Thank you for taking the time to review our draft strategic plan. Your feedback is very important in the development process. We hope to present the finalized plan, along with year 1 implementation priorities in the coming months. Please note for feedback purposes these are the highlights of our plan.
A NOTE ON TERMINOLOGY
We have chosen in this plan to utilize additive language, consistent with the findings of the careful review conducted under the auspices of Beyond the Binary Canada. Co-led by Dr. Lori Brotto. The goal of this work is to provide nationally relevant, community informed guidance that enables researchers to conduct gender inclusive health research for cisgender women and trans, non-binary, Two-Spirit, gender non-conforming, gender creative, and additional gender divergent identities. Acknowledging that the thinking and experience will continue to evolve, the department and strategic plan adopt, for now, the term “women and gender diverse individuals” to encompass these populations.
OUR PURPOSE AND VALUES
We are guided in our work by the vision of the UBC Faculty of Medicine – transforming health for everyone – and by its mission of health through knowledge and innovation. We strive in the department to do our part in fulfilling these commitments by:
ADVANCING HEALTH AND COMPASSIONATE CARE
THROUGH EDUCATION AND RESEARCH IN OBSTETRICS AND GYNECOLOGY
This purpose statement spotlights the role of our profession in transforming health – for all – through our efforts to advance the health of women and gender diverse individuals, and it recognizes that our work as a university department, while focused on training and scholarship, is aimed ultimately at improving practice, influencing policy, and informing public understanding.
Our values are also grounded in UBC and faculty values, but five are integral in Obstetrics & Gynecology:
EXCELLENCE | EQUITY | INCLUSION | RESPECT | COLLABORATION
OUR GOALS
Motivated in many ways by these various impediments, we have articulated four goals that set out our aspirations in Obstetrics & Gynecology. These are not new; they are the ideals that guide each of us every day. However, by making them explicit as a department, we are both signalling our commitments to positive change and inviting others to join us in our journey. Working together, we will
- Strive for sustained excellence in education and research, with steadfast focus on elevating the standards of care throughout the province and beyond.
- Ensure the future of obstetrics and gynecology, inspiring and equipping trainees and colleagues through mentorship and immersion in the profession.
- Bolster the wellbeing of our colleagues and foster a strong sense of community and collaboration.
- Champion the health of women and gender diverse individuals, coalescing systemic action and advocating always for the underserved.
OUR PRIORITIES
We have agreed on clear priorities to guide our efforts in advancing these goals. There is scope – and need – for improvement in each, and much of this work is already underway or at least contemplated. This is by design; we are aiming through the plan more to channel, reinforce, and connect activity than to imagine and impose multiple new demands on an already overextended team.
Moreover, while organized by the four core areas of the UBC and Medicine plans, all priorities are intersectional, with our ongoing success dependent on progressing them in parallel.
Education
Priorities in this area span the spectrum from undergraduate to continuing education, with our focus on steadily building provincial capacity to ensure consistently high-quality care in obstetrics and gynecology. There are crucial connections with our research activities, notably through graduate education.
Changes in undergraduate medical education
To strengthen student knowledge and interest in women’s health in the domain of obstetrics and gynecologic issues. We will review and recommend updates to curriculum, pedagogy, and delivery models in the medical doctor (MD) program to better develop general obstetrics and gynecology competencies amongst medical students, particularly those destined for front-line roles in the health care system, but also to foster excitement around the career possibilities in our field.
Improved and coordinated preceptor engagement
We will amplify efforts to identify, incentivize, and support preceptors to ensure quality clinical experience for all trainees in obstetrics and gynecology, working in collaboration with the new medical school at Simon Fraser University so we can together ensure a seamless transition to an expanded cadre of medical professionals in the province.
Distributed expansion of residency and fellowship programs
Given data supporting serious under resourcing in obstetrics and gynecology in BC and Canada, we will advocate for and operationalize growth in post-graduate programs and selective expansion in sub-speciality training in line with care needs, including through our unique clinical fellowships. Efforts will span rural and remote areas, recruitment from Indigenous communities, and integration of culturally safe and trauma-informed practice.
