*Sent on behalf of Dr. Sharon Straus*

This is a very difficult note to write as it’s my last in the role as PIC. I am incredibly grateful to each of you for your support, commitment and collegiality during my tenure as PIC.  You are an inspiring group and it has been a gift to work with and learn from you. We have laughed and cried together over the years and throughout the various challenges and opportunities we faced, you continued to care for each other, the patients, learners and health care teams.

You have been innovative – you created new education initiatives and models of care, further enhanced the high quality patient care we provide, and made new research discoveries to strengthen our health system and improve patient care and public wellbeing. You inspired others including the learners and health care teams, centering patients in all activities. You have been amazing role models to all those you encountered. Thank you.

Particular thanks to the Site Directors, Rotation Coordinators, Education Coordinators, the Education Committee, and Residency Training Committee for your exemplary work with the learners. Thanks also to our outstanding Division Heads who grew our Divisions and ensured our clinical and academic success. You consistently created a welcoming and caring environment and I appreciate your wise counsel and support over the years. Thanks to SMPA leadership and staff for keeping us on strong financial ground and for your commitment to equity and transparency. Thanks to all of the physician admins who kept us running smoothly and ensured excellent patient care.

I am incredibly grateful to Julia and Jessica who have been amazing partners in all of the Departmental work; there are no words adequate to describe their impact. Their commitment to our DOM family and ensuring its success are phenomenal.

Finally, huge thanks to Natalie and Andrew for stepping into their interim roles. I know that they will provide outstanding leadership for us and that they can count on each of you for support. They are bringing innovative, caring, thoughtful and inspirational leadership and we are fortunate to have them in these roles! I am also grateful to them for allowing me to continue as a member of the DOM family – it is a massive privilege to continue to be a part of this community and I remain committed to all of the values and actions of our DOM. 

Thank you and please let me know how best I can support you in future, as I step into the new role.

Sharon

Please see below for the following updates:

1. Exemptions for Epic Systems training opening Sept. 3 and other important updates
2. Epic Go-Live New Hire/Transfer Pause: Nov. 23 to Dec. 6
3. Epic Essentials
4. Impact to Biochemistry Lab testing at St. Michael's

Please be reminded that Epic Systems training begins next month. In preparation, please read the following email carefully, as it contains important information, updates and instructions. Additional communication will follow next week with details on the training program components - please stay tuned.

Exemption process

An exemption attestation will be available in Elevate as of Sept. 3. Please read the attestation carefully before signing. If you meet the criteria, please proceed directly to the end user proficiency assessment (EUPA). You’ll have two attempts to score 80% or higher on the EUPA; if not, you’ll need to complete training. Once you successfully complete the EUPA, as well as a login lab and user settings lab, please unenroll yourself from your existing training session(s) to make them available to another user. Instructions on how to unenroll yourself from training can be found in this tip sheet.

Please note:

• If your former organization is in Canada but NOT included in the list of eligible organizations in the attestation, please email [email protected] to have the team review your request BEFORE completing the attestation form.
• If your Epic experience was over 12 months ago but within a reasonable timeframe, please email [email protected] to inquire about an exemption. 

Maintenance of Certification (MOC) credits 

Epic Systems training has been certified by the Allan Waters Family Simulation Centre at Unity Health as an accredited group learning activity (Section 1) and feedback and improvement activity (Section 3), as defined by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada’s Maintenance of Certification (MOC) Program. Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and The College of Family Physicians of Canada members can claim Epic Systems training as continuing professional development as follows: 

• Section 1 MOC credits – virtual and instructor-led training is recognized as an MOC activity for up to 12 hours. This includes online activities and classroom training. 
• Section 3 MOC credits – user settings labs are recognized as an MOC activity for up to two hours, to personalize your Epic profile. 

Certificates will be available to download in Elevate within one month of activity completion. More information can be found in this document.

Validating your training courses 

Some of you may be required to complete multiple courses. Please use this catalogue to confirm that you’re registered for the right ones. In particular, please look to see if you’ve been inadvertently mapped to the “Research Coordinator” course. This course is meant for clinicians running research studies or other significant research endeavors, and is institutionally REQUIRED for those acting as principal investigators for Health Canada regulated research.

If you realize that you’re missing a course or inadvertently registered for the wrong one, please email [email protected] to be mapped to the right course(s).

Accommodations 

As a reminder, accommodation is available for physicians who require support with their classroom training session(s). To request accommodation, please submit this accessibility services request form to the EPR Education team at least three weeks ahead of your classroom training session(s). More information can be found on the form. 

Thank you for your continued assistance and cooperation. If you have any questions, please visit the EPR System Training page on UnityNet or email [email protected].

In preparation for Epic Go-Live, the Talent Acquisition team in partnership with Project Connect will be introducing a pause on the new hire on-boarding and transferring of staff around the period of Go-Live.  This pause will ensure that new hires and internal staff transferring to new units will have the necessary Epic training to support a seamless onboarding experience.

During the period of Nov. 23, 2024 to Dec. 6, 2024, on-boarding and transfer activities will be minimized and can only occur if staff do not require additional Epic training for the position they are starting in. Please note that, to accommodate this pause, the in-person component of the St. Joseph’s Corporate Nursing Orientation has been moved from Dec. 6 to Dec. 13. St. Michael’s and Providence Nursing Orientation in-person orientation dates are not impacted. For a complete list of Nursing Orientation dates and contacts, please visit the Nursing Orientation Page on UnityNet and Elevate for further details.

This table outlines the impact of the new hire on-boarding/transfer pause. The Talent Acquisition team is committed to working with leaders to identify alternative start/transfer dates outside of impacted period (Nov. 23, 2024 to Dec. 6, 2024). Please reach out to your Talent Acquisition Specialist should you have any questions. 

Please find attached our first two editions of "Epic Essentials".  This is a newsletter we're distributing every 2 weeks between now and through the post go-live period that should have some helpful information for your practitioners.

While this will be mass distributed through channels from comms, we do know that sometimes department/division heads have alternate distribution channels that have increased uptake, so we're also going to push these to you to forward as required as well.

The basic format will be a one-pager than can be scanned quickly which will have a few components:

  1) Do This - something that should just be done

  2) Know This - something that links out to various things to read over about a new workflow or concept in Epic

  3) Watch This - something that links to short videos that go over workflows or concepts

  4) Fun Fact - something potentially of more peripheral interest

Again, these will be every two weeks, and I would encourage that people make these a regular part of their getting ready for Epic activities.  Any feedback through the departmental/divisional leadership is welcome.

Trevor