Newsletter

 The Department of Medicine is delighted to welcome Dr. Lauren King, Division of Rheumatology, to the active staff! 

Hi Everyone

As we head towards the fall, I wanted to thank all of you for your incredible work this summer to launch another academic year!  I know that there was a lot happening at the hospital, the university, and elsewhere over this summer, which meant that the pace did not slow down for many of you.

Huge thanks for coming together to support the admission surge we are seeing. The GIM CTUs have been experiencing much higher inpatient volumes than is typical for August and your assistance to help offload them has been fantastic and much appreciated. For example, the incredible collegiality in relaxing admission criteria to GI, respirology and neurology facilitated patient care and learner experience.  One of the residents remarked to me today that they were so amazed and grateful to see this happen, as they hadn’t had a similar experiences elsewhere.

Thanks for role modeling this and for your continued commitment to collegiality!

Sharon

Please see below for the following updates:

1. N95 Respirator fit testing at St. Michael’s
2. Angels Den 2023 – 2 Free Tickets Remain

Please see below for the following updates:

• Recipients for Excellence in Postgraduate Teaching
• Call for Proposals:  2023-24 SMHA AFP Innovation Funds - Aug 21/23 submission internal review deadline
• Reminder: Do not use the St. Michael’s Emergency Department to enter the hospital
• MRI staffing update
• Interim executive program coverage
• Vera Dounaevskaia is the Inaugural Program Medical Director for Medicine at Unity Health
• Medical Humanities Education Matching Funding Grant - Call for Proposals Fall 2023
• Update – Research Consolidating to LKSKI and 193 Yonge St.

Please see below for the following updates:

• Hand Hygiene education updates
• Call for Proposals:  2023-24 SMHA AFP Innovation Funds - Aug 21/23 submission internal review deadline
• Available Chair Opportunity - Endowed Chair in Homelessness, Housing and Health
• Changes in CPOE ordering of plasma on Soarian
• IM PD Posting

• Call for Proposals:  2023-24 SMHA AFP Innovation Funds - Aug 21/23 submission internal review deadline
• Reminder: 2022/2023 Annual Activity Reports
• Minimizing delays in pathology results for urgent cases
• Article: A New Approach to M.S. Could Transform Treatment of Other Diseases
• New self-serve IT portal now live: Quickly and easily submit and track IT tickets
• Report suspicious calls to Privacy and Risk

Please see below for the following updates:

• Reminder: 2022/2023 Annual Activity Reports
• Call for Proposals:  2023-24 SMHA AFP Innovation Funds - Aug 21/23 submission internal review deadline
• IM Accreditation Response
• Unity Health launching new self-serve IT portal on July 17

Announcements – June 2023

• Congratulations to…
• Special Congratulations to our Retirees!
• Endocrinology Divisional Leadership Change
• Chief Medical Resident Changeover
• Postings

• Congratulations to…
• Special Congratulations to our Retirees!
• Chief Medical Resident Changeover
• Lyne Noel de Tilly's Retirement
• Masking changes at Unity Health effective June 27, 2023

Dear Colleagues,

I am very pleased to announce that Dr. Laura Walker from the Division of General Internal Medicine will become the Site Director, Core Internal Medicine program, as of July 1, 2023, replacing Dr. Eric Tseng who has completed his 3 year term.  Laura is a clinician teacher, has completed the Master Teacher program, and was the Chief Medical Resident at SMH in 2016/2017.  She has been the Deputy Site Education Program Director over the last 3 years. Please join me in congratulating Laura and thank you in advance for your support of her in this new role. Thanks also to the Search Committee who completed the interview process.

I also wish to thank Eric Tseng for his excellent leadership in this role over the last 3 years during the very difficult times of a global pandemic, staffing changes, and a Royal College accreditation decision of intent to withdraw.  Eric will become the Program Director for the Hematology residency training program as of July 1, 2023.

Congratulations to both!

Sharon

• Encouraging blood donation and restrictive blood use
• Call for applications - Deputy Site Director, IM
• St Michael’s physicians who use phone dictation: Review these tips for using eScription One
• Atropine 1% ophthalmic solution bottle dropper 5 mL is on backorder
• Outpatient Post-COVID Condition Rehabilitation Program closing August 31
• Announcement from Thomas Parker, Executive Vice-President, Clinical Programs & Chief Medical Officer
• Medical Education Strategic Plan 2023-2025 and 2022-2023 Annual Report

Thanks to everyone who attended the SMH DOM Annual Celebration last night – it was wonderful to see everyone and to hear all of the laughter!  Thanks, in particular, to Julia and Jessica for all they did to ensure it was a special evening. And, congratulations to all of the award winners and retirees.

Several of you asked for a copy of the poem that Jillian Horton wrote for us and we’ve included it in this newsletter.

Thanks again to each of you for another amazing year! Your kindness, compassion, and commitment to patients and learners continue to inspire.

Sharon

We Said by Jillian Horton

We said, but what if the worst thing happens

It did

We said, but what if we can’t handle it

We could

(What if I never see you again

What if nothing comes of this?)

We got lost in all those questions

Stuck like a record needle

Tired and worn down in those grooves.

(What if this never ends?

What if everything changes?)

We nudged each other out of those ruts.

We got tired of those questions.

We saw they would not change anything.

We started asking new ones.

We said,

What if we are closer than we have ever been to what we are here to do?

We said,

What are we going to do with what we know now?

We said,

What if this is the moment we change everything?