Last year’s annual report reinforced the message that Post MD Education encourages a culture that endeavours “to teach our learners to be ready to take up the challenge of “jobs that have not been invented”, and “crises we can’t yet imagine.” The latter part of the 2019-2020 academic year introduced us to one such crisis with the COVID-19 global pandemic. The unprecedented challenge for the delivery and reinvention of medical education as a result of COVID-19 saw Post MD Education come together as a community to respond to the needs, safety and wellness of our trainees and faculty while also fostering innovative new ways of learning. We quickly mobilized to create an environment that functioned remotely, while maintaining the delivery of world class teaching and programs for trainees and learners.
With support from the Temerty Foundation, Continuing Professional Development (CPD) created a COVID-19 website to house curated education and clinical resources. A resource library was also developed to house over 180 curated resources from trusted sources and a special CPD response to COVID-19 fund was established to support research and innovation in education. Under the leadership of Dr. Julie Maggi, Post MD Education created a COVID-19 Wellness Webinar Series to support mental health and build resilience. The COVID-19 pandemic also propelled a transformational change in CPD programs and conferences with the transition to digital learning. The move to digital opened up opportunities for new formats and allowed CPD to work with a number of specialty societies and associations.
For Postgraduate Medical Education (PGME), this year marked its third successful year in the staged implementation of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (the Royal College) Competence by Design (CBD) model, with fourteen postgraduate programs newly onboarded (the largest cohort yet). PGME also continued to enhance the online platform, Elentra, to support the assessment of Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) and other workplace-based assessment tools. Furthermore, PGME continued to focus on the diversification of the sponsorship portfolio, and on the continuous improvement of the concierge service offered to sponsored applicants for postgraduate training. A central focus of the 2019-2020 academic year was on the preparation for our accreditation visit from the Royal College and the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) that took place as a virtual visit from November 22 – December 4, 2020.
This academic year has been one of unprecedented changes that has been equally challenging and rewarding. I completed my term as Vice Dean Post MD Education on June 30, 2020 and we welcomed Dr. Patricia Houston as Vice Dean, Medical Education, a new role within the Temerty Faculty of Medicine.
As I reflect on my past 10 years in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, first as Vice Dean PGME and then as Vice Dean Post MD Education – PGME and CPD, I am grateful for the commitment and intellectual foresight of our leaders Drs. Suzan Schneeweiss, Glen Bandiera, our faculty members, staff, and affiliated hospital partners. I am proud of all we have been able to accomplish together and wish you all continued success.
Salvatore Spadafora
Vice-Dean Post MD 2015-2020