Department of Medicine Weekly Roundup - June 22

Dear Colleagues,

I am very pleased to announce that Dr. Laura Walker from the Division of General Internal Medicine will become the Site Director, Core Internal Medicine program, as of July 1, 2023, replacing Dr. Eric Tseng who has completed his 3 year term.  Laura is a clinician teacher, has completed the Master Teacher program, and was the Chief Medical Resident at SMH in 2016/2017.  She has been the Deputy Site Education Program Director over the last 3 years. Please join me in congratulating Laura and thank you in advance for your support of her in this new role. Thanks also to the Search Committee who completed the interview process.

I also wish to thank Eric Tseng for his excellent leadership in this role over the last 3 years during the very difficult times of a global pandemic, staffing changes, and a Royal College accreditation decision of intent to withdraw.  Eric will become the Program Director for the Hematology residency training program as of July 1, 2023.

Congratulations to both!

Sharon

• Encouraging blood donation and restrictive blood use
• Call for applications - Deputy Site Director, IM
• St Michael’s physicians who use phone dictation: Review these tips for using eScription One
• Atropine 1% ophthalmic solution bottle dropper 5 mL is on backorder
• Outpatient Post-COVID Condition Rehabilitation Program closing August 31
• Announcement from Thomas Parker, Executive Vice-President, Clinical Programs & Chief Medical Officer
• Medical Education Strategic Plan 2023-2025 and 2022-2023 Annual Report

On June 15th the National Emergency Blood Management Committee declared a GREEN PHASE ADVISORY for O POS, O NEG, A POS, A NEG.

I hope we can spread the word amongst our staff and colleagues. I am happy to review any concerns around utilization, patient blood management and blood conservation.

In the meantime, if anyone is interested in blood donation, please ask them to visit https://www.blood.ca/en/blood/donating-blood. They can also call 1-888-2-DONATE. If people have questions about the eligibility criteria, we have more information here https://www.blood.ca/en/blood/am-i-eligible-donate-blood/abcs-eligibility. I am happy to talk to anyone who would want to speak with me directly about blood donation.

Lots more info below.

Warm regards,

Aditi

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Aditi Khandelwal (she/her) MSc MDCM FRCPC DRCPSC

Adult Hematology and Transfusion Medicine

St. Michael’s Hospital Department of Medicine is seeking a Deputy Site Director, Core Internal Medicine program, from within its faculty. The job description is attached. This position is for a 3 year term effective July 1, 2023 and the incumbent will receive financial support from both the University Department of Medicine and the SMPA.

If you are interested in this role, please send a one page letter of intent and your CV to Julia Stratta by June 26, 2023 at 12:00 pm.

Thank you,

Sharon

St. Michael’s introduced eScription One – a new tool to review and sign off on phone dictated notes – on June 14. With the launch of eScription One, please note that there is no change to the actual dictation process. Physicians can call the same number to dictate and should follow the same prompts.

If you perform phone dictation at St. Michael’s, please note that you must download and setup Microsoft Authenticator before you can use eScription One. Detailed instructions can be found in this tip sheet. Please review them carefully before beginning the download and setup process.

Please also review the tips below, which answer some of the most frequently asked questions:

• To login to eScription One, you must click “My client uses Single Sign-On (SSO)” and enter “SMH” as the client. Then, follow the prompts using your Unity Health email and password.
• When instructed to scan the QR code in step 12 of the tip sheet, you’ll need to open the Microsoft Authenticator app first, then scan the QR code using the app, NOT the camera on your smartphone.

For instructions on how to log into and navigate eScription One to, please review this tip sheet.

If you have any questions or would like support, the IT team will be offering virtual drop-in sessions:

• June 19-23, 2 to 3 p.m.
• Please connect using this Zoom link: https://ca01web.zoom.us/j/69166004788?pwd=Mm02QlRRTnl3dnYrVTVaK0FKL2dIZz09

You can also reach out to the St. Michael’s HelpDesk at ext. 5751 or email [email protected]. If reaching out to the HelpDesk via email, please copy Alisha Thawer, Project Manager, at [email protected].

