Please see below for the following updates:

• 2022/2023 Annual Activity Reports – Due on September 30
• New Staff Profile: The Department of Medicine is delighted to welcome Dr. Lauren King, Division of Rheumatology, to the active staff!
• LMS Project - UAT – Physician
• Postings: early career faculty lead postings / call for committee membership recruitment
• OHT/DET-Family Physician Network Event
• Guidelines for using generative AI tools like ChatGPT at Unity Health
• Update – EPAs in the MD Program and Impact on PG Learners

Dear Colleagues,

I would like to remind you of the importance of the PIC Office receiving your annual activity report by the stated deadline for the work of the base support committee.  Please ensure your report has been sent to Jessica by September 30 in order to inform this year’s base support committee meeting.  Thank you to those who have already submitted their 2022/23 report.

Sincerely,

Sharon

Dr. Lauren King:  Lauren is joining the Division of Rheumatology as a Clinician Scientist and Assistant Professor as of September 1, 2023.  Lauren obtained her medical degree from the University of Sydney, Australia in 2012. She went on to do her internal medicine and rheumatology residency training at the University of Toronto. She has recently completed a PhD in Clinical Epidemiology and Health Care Research at the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, under the supervision of Dr. Gillian Hawker.

Lauren will continue her clinical research focused on improving care and outcomes for people living with osteoarthritis. Her interest is in the impacts of osteoarthritis in people with complex chronic disease, and will work towards determining how to better implement osteoarthritis care for this population. She is also interested in identifying ways to reach and treat people with osteoarthritis at an earlier stage, with view to ultimately preventing functional limitations and disability.

Outside of work, Lauren can be found running along the Humber River or in High Park, and she enjoys going on adventures in the wilderness with her husband and two daughters.  

The team working on the new Learning Management System (LMS) is looking for volunteer physicians to assist with User Acceptance Testing (UAT). The time commitment will be ~ two hours in early October 2023.  They are looking for 3-5 participants, each with a different role such as staff physician, administrator, etc.

If you are interested in participating in this testing or know anyone in your department who may be, please contact Jamie Howarth, Project Manager for Digital Education.  Jamie is copied on this email.

Many thanks,

Sherra

Sharing the following postings with faculty.  

1. Early Career Faculty Leads- posting close Sept 30, 2023
2. Committee membership recruitment- posting close Sept 15, 2023

Posting information is below: 

Early Career Faculty Leads - 2 positions posted- must be within 5 years of appointment- Posting close is Sept 30, 2023

https://jobs.utoronto.ca/job/Toronto-Lecturer-Assistant-Professor-Faculty-Lead-Early-Career%2C-Department-of-Medicine-ON/573533617/

Committee membership recruitment: Posting close is Sept 15, 2023

Please continue to promote to faculty opportunities to get involved in DoM administration: https://deptmedicine.utoronto.ca/event/department-medicine-committee-recruitment

Kind Regards, 

OHT/DET-Family Physician Network Event - Sept. 21, 2023 from 6pm to 8pm at LKS

The event is for specialists and family physicians to learn more about e-referrals and integrations with EPIC.

We’ll have the UHN Connected Care team attend to provide more information about the processes. The key for e-referral success involves sender and receiver participation. We’re also discussing opportunities for e-referrals for diagnostic imaging in the community.

We’re expecting attendees from neurology, geriatrics, obs/gyne and vascular surgery. With our upcoming SMH EPIC integration, we’re aiming for Trevor to join and also inviting Anish for discussion about diagnostic imaging.

Happy to provide more information if needed!

Thanks,

Over the past year, generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools like ChatGPT, Microsoft Bing Chat and Google’s Bard have become more popular. To support staff, physicians and learners to responsibly use these tools, we have created provisional guidelines on the use of generative AI at Unity Health. 

Unity Health is the first hospital in Canada with a dedicated program for applied AI. Since 2017, we have developed and implemented over 50 different AI and analytics tools into practice (learn more). AI has the potential to transform and improve health care for provider and patients, but we must also consider the privacy, legal and ethical implications of using these emerging technologies.

Key reminders and actions:

• Do not enter confidential or personal information (including personal health information, employee information and intellectual property) into internet-based tools – including generative AI tools(e.g. ChatGPT, Microsoft Bing Chat and Google’s Bard) – as this is a privacy and IT security risk and would violate the following Unity Health policies:
  • Privacy of Personal Health Information
  • Information Security Policy
  • Secure Handling of Confidential Information in Digital Format Policy
• Do not rely on the accuracy and objectivity of information provided by generative AI tools. Generative AI content must be reviewed and fact-checked before being used, as these tools can produce content that is factually inaccurate and potentially biased.
• Review the new guidelines. Note: the guidelines are less than three pages and should not take more than five minutes to review.

These guidelines were developed with input from IT Security, Privacy and Data Science and Advanced Analytics. They will continue to be updated as new information and requirements surface and as technology rapidly changes.

Dear Colleagues,

After a successful pilot of EPAs in the MD Program earlier this year, these workplace-based assessments are being rolled out to all clinical clerks starting in this new academic year. There are 12 EPAs for clerkship students developed by the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada (AFMC), common to all specialties.

Similar to EPAs in PGME, the MD program will be using Elentra as the IT platform. The guideline is for 50% of EPAs to be completed by faculty, with the remainder to be completed by residents, fellows and clinical associates.  The MD program and PGME have collaborated to align the workflow and processes associated with EPA completion.  However, it should be noted that clerks will be rated on a 4-point rating scale (as opposed to the 5-point scale in PGME), and no milestones are assessed.

A newsletter, together with Qs and As, for residents and fellows is attached.  Questions related to this initiative can be directed to the MD Program Office of Evaluation and Assessment at  [email protected].

Sincerely,