Please see below for the following updates:

• Recipients for Excellence in Postgraduate Teaching
• Call for Proposals:  2023-24 SMHA AFP Innovation Funds - Aug 21/23 submission internal review deadline
• Reminder: Do not use the St. Michael’s Emergency Department to enter the hospital
• MRI staffing update
• Interim executive program coverage
• Vera Dounaevskaia is the Inaugural Program Medical Director for Medicine at Unity Health
• Medical Humanities Education Matching Funding Grant - Call for Proposals Fall 2023
• Update – Research Consolidating to LKSKI and 193 Yonge St.

The following faculty members are the recipients of the 2022-23 Award for Excellence in Postgraduate Teaching. This award is given to the Department of Medicine faculty members who have received the top 10% of evaluation scores for an academic year.

Recipients:

Congratulations on a great cohort of faculty members!

A reminder that AFP IF proposals are due by August 21, 2023. Complete applications are to be forwarded to Jessica Comilang.  Full details are below and forms are attached.

With the Shuter entrance at St. Michael’s now closed in preparation for the Shuter Wing demolition, an increasing number of staff, physicians and learners have been using the Emergency Department to enter the hospital.

Please be reminded that the ED entrance should only be used by patients seeking urgent care. Staff, physicians and learners should make use of the staff entrances listed on the Entrances page of our COVID-19 microsite.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

Following our previous communication in May 2022 regarding the staffing shortage in our Medical Imaging department, I am pleased to share an update on significant strides we have taken to improve the situation. Effective immediately, we are happy to accept your MRI referrals.

To overcome our challenges, we have begun several important and exciting initiatives:

1. We have initiated an upskilling program called ‘Grow Your Own’, which focuses on training new imaging technologists for MRI services. This has already enabled a transition of several of our technologists from other modalities into MRI and it will help us to restore MRI shifts that were lost last year.
2. We have implemented advanced machine learning and AI algorithms to shorten MRI scan times, allowing us to accommodate more scans within the same time-frame.
3. We have secured an agency technologist workforce to bolster our staffing levels, ensuring consistent service for our patients.

Finally, we have business plans to acquire additional MRI machines to enhance our capacity to serve more patients, focusing on strategic patient populations.

We are aware of the current backlog, and our increased capacity will be dedicated to addressing this. We will soon be rolling out a new appointment notification and reminder service to reduce the administrative burden on you, our referring clinicians, and to expedite urgent cases. We have made enormous progress since last year, and our wait times for MRI are now among the best in the GTA.

Given these enhancements, please consider these actions:

1. For both urgent and non-urgent MRI cases, please refer to St. Michael's Hospital.
2. Continue to reinforce with patients the importance of attending their scheduled appointments.

Your ongoing patience and understanding has been greatly appreciated and we are happy to report that the situation in MRI has improved significantly since last year. Our department is working very hard to meet growing demands for MRI services, including our outstanding subspecialty radiologists, who are here to serve you.

Thank you for your continued support as we work to provide optimal patient care.

After a full search, Dr. Vera Dounaevskaia has been appointed as the Inaugural Program Medical Director for Medicine at Unity Health Toronto effective September 1, 2023. In this role, Dr. Dounaevskaia will be the Physician Partner to Jonathan Fetros, Senior Clinical Program Director, who together have responsibility for the overall operation of the Medicine Program at Unity Health.

Dr. Dounaevskaia completed her MD, Internal Medicine Residency and Post Graduate Fellowship in Internal Medicine at the University of Toronto and a Fellowship in Thromboembolism at McMaster University. She is an Assistant Professor and a graduate of the Master Teacher Program in the Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto. She is well known to St. Michael’s having been a Staff Physician in the Division of General Internal Medicine since 2012; General Internal Medicine Ambulatory Clinical Director since 2015 and Interim Program Medical Director for Medicine since 2020. Dr. Dounaevskaia brings to this role a strong commitment to excellence in clinical care, education and research. We look forward to her leadership in this important inaugural network role.

Dear Colleagues,

Postgraduate Medical Education continues to offer the Medical Humanities Education Matching Funding Grant in the amount of $5,000 per project proposal, distributed on a semi-annual basis. 

I am writing to announce the call for the Fall 2023 submissions. The submission deadline is Friday October 13, 2023 with grants awarded to the successful applicants in December. 

The integration of humanities in medical education curricula has the potential to improve observation skills, self-reflection, and enhance learner competencies in the CanMEDS roles. Projects and proposals may reflect a variety of curricular designs which identify how medical humanities will be integrated into curricula and further enhance CanMEDS competencies.

Each proposal will require a matching funding commitment from the submitting department/division, i.e., if the project budget is $4,500 – a letter from the department chair committing to $2,250 is required. Funding will be provided for a one-year period, and applicants must agree to submit a project report at end of the period.

PGME will transfer the awarded funds to the successful applicant’s Academic Department in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine. Business Managers will provide Financial Information Services (FIS) account numbers to facilitate this transfer within four weeks of application approval or the funding offer will be withdrawn. The Academic Department will be responsible for the disbursement of funds to the successful applicant.

Attached is further background on the purpose of the grant as well as a template for the application. Please distribute widely.

We look forward to receiving applications for the Medical Humanities Education Grant by Friday October 13, 2023.

Please submit your package by email to Arlene McKinley at [email protected]

Sincerely,

Dear colleagues,

Between August and November 2023 all research teams will be moving out of 250 Yonge St. and into 193 Yonge St. and the Li Ka Shing building. This move is part of a larger Unity Health Toronto hospital-wide initiative to consolidate all office spaces. The move will take place in phases and groups of PI’s with office space at 250 Yonge St. have been individually contacted with an email detailing their move timeframe and new office/workstation locations.

The decision to move out of 250 Yonge St. is based upon several considerations. First, the Research Institute has been using both remote work and also desk sharing successfully for several years. Moreover, utilization of existing space is very low.  Finally we have an opportunity to save money, optimize our workspace and lessen our environmental footprint.

We want to emphasize that we would not undertake such a move unless it was absolutely necessary and the right course of action. We understand that change can be disruptive and we value your cooperation during this process.

Research Facilities will be following up with all teams to share details regarding moving logistics and to plan an exact moving date. If you have any questions, concerns, or specific needs related to the move, please don't hesitate to reach out to your respective PI or our research facilities team.

We appreciate your understanding and cooperation as we work together to create a more collaborative and efficient research environment.

Sincerely,

Ori, Pat & Kim