Creating a Culture of Inquiry & Innovation
Learning with, from and about each other helps us to improve the care we provide as your community teaching hospital. That's why we continue to find innovative ways to integrate interprofessional collaboration when providing care to our patients. Students select St. Joseph's for the unique opportunities we can provide them as a teaching facility. Educating the next generation of health care professionals is key to achieving our Vision of being Canada's Best Community Teaching Hospital.
We are committed to creating a culture of inquiry and innovation that promotes excellence, personal and professional development, competence and accountability for lifelong learning. By helping to enhance the skills of our health care providers and celebrating our unique areas of expertise, we will ensure that our patients, their families and the community continues to receive safe, high quality health care.
AIR Team Takes Flight
Last year St. Joe's was one of 10 organizations awarded with a HealthForceOntario grant that helped us to create an innovative pilot project designed to improve care for patients with breathing problems. Asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pneumonia and croup are some of the most common ailments that send people to the Emergency Department for treatment. Our Assertive Interpforessional Respiratory (AIR) Team pilot explored ways to improve wait times for these types of patients in the Emergency Department.
The team, consisting of a registered respiratory therapist, registered nurse and registered pharmacist, work together to treat stretcher patients (our more urgent cases) suffering from these respiratory complications. The project team's goal is to design a toolkit that will support other hospitals who aim to implement interprofessional teams within their organizations.
Learning With, From and About Each Other
Last fall we hosted our first-ever Interprofessional Education Week, which gave us the opportunity to showcase the interprofessional learning and collaboration that supports our Vision. It is important that we recognize the contributions of all of our health care team members who work tirelessly to ensure that the right patients are getting the right care, in the right place, for the right amount of time – 100% of the time.
The week-long event highlighted our innovative interprofessional skills fair that brings our healthcare professionals together to sharpen their skills in a hands-on way. With interactive mannequins and real-time Code Blues, the fair provides a great opportunity to draw attention to the groundbreaking interprofessional work being done at St. Joe's.
Watch CityTV's Breakfast Television Coverage of our Skills Fair
Watch Segement 1
Watch Segement 2
Watch Segement 3
We continue to build on our commitment to supporting interprofessional practice and education and are excited to be involved in the development of the Centre for Interprofessional Education together with the University of Toronto and the Toronto Health Academic Sciences Network. This will be an opportunity for St. Joe's to further share and acquire new knowledge together with key partners focusing on innovation and discovery that transforms teaching, learning and care through collaboration.
- Maria Tassone
Interim Director, Office of Interprofessional Education
University of Toronto
Lifelong Learning In 2008-2009
We provided over 21,725 training days for medical residents plus 12,985 training days to students in medicine, nursing, rehabilitation sciences, respiratory therapy and laboratory medicine, just to name a few.
We provided $193,781 in educational assistance to 326 staff members to enroll in a job or career-related certificate, diploma, undergraduate and/or graduate degree educational programs.
24 professional staff members from a wide range of health care disciplines including nursing, social work, respiratory therapy, occupational therapy, rehabilitation and pharmacy received Learning is for Life Scholarships. These scholarships, ranging from $1,000 to $5,000 each, were sponsored by TD Bank Financial Group to support educational opportunities for our health care professionals. A total of $50,000 is awarded annually through the Learning is for Life Scholarship program.
Opening our Doors to Educate Students
Some of the next generation of healthcare professionals may be walking the halls of Toronto's elementary schools today. Our Health & Education Program is an initiative that encourages children to learn, ask questions, dream and, even more importantly, have fun! The tour is designed to support their school curriculum and helps reinforce their learning through a positive experience. The program also aims to help dispel fears and any intimidation that children may have about hospitals and encourages them to think of St. Joseph's as part of their community, providing them with the opportunities to learn and even consider a future in health care.
Students learn about the importance of wearing safety gear, staying active, eating healthy and striving to succeed in school. Touching, smelling, looking and listening are incorporated into their learning. There are many opportunities for students to interact with staff from the Emergency, Diagnostic Services, Fracture Room, Outpatient Rehabilitation, Laboratory and the Paediatrics unit.
- Katrina Pillow, St. Mary School
Awards
We are proud of the following individuals and groups who were recognized for their teaching excellence by the University of Toronto for 2008-2009:
- Recognition in the category of Clinical Instructor: Kinny Quan-Velanoski, PT
- Recognition in the category of Small Group Facilitators: Kinny Quan-Velanoski, PT
- Lionel Weinstein Award in Undergraduate Paediatrics Teaching (runner up) - Mark Feldman, MD
- Community Paediatrics Postgraduate Teaching Award - Eddy Lau, MD
- Bruce Tovee Award, Department of Surgery, in Undergraduate Teaching: Yaron Shargall, MD
- DFCM, Annual Faculty Award for Excellence in Leadership: Daphne Williams, MD
- DFCM, Undergraduate Teaching Awards - Interprofessional Health Teaching: Valerie Johnson, RD
- Emergency Medicine Undergraduate Education Teaching Award: Richard Kim, MD