic Living Laboratory for Interprofessional Cancer Survivorship Research (ELLICSR) is now complete and is contributing to new research projects and collaborations. The research focuses on self-management strategies for cancer survivors that include healthy living through exercise and diet and nutrition, as well as individual, group and community support mechanisms. Empowerment and Self-Management The Oncology Education has continued to advance the important theme of patient empowerment to ensure that patients are active members in their care. This year has seen the development of several new resources to aid patients in managing their disease. The Patient Education Program collaborated with Psychosocial Oncology to adapt a breast cancer tool to create a general tool for all cancer patients. In addition, this tool was adapted in collaboration with PEN sites and Surgery to create a surgical education tool. These new tools are currently being piloted and tested through research studies. Awards and Honours Dr. Pamela Catton received the Charles Mickles Fellowship Award, University of Toronto, Faculty of Medicine, Postgraduate Medical Education in 2008. The Charles Mickles Fellowship is awarded annually to a member of the medical profession anywhere in the world who has "done the most within the preceding 10 years to advance and promote sound knowledge of a practical kind in medical art or science by careful and thorough work". Managing Your Cancer Journey Course The Managing Your Cancer Journey (MYCJ) course is an important aspect of the self-management strategy, providing patients and their families with tools and information they need to play a more active role in their care. MYCJ has been adapted from the original breast project to create a version for all cancer patients. In 2008, 95 participants attended MYCJ, an increase of 32% over the previous year. A pilot study is being conducted to evaluate impact of MYCJ in the general cancer setting and recruitment is now complete. –17– Library and Information Services Throughout 2008 the UHN Library and Information Services’ activities focused on the delivery of evidence-based information directly to selected clinical teaching teams; provision of oneon-one and group instructional sessions; improvement of client-centred resources and services; and contribution to UHN’s global impact. Library staff participate in clinical teaching teams In 2008 three Library Information Specialists continued to participate as clinical librarians in groups that meet regularly to discuss patient care – Tuesday Morning Report in Family Medicine In-Patient Service (TWH), Quality of Care Rounds in General Surgery (TGH and TWH), and Bogusia Trojan, MA, MLS, Genitourinary Tumor Board (PMH). The role of Director the Information Specialist in the Nursing Research Challenge continued to strengthen. In 2008 the clinical librarian’s presence in the PCCe Complex Care Rounds (PMH) expanded the library’s direct relationship with teams providing patient care. Library staff teach within and outside UHN As in previous years, Library staff continued to respond to its clients’ demands for customized training in two specific areas: (1) effective mining of bio-medical databases for evidence-based information and (2) keeping current with new internet and health sciences information developments. The venues used for structured training included a combination of one-on-one and group training sessions, as well as group workshops conducted at all three libraries. As a result, near 500 instructional sessions were delivered to over 1,600 UHN staff. This year the Library staff added 4 new courses to its roster of group workshops. The newly added workshops are: Primal Pictures: Interactive Anatomy, Finding Clinical Practice Guidelines, RSS Feeds for Medical Resources, Power of Cite: Seeing Research Through Cited Reference Searching. In addition to instructional sessions offered to UHN clients, Library staff led information literacy workshops for the University of Toronto Internal Medicine residents (Information Triage), graduate students attending the Institute of Medical Science (Frontiers in Radiation Medicine Research) and practicing general surgeons (Annual Update in General Surgery). The librarians also participated in collaborative teaching of the annual Determinants of Community Health 2 course with colleagues from the University of Toronto and other Toronto hospital libraries. –18– Library and Information Services Cont’d. Library provides client-centred resources and services Throughout the past year the Library team focused on customizing its newly acquired web-based integrated system – EOS.Web. The advanced functionalities activated in 2008 enabled highly desired interaction between the UHN clients and the library system. The implementation of the latest improvements provided our clients with the ability to create their personal library accounts, store and update their searches of catalogue holdings, reserve library material and monitor their library accounts directly from their desktop. The Systematic Review Gateway on the UHN Virtual Library is the newest of the Library’s initiatives geared to improve client-focused resources and services. The idea and its implementation were executed by the Information Specialists group. The Gateway has a dual role. It is a place where UHN researchers can learn on their own about the steps involved in a well-developed systematic review process. For the Information Specialists the site is a standardized tool to which library clients requesting information about systematic reviews can be referred. Library contributes to the UHN’s global impact In August 2008 the UHN Library successfully launched a virtual library for the Women’s College Hospital. The WCH gateway to electronic resources represents a collaborative undertaking by UHN Library and SIMS aimed at providing a customized integrated web-based gateway for one of SIMS partners.The WCH Virtual Library is the second virtual library established and regularly maintained by the Library staff at UHN. The St. Joseph’s Hospital Virtual Library was built in 2002. –19– Human Resources, Organizations, and Employee Development Learning & Development The UHN Learning & Development Calendar continues to support employee development by bringing the effective classroom learning to employees. In 2008, 1577 participants