The office of Faculty Affairs (FA) oversees faculty affairs within the Faculty of Medicine. We are comprised of the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI), the Faculty Wellness Program (FWP), and the Office of Professionalism (OP). The Assistant-Deans and Director of these offices report to the Vice-Dean Faculty Affairs who is the head of the FA. The FA oversees the clinical faculty appointment process, annual reviews, academic promotion as well as other academic issues and faculty relations. The number of requests for faculty appointment and promotion continues to increase, a healthy indicator of the faculty engagement with the University.

Faculty Wellness Program (FWP):

FWP Seminar Series

Cracking the Resiliency Myth: Is it possible to get ourselves out of the stress and burnout spiral? How can the health care system heal itself?

Date:
Wednesday, May 17, 2023

Time:
12:00 – 1:00

Introduction:

Join us as we welcome Dr. Tim Lau, Interim Assistant Dean of the Faculty Wellness Program who will discuss some of the overall literature on stress and resiliency.

Description:

We are experiencing record levels of burnout in medicine as more clinicians are leaving clinical practice. It is a crisis of health human resources with overcrowded emergency rooms, extensive wait lists, and so many patients needing care.

Clinicians are expected to provide compassionate, error-free care within a healthcare system plagued by limited funding, staff shortages, and excessive wait times. The personal lives of clinicians are in upheaval, and they are experiencing depression, substance misuse, and suicidality at alarming rates. The phenomenon of compassion fatigue, imposter syndrome, and moral distress has taken on heightened awareness resulting from lived experience. Organizations are scrambling to address this crisis, but interventions and wellness initiatives are often perceived as missing the mark.

We are learning that we need to shift our focus from burnout and wellness toward individual and organizational resilience, which are interconnected. And it has become increasingly obvious that the culture of wellness, where we work, the efficiency of practice, and personal resilience are all key contributors to our professional and personal fulfillment.

In this session, we will discuss some of the overall literature on stress and resiliency. In particular, review some of the lessons learned and barriers that exist at an individual, community, and organizational level in developing an institutional infrastructure for physician wellness. Finally, we will review some evidence-based decisions that can move clinicians from burnout to engagement, isolation to belonging, and illness to wellness.

Click here to register to this event!

Academic Promotions:

• 2021-2022

The Office of Faculty Affairs is proud to announce that we have received a record number of promotion applications this year, receiving a total of seventy-one (71). Fifty (50) applications for promotion to the rank of Associate Professor and twenty-one (21) for promotion to the rank of Full Professor.

Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion:

EDI Seminar Series

The Burden of Identity: How can we dismantle systemic oppression in Healthcare? 

Date:
Thursday, June 08, 2023

Time:
12:00 – 1:00

Introduction

Join us as we welcome Dr. Kyle Wilby, who will discuss the burden of identity and how we can dismantle systemic oppression in Healthcare

Description:

This seminar will integrate theory, empirical evidence, and theory to address concepts relating to systemic oppression in healthcare and the challenges educators face in attempting to dismantle discrimination that exists within our training and practice programs. 

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

• Describe the minority stress model, including distal and proximal minority stress processes.
• Explain the lens of systemic oppression, including the intersection of individual, interpersonal, and systemic contributors. 
• Identify strategies to reduce systemic oppression in both healthcare and education settings. 

Click here to join the session!

Postdoctoral Fellows Mentoring Program

The Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies in collaboration with the Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion is proud to announce the launch of a formal mentoring program at the Faculty of Medicine for Postdoctoral fellows.

For potential mentors, this is a great opportunity to give back, become a better leader, and refine your skills and networks.

We are excited to see the mentorship and outcomes which evolve from this initiative and look forward to matching you!

Top 5 reasons to become a mentor:

• Become a better leader
• Gain new perspectives and fresh ideas
• Shape the leaders of tomorrow
• Achieve personal career gains
• Change someone’s world

If interested in becoming a mentor, kindly provide us with your information via the Survey Monkey link.