With gratitude, we acknowledge that the Department of Medicine, its divisions, and its sites, which reside on four university academic campuses, are located on traditional, ancestral and unceded territories of Indigenous peoples around the province of British Columbia.
We respectfully acknowledge that the:
- UBC Vancouver-Point Grey academic campus is located on the traditional, ancestral, unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), and UBC operations in Vancouver more generally are also on the territories of the Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) and səl̓ilwətaɁɬ(Tsleil-Waututh);
- UBC Okanagan academic campus is situated on the traditional, ancestral, unceded territory of the Syilx Okanagan Nation;
- University of Northern BC Prince George campus is located on the traditional territory of the Lheidli T’enneh, who are part of the Dakelh (Carrier) First Nations;
- lək̓ʷəŋən peoples on whose traditional territories the University of Victoria is located and the Songhees, Esquimalt and W̱SÁNEĆ peoples whose historical relationships with the land continue to this day.
In 2022, the Department of Medicine embarked on the development of a strategic plan to help set a cohesive direction and departmental priorities for the next five years; to strengthen and forge new collaborative relationships; and to support decision-making and resource allocation.
The COVID-19 pandemic greatly impacted our department members and we wish to thank everyone for their tireless efforts on the front lines of our health care system. The pressures created by this pandemic required us as a department to become nimble and agile, to collaborate together, to re-image the way we operate, to better communicate as a department, and to align our priorities given limitations to resources. We will continue to support department members by partnering with health authorities and hospitals to influence quality improvement initiatives, by advocating the University of British Columbia and the BC Ministry of Health for a change in budgetary model, and by leading within the Faculty of Medicine to be a key department in teaching medical students and residents and advancing cutting edge research projects.
Developing the plan:
In January 2022, the Department of Medicine began the strategic planning process, keeping the principles of the Faculty of Medicine’s strategic plan in mind when building our plan. A Working Group comprised of senior leadership and administrative managers from within the Department of Medicine was formed to move the strategic plan forward and the Department of Medicine’s Executive Committee took on an Advisory Committee role.
Phase 1 of the strategic plan focused on conducting a situation assessment to understand the current environment and needs of our stakeholder community. Our stakeholders include all faculty, staff, trainees, and learners in the Department of Medicine, as well as our partners in the Faculty of Medicine and the many Health Authorities across the Province of British Columbia. As part of this process, we administered comprehensive surveys of our faculty, staff, trainees, and learners and conducted discussions with our partners to gain feedback on their values and priorities. We also held site visits and town halls throughout the province of British Columbia.
These meetings provided the opportunity to personally connect with our incredible department members and to inquire about what matters to our department members. These conversations brought together diverse voices to address the questions:
- What do you wish for as we move forward?
- What do you think should be the key priorities for our Department over the next five years?
- How can we better recognize the contributions you are making as we work together to build our future?
These discussions included faculty, staff, trainees, and learners at all levels, across all divisions and distributed sites, and encompassed the areas education, research, administration, and clinical.
Phase 2 of the project focused on strategy development informed by the consultations held in phase one. Core working groups were formed to start the planning process on how to action the goals identified in each of the core areas: organization, education, research, clinical.
The themes of partnership, reaffirmation of a true and lasting commitment to Indigenous reconciliation and anti-racism in all its form, planetary health and defining what that means, and mentorship were seen across all core areas.
The work of the core working groups was presented to the Department’s Advisory Committee for feedback in April 2023. We will be returning to the sites in June 2023 to share our exciting progress to date. We highly encourage all department members to attend one of the June 2023 site visits. We hope to see and speak with as many of you as we can!
Anita Palepu, MD, MPH, FRCPC, MACP
Professor and Eric W. Hamber Chair
Head, Department of Medicine
University of British Columbia
Today’s date is:
The UBC Department of Medicine Strategic Plan is currently in: Phase 4: Implementation & Sustainment
