Associate Dean Lifelong Learning
Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Alberta
October 2015 - June 2017
I was the Founding Associate Dean of Lifelong Learning and Physician Learning Program, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Alberta.
As the inaugural Dean of Lifelong Learning, I successfully realized my revolutionary vision of lifelong learning for healthcare professions, not only starting the world's first office of lifelong learning for healthcare providers, but also expanding the scope of the office — from the existing models of continuing medical education (CME) and continuing professional development (CPD) globally — significantly and with great success.
A big part of my success was based on the many successful partnerships — more like relationships — I developed, enabling the successful implementation of numerous innovative new programs and initiatives.
Tasked with transforming the Physician Learning Program at the University of Alberta, I was instrumental in envisioning, conceptualizing and realizing the difficult task of creating innovative new models to align learning with quality improvement and patient safety initiatives, as well as introducing the concept of design in particular, and person-centred & communication design more specifically, as key elements to the success of the learning, quality improvement and patient safety initiatives.
Assistant Dean Clinical Faculty
Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Alberta
February 2014 - October 2015
I served as the Assistant Dean Clinical Faculty, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta, before being tasked as the Founding Dean of Lifelong Learning.
In this position my role was to advocate for the vast clinical faculty at the University of Alberta. This included promoting collegial engagement and collaboration with the community-based clinical faculty, recognizing their needs as well as their immense contribution to the medical and dental education at the University of Alberta.
My Notable Achievements as an Academic
> realizing my transformational, new vision for lifelong learning of healthcare professions, establishing an innovative new model of continuing medical education and professional development entity at the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Alberta, and successfully implementing a number of revolutionary new initiatives.
> starting Precision Initiatives — revolutionizing learning by delivering personalized learning, assessments and leadership development initiatives based on a learner's individualized needs. Designing an innovative new Precision Framework that involved making system level improvements, changing culture by introducing an innovative new learning contract, emphasizing identification of individualized learning needs and behavioural objectives. Utilizing enabling technology & workflow automation to personally design a platform for complete delivery of the program — eliminating resource intensiveness traditionally associated with personalized initiatives.
> starting Health Innovation Design Studio under Lifelong Learning at the University of Alberta, pioneering the concept of design thinking in healthcare & academic medical education for systems and service improvement and innovation.
> establishing collaboration with the Patients, Experience, Evidence, Research (PEER) team (formerly the Evidence-based Medicine team) to form an Integrated Knowledge Translation Network, with a focus on the learning, quality improvement and knowledge transfer needs of our primary and community care practitioners.
> establishing first of its kind joint accreditation system for continuing medical education programs in collaboration with Continuing Professional Development (CPD), University of Toronto, delivered entirely using a technology enabled platform exclusively designed by me.
> designing a number of new initiatives and tools towards alignment of learning for quality.
> designing innovational new frameworks for competency- and quality-based personalized learning, assessments and leadership development of health care professions.
> using cutting edge technology and workflow automation to design platforms enabling complete automation of processes and delivery of several of our initiatives, including personalized learning & assessment framework, collaborative learning, projects management, etc.
