Managing Progress in the Strategic Plan
The strategic plan of the Department of Surgery was created
by a planning committee of interested volunteers in the
fall in 2012. It is being realized by a group of team leaders
working with project manager Joanna Giddens, a recently
recruited member of the Department of Surgery staff.
The leadership team of the Strategic Plan included
David Latter - education, Ben Alman - research, Shaf
Keshavjee- innovation, Robin McLeod- quality improvement,
Ori Rotstein - faculty development, and Avery
Nathens- integration of international surgery. I will
touch on a few of these pillars of the plan in this article
and return to some of the others in subsequent issues.
The plan is available on our website at http://surgery.utoronto.ca/about/strategic-plan.htm.
The faculty development pillar led by Ori Rotstein
will focus on the use of mentorship for faculty development.
It will include assessing stress levels of faculty
members, using a special SF36 designed for
academic surgery (Link to qualitymetric.com). The
survey asks interesting questions, such as: How do you
feel about surgical errors, about the stress of your work,
about life outside of your job? The Maslach inventory
to evaluate stress and burnout will also be included.
The survey will be targeted at all members of the faculty.
Nancy Condo will assist in this component of the
program. The intention is to provide a transparent path
to career goals with clear criteria for promotion. By one
year, the team will have completed orientation sessions,
job descriptions, and a survey of problem areas.
The innovation pillar developed by Shaf Keshavjee
will be described in a later issue. Shaf will do what he has
done in his own career, teaching faculty members how
to take laboratory advances to a level that has an impact
on the world.
The quality pillar, headed by Robin McLeod will
build on the progress reported in a previous issue (See Surgical Spotlight Fall 2011).
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The research pillar will be headed by the new Vice-
Chair for Research, when recruited. Integration of
international surgery will be led by Avery Nathens.
Our current international program is wide-ranging with
many disparate components in many countries. Andrew
Howard, Mark Bernstein, George Azzie, and others have
led these admirably in the absence of a core academic
program and infrastructure. In the future, the academic
track in international surgery will include mentors,
teachers, courses, and a website focused on global
surgery. The education pillar headed by David Latter
will develop the competency based curriculum beyond
orthopaedic surgery (See Surgical Spotlight Summer 2010)
and focus on bringing all of our simulation resources
into a unified program. More tech- savvy educational
methods will be introduced, including smart phone
apps, more practice time for students and residents in
the Skills Lab, and home exercises to expand their experience.
Lisa Satterthwaite will be an important leader
along with Oleg Safir. Currently, students can’t get the
amount of lab time that they want to develop their skills.
Joanna is working with Darina Landa and others on this
project. “We are now in the apps and website phase.”
She will also work with information technology expert
James Wilson from Discovery Commons.
Joanna completed her undergraduate degree at
Queen’s University and an MBA at Cook University in
Brisbane, Australia. She earned a certificate in Project
Management which provided excellent background for
her current role in our Department. The elements of
project management include gap analysis, the develop
development
of realistic resources, the use of logic, and monitored
progression to accomplish a goal. She is constantly
using Excel programs, contact lists, spreadsheets, and
deadline checks to keep the project moving. “The most
fun of the project is meeting the various surgeons.”
Joanna lives with her parents in Richmond Hill, is
active in gymnastics and dance, and is an avid reader of
science fiction, historical fiction, and biography - recently
including the biography of Warren Buffet. She brings
a high level of enthusiasm and energy to this important
phase of our department’s growth.
The overall theme of the Strategic Plan will be taking
an already well-recognized department up to an even
higher lever, nurturing the faculty and attracting the best
and brightest recruits. “If more tech is wanted, or if more
overseas experience is appropriate, the plan is to provide
what the faculty and students need.” In Joanna’s view,
the Department is moving, the leads are meeting, and
the changes in how we learn are already underway in the
classroom and in the laboratory.
M.M.
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