College of Medicine (CoM) Restructuring
Report to University Council
June 2013
Prepared by Martin Phillipson, Vice-Provost CoM Organizational Restructuring and Lou Qualtiere, Acting Dean
College of Medicine
“…that commencing in April, 2013, the Provost and the Dean/Acting Dean of Medicine report regularly to
University Council on progress made toward development of an implementation plan for the vision described in A
New Vision for the College of Medicine, and on the accreditation status of the undergraduate medical education
(M.D.) program in the College of Medicine…” (Council minutes, December 2012)
Preamble
The purpose of this document is to provide an update to University Council on progress that has been made
toward the development of an implementation plan for the vision described in A New Vision for the College of
Medicine.
This report to Council will focus on four issues:
1. College Leadership
2. Accreditation
3. Research
4. Continuing work of the Deans’ Advisory Committee
College Leadership
In May, vice-provost college of medicine, Martin Phillipson, had his term renewed for a further twelve months with
his term due to expire on June 30, 2014. In addition, acting dean, Lou Qualtiere, extended his term until October
31, 2013. The search for a new dean is active and is on-going. Advertisements have been placed in the national
press. Finally, Dr. Gill White, currently associate dean in Regina, has been appointed acting vice-dean education on
a one-year term beginning June 1, 2013. Dr. Femi Olatunbosun, currently associate dean faculty engagement and
co-chair of the DAC, has been appointed acting vice-dean faculty engagement on a one-year term effective July 1,
2013.
Accreditation
We have been informed by the Committee on Accreditation of Canadian Medical Schools (CACMS), that the
discussion of our accreditation status will be delayed until late October 2013, at the earliest. The University of
Saskatchewan College of Medicine was not discussed by CACMS during their May meeting, and as such, was not
discussed by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) when they met earlier this month.
The next round of meetings for CACMS/LCME will be in late September and early October 2013, and we anticipate
our college will be discussed at this time. We will communicate with the entire college community and publicly
once we are informed of the decision by CACMS/LCME.
In the interim, we continue to work on addressing our performance under those standards where we have been
deemed non-compliant. In particular, a significantly enhanced approach to assignment of duties in the college has
been adopted with a view to addressing our continuing failure to meet standard IS-9 which relates to the
accountability of full-time faculty.
Research
Since April 2013, work has continued on the development of the draft college research strategy. The document has
been shared with departments and was discussed at a retreat of the college executive in June. The dean and acting
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vice-dean research also met with Ministry of Health officials in May to discuss the strategy. A detailed consultation
phase is now underway and over 300 strategic initiatives, in five pre-determined categories, have been suggested
in feedback received thus far. These 300 initiatives will be distilled down to a core group of research initiatives via
the consultation process. The strategy will be discussed at an upcoming meeting of the DAC and at a special
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meeting of faculty council on June 25 . The final strategy will be included in the implementation plan due for
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submission to Planning and Priorities on August 15 .
Continuing Work of the Deans’ Advisory Committee (DAC)
The Deans’ Advisory Committee has continued to meet on a regular basis; approximately every three
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weeks. Town hall meetings have continued with the most recent being held in Regina on May 7 . The viceprovost college of medicine and the dean attended in person and also met with Ministry of Health officials
and members of the Regina-Qu’Appelle Health Region executive. The DAC has two meetings scheduled for
June where the work of the new working groups and the research strategy will be discussed.
Unified Department Head Group
The group has met frequently and examined previous reform proposals, current accountability documents,
and engaged in a thorough discussion of the desired role and purpose of unified heads. The group has also
interviewed several current unified heads in order to gain a deeper understanding of the challenges of the
office. At its last meeting, the group interviewed the CEO of the Saskatoon Health Region to obtain
feedback from this key stakeholder on all aspects of the unified head position including search and
selection procedures. The vice-provost college of medicine and the dean also met with several clinical
department heads in Regina to obtain their feedback on the unified head position. The working group has
begun work on its final recommendations and is currently considering a new job profile for unified heads.
DME Governance
The DME Governance working group has met several times and has identified both strategic and
operational issues that need to be addressed in relation to existing and future distributed education sites.
The work of the group is ongoing.
Biomedical Sciences Working Group
This group has met several times and has rapidly developed a proposal to fundamentally restructure the Basic
Science departments and their program offerings. This proposal is currently being discussed within the college. A
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Town Hall is scheduled for June 24 and this issue will be on the agenda of the June 25 special meeting of faculty
council. The final proposal will form part of the implementation plan.
Conclusion
As per the motion of December 20, 2012, the implementation plan will be submitted to the Planning and
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Priorities Committee of Council on August 15 , 2013. This update reinforces both the highly consultative
nature of the restructuring process, and the breadth of the range of issues that require attention.
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