Health Sciences Council: Change Agent for Health Team Scholarship
Administration/Operations
Internal & External Relations
Identified Need: Common support for interdisciplinary functions Major Action: Administrative structures and processes are created to support health scholarship
Identified Need: Enhanced attitude toward, value of and support for interdisciplinary scholarship Main Action: Coordinates and increases health team messaging and branding
Activities
Benefits
Activities
• Support interdisciplinary health scholarship through budget, HR and risk management advising, and space planning
Administrative effectiveness and efficiencies are achieved where it makes sense
• Continuous Coordinated Campus More and trustworthy internal Communication communication about interdisciplinary health scholarship
• Represent U of A on provincial steering committees for student placement issues • Run fit testing program for N95 respirators (~1400 students) • Manage affiliation agreements • Develop international checklist for use of a health sciences faculties
• Integrated Strategic Communications Related to Edmonton Clinic North • Maintenance of media relations and promotion of interdisciplinary health sciences success stories
Benefits
Build brand for U of A around capacity for health team research and education Reputation of Interprofessional health scholarship is enhanced and protected
• Alumni Relations • Production of knowledge translation products • Creative and strategic messaging for recruitment of quality undergraduate and graduate students
Health Sciences Council University of Alberta 300 Campus Tower, 8625 - 112 Street Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 1K8 1-780-492-2861
Benefits
• Build and maintain relationships with existing Increased resources are and potential external partners / stakeholders available for health team scholarship • Ensure that the interests of HS faculties are served in the development and implementation of the U of A framework U of A Health Sciences are for ECN seen as good partners • Facilitate and steward interdisciplinary fund raising initiatives
Working Arrangement
A core team of people form the Secretariat to the Health Sciences Council. The team is arranged to optimize delivery of the three academic principles: 1) Teaching and Learning; 2) Research Engagement; and 3) Citizenship. These areas are supported by solid administration and operations as well as a robust internal and external relations campaign. The Secretariat works to address each of these activities as follows: Teaching and Learning • Develop interdisciplinary education to advance teamwork in health care
www.healthscience.ualberta.ca
2010
faculty) and the department of Dentistry. The U of A Associate Vice-President (Research) and provincial health authority are also represented on the Council, as is the University of Calgary’s faculty of Social Work. The Council leads, not only in interdisciplinary research and interprofessional education, but in the management of knowledge and discussion around all issues related to health, from lab work to policy making. The Council has evolved significantly over its thirty year history from an informal information sharing body to its current role as an academic leadership unit that mitigates competing priorities and resources in the face of the need for interdisciplinary health scholarship. The U of A is the only university in Canada to address interdisciplinary health scholarship via a coordinated and collaborative Council of equals. This approach allows each faculty to maintain autonomy and develop their unique disciplinary strengths while addressing challenges and opportunities common to all.
The Health Sciences Council reflects the breadth and depth of complex relationships required to develop a successful academic health centre that includes health service entities and a health science campus. The goal of these relationships is excellence in scholarship and accountability in service delivery.
Identified Need: External relations and mechanisms that support interdisciplinary health scholarship Main Action: Interdisciplinary opportunities are acted on in a timely manner Activities
There are many opportunities for University leaders to advance interdisciplinary health scholarship and have a significant local and global impact. At the University of Alberta (U of A), Edmonton, Canada, these opportunities are leveraged by a coordinated council of deans called the Health Sciences Council. The Health Sciences Council (HSC) at the U of A is the cross cutting mechanism initiated in the 1980s and continuously supported by the health science deans and the provost. The U of A offers 43 health science programs in eight faculties to approximately 8,000 students at the pre-licensure and graduate level. The Council facilitates interdisciplinary learning, discovery and citizenship through leadership and collaboration across all health disciplines. Members include the faculties of Medicine and Dentistry; Nursing; Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences; Rehabilitation Medicine; Physical Education and Recreation; Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences; School of Public Health; Augustana (rural
Research Engagement • Facilitate successful interdisciplinary health sciences research networks, relationships and resources
Health Sciences Council
2010
• Facilitate Knowledge to Action in interdisciplinary health education, practice and policies Citizenship • Create a physical presence to embody an interdisciplinary health sciences identity • Lead collective U of A health sciences policies and positions on interdisciplinary issues Administration/Operations • Provide common support for interdisciplinary functions Internal and External Relations • Support enhanced attitude toward, value of and support for interdisciplinary scholarship • Develop relationships and mechanisms that support interdisciplinary health scholarship
Health Sciences Council
Research Engagement
Expectations Deans • Recommend policy and make decisions to advance the interdisciplinary vision • Advance the cross-cutting role of HSC in interdisciplinary health scholarship • Create opportunities to incubate, seed, link and facilitate interdisciplinary health sciences scholarship • Build on the strength of disciplines and remove barriers to mobilizing that strength for interdisciplinary scholarship • Lead the transformation of culture
Identified Need: Interdisciplinary health sciences research networks, relationships and resources Main Action: Contributes to strategic interdisciplinary health research planning SECRETARIAT • Provide clarity and focus about interdisciplinary scholarship to stakeholders • Reduce duplication • Promote synergy and efficiency • Communicate to key audiences • Simplify processes • Strategic planning and resource allocation, enhance and protect our reputation • Reflect collaboration among HS deans • Accommodate complexity
Activities
Benefits
Health research planning and development
Catalyst for team grantsmanship and team research implementation
• Represent deans on U of A research policy and advisory committees • Support implementation of research plan • Represent deans’ interdisciplinary perspective on research committees
Catalyst for Knowledge to Action activities
Position ourselves to build capacity and research administration for interdisciplinary research teams and health research to action or knowledge translation • Secure funds for targeted capacity building • Host networks, steering committees • Model grant review competencies • Troubleshoot grant administration • Support knowledge mobilization Support the evolution of interdisciplinary research model • Centres >> initiatives >> Human Health Initiative
Delivering on Needs and Expectations Citizenship
Teaching and Learning Identified Need: Interdisciplinary education to advance teamwork in health care Main Action: Develops education and simulation modules and infrastructure as a core educational resource Activities
Benefits
• Build on the Interprofessional Initiative, Standardized Patient Program, learning technologies and simulation learning as initiating platforms
Relevant interprofessional experiences are made available to health sciences faculties
• Collaborate with faculties to implement an experience-based team curriculum • Partner with post secondary sectors to create team learning curriculum modules to use across the health workforce
Identified Need: A physical presence to embody interdisciplinary health sciences identity Main Action: Negotiates with partners to deliver the vision of Edmonton Clinic Activities
Benefits
Activities
Benefits
• Focus on interdisciplinary health sciences leadership, research, and student engagement
HSC is a champion of Edmonton Clinic North, a spatial and administrative support for interdisciplinary health scholarship
• Interdisciplinary health science representation on key committees, task forces
Coordinated response to broad health sector policy questions and issues management requests from the Provost
• Build capacity among faculty to effectively debrief for team learning
• Build and maintain relationships with key representatives from all ECN stakeholders
• Create environments to attract research teams in simulation learning, use of technology in health care, and team learning
• Develop administrative processes to make the vision work long term
2010
Health Sciences Council
Identified Need: Collective UA-Health Sciences policy and positions on interdisciplinary issues Main Action: Provides interdisciplinary health science representation on key committees and task forces
2010
• Drafting coordinated institutional responses to stakeholder questions and issues
Health Sciences Council