As we wrap up our work for another academic term and calendar year here at the CoM, I want to wish you, your families and loved ones a joyful and safe holiday season filled with peace and contentment.
I certainly think we can look back on 2018 very positively for our college. Two particular highlights for me were the great news we got on UGME accreditation in June and the 2018 international ASPIRE award in social accountability we were honoured with in August. These are just the tip of the iceberg, as our whole team contributed to progress across multiple fronts. I’ll highlight a few areas here.
Our PGME office continued the rollout of Competence by Design across its programs, with CBD workshops for faculty and staff at the college’s Regina campus in June and CBD launches in Emergency Medicine and Surgical Foundations in July. We saw our MD Class of 2018, the first cohort to graduate from our new curriculum, score substantially higher on the national exam assessing their competence for entry into postgraduate medical education. We had a highly successful implementation of the new Diversity and Social Accountability Admissions Program, which reserves six of the 100 seats in our undergraduate medical education program for students from socio-economically challenged backgrounds.
Our biomedical science departments moved officially from five to two departments in July. We continue to improve our approach and results in research funding—this is ongoing work as a key focus of our strategic plan. We welcomed the Institute of Indigenous Peoples’ Health (IIPH)—one of 13 institutes of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)—under the leadership of the institute’s scientific director, Carrie Bourassa, to our college in October.
Looking ahead, we have our more detailed strategic plan in hand to guide our work, with nine strategic directions identified. We will pay particular attention to improvements across research, Indigenous health, student wellness, and faculty and staff engagement.
But for now, please accept my thanks and my wishes for a wonderful holiday season: to all in the CoM for your outstanding work in 2018, and to our alumni, partners and friends for your support and engagement in our mission.