Sent on behalf of Sharon Law, Pharmacy Technician, Team Lead

Please note Atropine 1% ophthalmic solution bottle dropper 5 mL is on backorder.  We currently have in stock Atropine Minims 1% ophthamlmic solution.

If physician is ordering the atropine 1% for oral use please add the auxiliary label “for ORAL use only”

Unity Health Toronto has made the difficult decision to adapt our service offerings by closing the Outpatient Post-COVID Condition Rehabilitation Program. This change will allow us to dedicate staff and resources to other areas of need and support our return to regular operations. Since its launch, 708 patients have participated in the program through a blended model of in-person and virtual programming. Thank you to the Post COVID-19 Condition Outpatient Program staff and physicians for your dedication to providing this service to the community.

The program will officially close its doors on August 31, 2023. The team will be working through as much of our waitlist as possible and have provided online resources to referring physicians for those patients we are unable to accommodate before the closure.

Staff were temporarily shifted to work in the Post COVID-19 Condition Outpatient Program and they will be returned to their roles on their home units following the closure.

We are looking at opportunities to provide the programming in alternate formats and will share more information if it becomes available.

After a full international search and the approval of the appointment by the Unity Health Toronto Board of Directors, Dr. Karen Shin has accepted the position of Psychiatrist-In-Chief at St. Michael’s Hospital effective June 21, 2023.

The Search Committee, chaired by Dany Assaf, Unity Health Board member, gave their unanimous and enthusiastic endorsement of this appointment. Dr. Shin is familiar to St. Michael’s, being a staff Psychiatrist since 2006 and most recently, Interim Psychiatrist-In-Chief since December 2021.

Previously she had been the Deputy Chief for St. Michael's Hospital’s Department of Psychiatry since 2019 and the Ambulatory Mental Health and Addictions Medical Director since 2017. She is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto (UofT) and completed her medical training at McMaster University, followed by specialty training at the UofT. She provides outpatient and community-based mental health care, and Shared Care mental health services for the Family Health Team. Drawing from her clinical expertise, she has been a valuable teacher at the hospital, receiving recognition in 2018 and 2019 with the St. Michael's Teaching Excellence in Postgraduate Education Award. Her contribution to education extends to providing leadership in curriculum development for the Department of Psychiatry’s Postgraduate Program and acting as co-lead for the Outpatient Psychiatry Division. She is an executive member of the Ontario Psychiatric Association and the lead for its Mental Health Law Reform Task Force. In addition, her involvement in health systems development includes participating as the specialist physician member in the Core Group for the Downtown East Toronto Ontario Health Team.

Sent on behalf of Dr. Patricia Houston, Vice Dean, Medical Education.

Dear colleagues,

The tracking of time in medical education can be an interesting experience. There is the tracking of time based a calendar year, such as the Gregorian calendar. There is the tracking of time based on the university fiscal year, which runs from May 1 to April 30. There is the tracking of time based on admissions and CaRMS cycles on the one hand and graduation on the other. And there is of course the tracking of time based on the academic calendar, which differs between undergraduate and postgraduate medical education.

Regardless of how we track time, it is important to both look back in reflection and look forward in anticipation. Ideally, looking back at past achievements and lessons learned will inform how we look at the future and plan to move forward.

With the end of June in sight and beginning of summer upon us (another way of tracking time), I am pleased to share the 2022-2023 Medical Education Annual Report, which highlights selected innovations and achievements in and across the MD Program, Postgraduate Medical Education, Continuing Professional Development, Office of Learner Affairs, and the Integrated Physician Scientist Training Program.

Looking forward, I am also pleased to share the inaugural Medical Education Strategic Plan (2023-2025), which includes nine strategic initiatives focused on opportunities for alignment, integration or harmonization across the medical education portfolio and corresponding implementation actions that will support these initiatives.

Whether looking back in reflection or forward in anticipation, I am grateful to all members of the medical education community for showing me what is possible.  As demonstrated by what we’ve already accomplished and what we’re planning to do, we are committed to working to promote, advance and support alignment, integration, and harmonization across the continuum, including innovation in the approaches we take to teaching, learning and scholarship in health professions education.

Best regards,

Patricia