attended courses through our calendar. One hundred and eighty-five employees took advantage of the Education Assistance tuition subsidy to continue their formal education towards a certificate/ diploma/ degree program from a recognized education institution. Their combined assistance amounted to over $78,000. In the spring of 2008 the Supervisory Skills Development Program was launched.The program aims to increase supervisory effectiveness by providing focused training on targeted Human Resources policies, processes and tools that have the greatest impact on local employee relations. Moreover, the 60 participants involved receive training in essential leadership behavioural skills, such as dealing with conflict.This developmental initiative is intended to increase supervisory effectiveness, efficiency, and productivity. Venita Indewey, Director The UHN-Rotman Leadership Development Program was implemented for the 7th year. Twenty-one leaders from UHN participated in a curriculum focused on developing the competencies to manage teams of managers and the strategic interests of their function and organization within the health care industry context. This year 50 managers new to UHN or newly promoted into a manager role participated in the New Manager Orientation program. This three-and-a-half day orientation increases awareness of their new accountabilities, resources available to them, and provides a structure for additional training and mentorship through their first year at UHN. The Clinical Manager Succession Development Program, consisting of 20 Nursing, Allied Health and Pharmacy professionals celebrated their graduation this year.The objective of the program was to develop competencies that will accelerate the development of knowledge and skills needed for the Clinical Manager role. Participants worked on four Action Learning Projects from January to June 2008 that were presented at the graduation ceremony. Wellness The Oasis Wellness Centre offered over 100 programs/series and over 400 individual sessions. In addition, the centre launched ‘The Nurses’ Toolbox,’ a combination of physical and stress reduction exercises, aimed at improving the overall health and well being of UHN clinical nursing staff. Other programs offered include physical activity series, such as yoga and Pilates, healthy eating challenges and stress management series. Computer User Support Program The Computer User Support (CUSP) Team was able to meet a 30% increase from last year’s demand for on-site computer training by delivering 3313 customized sessions to internal users in support of UHN-wide Patient Safety initiatives and SIMS projects. Eighty-nine per cent of the total training provided by CUSP was on clinical applications. CUSP supported five UHN-wide Safer Healthcare Now initiatives as part of a national patient safety campaign and a provincial Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) initiative for Nursing. CUSP also assisted with the implementation of safer medication administration processes in preparation for the November 2008 Accreditation. –20– Continuing Education 2007 Physicians at UHN participate in literally hundreds of continuing education events either locally at our hospital, at the University of Toronto level, at a national level, or at international conferences. UHN physicians are amongst the leaders in Canada in providing continuing education in their variety of disciplines. Below is a listing of the continuing education courses sponsored by the University of Toronto. In most of these courses, if not in virtually all of these courses, UHN physicians play prominent roles in either the organization or delivery of continuing education. - Academic Half Day in Hematology - Updates in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia - International Interprofessional Wound Care Course - Critical Care Canada Forum - U of T Respirology Conference - Digestive Diseases – Update on Inflammatory Bowel Disease - Endocrinology Canada International Conference - Systematic Reviews Workshop - Annual Day in Respirology - General Internal Medicine Faculty Day - Critical Care Conflict Resolution Workshop - Annual Behavioural Neurology Academic Clinical Day - U of T – Middle East Interprofessional Interdisciplinary Wound Care Course - World Union of Wound Healing Societies Meeting - Annual Patient Safety and Quality Academic Day - Division of Rheumatology Annual Ogryzlo Research Day - Annual Upper Extremity Update - Annual Toronto Thoracic Refresher Course - Annual Symposium on Aesthetic Plastic Surgery - Ralph T. Manktelow Hand Surgery Day - Update Course for General Surgeons and Residents - Update Course in General Surgery Oncology - Annual Assembly for General Surgeons and Residents - Annual Breast Surgery Symposium - Advanced Reconstructive Urologic Laparoscopic Course - EBUS – Endobronchial Ultrasound Training Course - Surgical Leadership Day – Leading Change - Vascular Imaging Toronto - Vascular Medicine Self Assessment Program (VMSAP) - Harvey Stancer Research Day - Psychoeducation in Bipolar Disorder - Introductory Workshop on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy - Dialectical Behaviour Therapy – The Basics - Dialectical Behaviour Therapy – Intermediate Level Training - Dialectical Behaviour Therapy – Problem-based Learning - Workshop – How to Plan a Clinical Trial - Intermediate Cognitive Therapy Institute - Advanced CBT Course: Supervised Applications - Cognitive Behavioral Analysis System of Psychotherapy (CBASP): Hope for Chronic Depression - Cognitive Therapy Summer Training Institute - Interpersonal Psychotherapy Summer Training Institute - Primary Care Psychiatry Course: Mood and Anxiety Disorders - Research Training in Psychiatric Diagnosis - Toronto Advanced Psychopharmacology for Psychiatrists - Toronto Myelodysplastic Syndromes Symposium - Saturday at the University - Urology Update - Perioperative Transesophageal Echocardiography Symposium –21– University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine Donald R. Wilson Centre The Wilson Centre is an academic unit engaged in theoretical and applied research dedicated to advancing the understanding and practice of education in the health professions. The unit is collaboratively sponsored by the University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine, the University Health Network, and a number