More systematic continuing medical and surgical education
To bolster competence and confidence in obstetrics and gynecology amongst front-line providers – from nurses to midwives to emergency room physicians to family practitioners, improving uptake and outcomes through awareness building, more accessible training modules, and consistent excellence in teaching. This will also include activities to enhance surgical skills and other focused areas of continuous improvement in our profession.
Research
We will prioritize activities that support researchers across the department in their work that strengthen and sustain our research enterprise overall.
Activation of synergies with research institutes and centres
Harnessing the networks of colleagues within and across these various entities, we will better align governance, personnel, and funding to promote a more coherent and efficient provincial research enterprise. We will also put in place mechanisms to more effectively connect academic and clinical faculty within the department.
Strengthened research infrastructure
We will work with UBC, health authorities and government, and engaged donors to secure investment in wet lab space, statistical support, and clinical trials, all of which are crucial in ensuring continuing excellence in knowledge development and translation and in attracting and retaining top graduate students and research talent.
Needs-tailored support for researchers
We will align our efforts to reinforce knowledge generation in obstetrics and gynecology, from enhanced mentorship of early career and clinician researchers to more systematic guidance for faculty in knowledge mobilization to facilitation of grant applications to creation of structures that enable interdisciplinary collaborations and strategic research partnerships beyond UBC.
Research pipeline building
Just as we must attract compassionate, committed trainees and new faculty to sustain excellence in care, so too must we attract those with strengths in research to sustain excellence in scholarship. To build interest and skills, we will engage learners in research at all stages in their education journeys, also enhancing graduate education through WACH and other program development.
Organisation
The priorities combine internally and externally focused activities that seek to strengthen the financial sustainability of the department and to honour and support those who work and learn in our profession.
Advocacy for resource allocation
One of our most important responsibilities as a department, we will campaign for structural changes in funding to advance our purpose. Priorities include new residency positions, recruitment and retention of scientists and academic faculty to ensure capacity and succession, and enhanced space and facilities to help us attract and retain top quality talent.
Workforce planning, mentorship, and leadership training
We will formalize people functions that support the wellbeing and development of faculty and staff and help ensure the ongoing evolution of the department, approaching all this work through the lenses of equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI), and striving always to cultivate a strong sense of community – notably among Indigenous professionals.
Strategic promotion of the department
Through concerted focus and new models of communications and engagement, we will elevate the awareness and profile of our work, firmly establishing our colleagues as experts, educators, and thought partners in practice and policy. These activities will in turn mobilize a platform for improved public understanding and for fundraising, in partnership with relevant foundations.
Alignment of department administrative practices
We will sustain our efforts to better support educational programming and resident scheduling. Moreover, we will review and revise as needed our divisional structures and budget model to ensure they enable our academic priorities while protecting cross-department efficiencies. A targeted website update will help improve critical information flows.
Partnership
Embracing our endeavours across the province and throughout the world, we will work through active collaboration to establish a new paradigm in the health of women and gender diverse individuals.
Strategic collaborations to champion women’s health
We will work alongside health authorities, the Ministry of Health, and other partners within and beyond BC to advance gender equity in practice, including through public awareness campaigns. A regional and provincial health human resources (HHR) plan is a core priority to address staffing gaps and create structural connections between clinicians providing education and care in obstetrics and gynecology.
Strengthened centres of excellence
Strategy is about choice, and we will seek through this plan to enhance, promote, and connect key areas of academic excellence at the convergence of our expertise and the needs of British Columbians. Not only will these centres help attract talent and funding, but they will also help elevate and align standards of care at critical pain points for patients.
Regional hubs and communities of practice
In conjunction with these centres, we will designate and continue to develop regional hubs that integrate research, education, and care in key sub-specialities –extending and deepening capacity across the province. We will also expand clinical trials in these locations to foster community engagement and drive research-informed innovations through application.
Improved care for Indigenous and other underserved populations
Guided by knowledgeable colleagues, we will collaborate with communities across BC to progress systemic changes in practice through education and research. We will also sustain our work to improve global health through clinical missions that simultaneously build local capacity, such as our partnership with the University of Rwanda.
Thank you for taking the time to review the highlights of our plan. Please click here to provide feedback or email andi.martin@ubc.ca.