In March of 2022, the UBC Department of Medicine began the development of the 2023-2027 Strategic Plan to help shape our future direction for the next five years. After several months of engagement with a broad range of stakeholders (via surveys, town halls, interviews, focus groups, and general feedback) we are pleased to present our initial draft strategic framework for your consideration.
Please review our draft Vision, Mission, Values, Core Areas, and Operating Principles below and let us know your thoughts. This initial framework will direct the next phase of our work which is developing goals (what we want to accomplish) and actions (how we will accomplish our goals) to support the achievement of our vision and metrics to measure our progress.
Your input is invaluable, and we appreciate the time and effort you have contributed to the Department’s development phase of the strategic planning process.
Validation is now complete.

We are committed to ensuring the success of our learners and faculty and contributing to the health of the Province of British Columbia
Anita Palepu, Professor and Eric W. Hamber Chair in Medicine, UBC Department of Medicine
DRAFT VISION STATEMENT
A transformative and inclusive learning health system
DRAFT MISSION STATEMENT
Through collaborative partnerships and advocacy, we advance education and research to enable the highest quality clinical care for our patients and community through BC
DRAFT VALUE STATEMENTS
Compassion
We show kindness and empathy toward each other and ourselves and are genuinely concerned with the wellbeing of all members. We approach our work with humility, ultimately respecting the dignity, individuality and needs of learners, patients, and community.
Excellence
We strive to be outstanding at all that we do by continuously exploring, learning, innovating and adapting. We value the contributions from all of our members and support them to be their very best selves.
Inclusivity
We are committed to promoting a welcoming and equal opportunity environment where individuals of all life experiences, identities, ancestries and roles feel heard, valued and empowered
Integrity
We are accountable to ourselves and each other for upholding the highest standards in our work and our relationships; decisions are evidence-based and actions are grounded in transparency, honesty, and mutual respect.
DRAFT OPERATING PRINCIPLES
Operating Principles are written statements that describe how group members will operate; they create an organization-wide focus and awareness of what the long-term, “big picture” objectives are for the organization.
Working Together for Greater Impact
We are committed to harmonizing our efforts across sites, regions, and with our partners to transform the learning health system and to create inter-organizational communities. By developing and maintaining mutually beneficial relationships and collaborations with our patients, health partners and our community, we enhance learning outcomes, advance research excellence, improve clinical care, and ignite a collective effort to achieve positive province-wide impact for the health of British Columbians.
Being a Responsive and Sustainable Organization
We build flexibility and sustainability in our processes and systems so that we can respond effectively to evolving health needs. We carefully align resources with strategic priorities in scholarship, practice and health outcomes. By embedding sustainable practices throughout our organization, we demonstrate our commitment to making a positive impact towards wellbeing and planetary health.

DRAFT CORE AREAS
Core areas delineate our major streams of activity. Each core area has a corresponding success statement. These aspirational statements articulate what success will look like for these areas in the future; they are “mini” vision statements for each core area with corresponding strategic goals which will direct the work of the Department of Medicine over the coming years.
Success Statement:
Core Area Education
Success Statement:
Core Area Clinical
Success Statement:
Core Area Research
Success Statement:
Core Area Organization
We work together to:
•instill a culture of continuous learning and provide support and effective tools that prepare current and future health practitioners, educators and researchers to collectively serve the evolving health needs of our community;
•continuously identify emerging needs, expand and renew our innovative education programs, optimize learning outcomes and enable interdisciplinary and interprofessional learning; and
•attract a diverse group of applicants and provide a rich learning experience through our unique distributed model, strong teaching faculty and renowned educational programs.
We work together to:
•provide leadership in transforming the health system and adapt our structures and processes to effectively respond to ongoing changes in healthcare delivery and access to care;
•deliver the highest-quality team-based medical care in our training programs as a critical component of the health care delivery system of our province;
•inform what quality care means at every level of the system by meaningfully involving patient advocacy groups, patients and the community and take actions to improve it;
•promote a culture of continuous improvement.
We work together to:
•provide an dynamic environment that enables research activities across the continuum from discovery to translational research;
•reduce barriers to research progress, and enable a culture of collaboration and continuous improvement;
•strategically allocate resources to focus on the areas that increase our excellence in scholarship and research outcomes;
•address big questions of local and global relevance in health education and research, healthcare needs, and patient outcomes; and
•be recognized for global excellence in academic research, supported by outstanding faculty and staff, and strong partnerships with affiliated research institutes, centres, community partners, and units across UBC.
We work together to:
•promote a safe, respectful and inclusive learning and working environment;
•support our members in achieving their fullest potential while focusing on their well-being; through an inclusive and organizational culture and structure;
•recognize the meaningful contributions of our faculty, staff, and learners;
•adapt virtual and digital technologies to meet the needs of our health populations;
•ensure our policies, processes and methods are in alignment across teams, divisions, and distributed sites;
•advocate for increased resources and collectively identify Department-wide priorities for a more effective distribution of funds and resources;
•co-identify opportunities and implement solutions with our partners and community to build capacity across the learning health system; and
•reduce the negative environmental impacts of our work.