of other health professional programs and units in the Greater Toronto Area. This unit houses a core staff of 9 PhD scientists, 1-2 international visiting professors, 20 full time graduate students and research fellows, approximately 10 research assistants, and 5 administrative staff. In addition to these individuals who are physically housed at the facility on a full time basis, the Wilson Centre includes a core group of approximately 18 Clinician/Educator Researchers with active research programs in health professional education, as well as larger membership of 113 individuals from the health professional education community who are more peripherally involved with the unit’s activities. The nine PhD scientists are full time researchers, with approximately 80% of each scientist’s time dedicated to research activities. They are drawn from academic disciplines such as cognitive psychology, kinesiology, sociology, socio-history, rhetoric, and measurement and they represent a breadth of scientific epistemologies and qualitative and quantitative methodologies. Because the Wilson Centre is an extra-departmental unit, each scientist is appointed as a University of Toronto faculty member through one of the clinical departments in the Faculty of Medicine and each is cross appointed to the School of Graduate studies through several graduate departments.The Clinician/Educator Researchers are drawn from many health professional faculties and departments such as medicine, nursing, dentistry, pharmacy, rehabilitation sciences and social work and, in addition to their clinical training, have obtained masters or doctoral level training in education research. Many of the C/ERs are appointed to the School of Gradate Studies through their home Faculty and/or through related graduate departments. The Wilson Centre also supports a growing cadre of visiting professors and scholars from around the world, including the Netherlands, Australia, France, Switzerland, Ethiopia, Denmark, Holland and the United Kingdom. Together, the scientists and researchers of the Wilson Centre are engaging in programs of research that address topics ranging from the training and evaluation of basic surgical skills and clinical knowledge to the acquisition and understanding of professional competencies such as communication, self-regulation and inter-professional practice. Dr. Brian Hodges, MD, PhD, FRCPC, Director –22– University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine Donald R. Wilson Centre Cont’d. The Wilson Centre is also dedicated to developing new researchers in this vital and growing field of study. The Wilson Centre Fellowship Program is a 2-5 year full-time residency-based educational experience. Fellows are provided with a place to work and learn where they receive not only a Masters or PhD degree through one of our affiliated academic programs, but also intensive mentoring in our multi-disciplinary and multi-professional Wilson Centre community. This level of mentoring and breadth of interaction develops scholars who are well prepared to engage in their own program of high quality research, to collaborate with a diverse set of research colleagues, and to train the next generation of researchers into this field. The diversity of our Fellows’ backgrounds has expanded impressively in recent years to include clinical fields such as medicine, physical therapy, dentistry, nursing, and nutrition sciences, and academic fields such as psychology, communication, kinesiology, education, political science, literature and theatre. Further, the life experiences of these individuals are rich and varied, adding still more to the diversity of the health professional education research field. Over 50 fellows have graduated from the program to date. Administratively, the Wilson Centre has been able to develop an extensive team of staff to provide support to the members of the research community. In addition to the director and associate director, the administrative team includes: a computer systems administrator, a multi-media expert, an executive administrator and a secretary, as well as several intermittent support staff as necessary. In its 12th years of existence, the Wilson Centre has grown to be recognized internationally as a leader in health professional education research. Research from its members is published widely in major international journals and has received awards from several international organizations. The scientists and researchers of the Wilson Centre are invited around the world to give talks both on the results of their research and on how to engage in world-class research in the health professional education field. And the Wilson Centre itself has been highlighted as a model of such research units in both Academic Medicine and Medical Teacher. www.thewilsoncentre.ca –23– UHN Educational Awards Each year University Health Network celebrates its best teachers through the nomination and presentation of teaching awards. These awards which have become known as the Wightman-Berris Teaching Awards and the Anderson Award are given to teachers demonstrating individual teaching excellence, teachers who have made innovations to our education programs, and teachers who have made extraordinary contributions to education overall. In 2008, the winners of these awards were: Wightman-Berris Academy Teaching Awards 2008 Individual Teaching Awards: Recognizes teachers whose outstanding shills have been identified by their students in 3 categories: Postgraduate: Dr. Rod Davey, Orthopaedic Surgery Dr. Wayne Gold, Infectious Disease Dr. Andrea Page, Infectious Disease Resident Dr. Robert Silver, Endocrinology Dr. Richard Tsang, Radiation Oncology Dr. Sidney Radomski, Urology Undergraduate Dr. Rodrigo Cavalcanti, Internal Medicine Dr. Troy Grennan, Internal Medicine Resident Dr. Raed Hawa, Psychiatry Dr. Thomas Lindsay, Vascular Surgery Dr. Rowena Ridout, Endocrinology Dr. Ilan Weinreb, Laboratory Medicine Dr. Anna Woo, Cardiology Health Professional Programs Kaye Marie Anderson, R.N. Marisa Battisella, Pharmacy Carla Coverdale, R.N. Dr. Michael Fehlings, Neurosurgery Dr. Claire Middleton, Anaesthesia –24– Richard K. Reznick, MD, MEd, FRCSC, FACS Vice-President, Education University Health Network Suite 311, 100 College Street Toronto, ON M5G 1L5 Phone: (416) 340-4110 Fax: (416) 978-3928 e-mail: richard.reznick@uhn.on.ca