CPD Continuing Education Directors and Leaders

The Continuing Education Committee for the Department of Anesthesia supervises the Toronto Interactive Anesthesia Meeting and also supports the development and accreditation of ongoing CE courses produced by the U of T Department of Anesthesia Faculty. In the past year, the department’s CME Online Anesthesia Rounds grew to include 15 educational modules. These modules have been accredited by the University of Toronto CPD for Section 3 RCPSC credits. 987 modules were completed by 451 participants. The program was developed by Dr. Sharon Davies (MSH). Modules can be accessed through the Continuing Medical Education page of the department’s website. Perioperative Interactive Education is another initiative that was launched in the past year. This online medical education program was developed by the Toronto General Hospital’s Department of Anesthesia. Teaching modules include: Patient Simulation, Cardiac Anesthesiology, CV Pharmacology, Malignant Hyperthermia, Obstetric Anesthesia, Point of Care Ultrasound, and Transesophageal Echocardiography. Lastly, the Thoracic Anesthesia group of the Toronto General Hospital created an online bronchoscopy simulator to improve Anesthesiologist’s skills in providing lung isolation for thoracic anesthesia by learning bronchial anatomy. The Web-Based Bronchoscopy Simulator and Quiz can be accessed on the website.

Thank you to Dr. Vito Forte for organizing our Grand Rounds every Friday morning during the academic year. These rounds include presentations from visiting professors, guest lecturers, community & academic faculty, fellows, and residents. In the last 3 years, we have added the capability to watch the Grand Rounds live or archived through the OTN (Ontario Telemedicine Network) to help provide our community academic faculty with easier access to these educational activities. There were several courses organized in the past year. The University of Toronto Rhinology Update led by Drs. Yvonne Chan, John Lee, and Al Vescan was one of the highlights. This course included keynote plenary session and cadaveric dissection by world renowned Dr.Heinz Stammberger, live endoscopic sinus surgery and an “ask the expert” session.

For the last 2 years the Professional Development Committee of DFCM has run a 1-day accredited program on Faculty Wellness and Resilience. This is for all DFCM faculty and deals with the frustrations and fears that faculty members in academic medicine commonly experience. In 2015 there was a keynote presentation on Resilience and Wellness followed by workshops. Workshops were on several topics including Wellness Strategies and Fatigue Management, Mindfulness for Health Care Professionals: Managing Stress and Enhancing Peak Performance, Time Saving Technologies, and Managing Our Careers - From Shifts to Transitions. 40 faculty attended and their evaluations indicated that the sessions were well received and inspiring.

This year, the Digital Pathology Library at the University of Toronto was established. The library has accumulated a significant number of images of various benign and malignant entities from different organ systems. Pathologists from major academic institutions in Toronto have contributed images. Various continuous education courses and conferences were offered such as: Pathology Update, Saturday in Pathology, and various courses offered by Ontario Forensic Institute.  In addition on-line modules are also being offered an example of which is Blood Easy On-line. The LMP Vision 20/20, the 2015-2020 LMP Strategic Plan was published. An ambitious continuous education agenda was provided including evaluating opportunities for developing on-line module education offerings.  It also aims to identify leadership and the development of an implementation plan that focuses on current activities such as “slide clubs” and utilization of Digital Laboratory Medicine Library.

Main Achievements, Innovations and Future Planning Goals:
The Department of Medicine has worked to lead the development, implementation and evaluation of new models of delivering continuing education (CE). These models integrate clinical, quality improvement and patient safety (QI&PS) content. In the past year, QI&PS topics were regularly featured in citywide and hospital grand rounds. The department continued to support the Quality Grand Rounds format during grand rounds and integrated QI&PS into several Divisional Annual Research & Education Days. Many department members have integrated quality, safety and value as themes for national society conferences and meetings. The department has also pursued the development of innovative educational offerings for academic faculty who want to engage more actively in QI&PS work. Local QI&PS training programs such as IHPME MSc in QI&PS, Faculty-resident co-learning curriculum in QI and the development and delivery of national and international programs such as RCPSC’s ASPIRE program and AAMC’s aTe4Q program demonstrate the Department of Medicine’s leadership role in this area. Lastly there has been a strong focus on how QI & PS activities can contribute to academic advancement and promotion. The department mentorship program is an example of this. Mentees benefit from bi-monthly face to face meetings and explore topics related to quality improvement including Ethical Considerations for Quality Improvement Projects; and Optimizing patient and educational outcomes: Uniting Clinician Teachers, Educators and Quality Improvers.

The inaugural Medical Imaging for Family and Community Medicine Physicians was run in April 2015. The course targeted imaging appropriateness criteria by ACR and Choosing Wisely Canada program to highlight and educate optimal utilization of medical imaging in practice. Other program components included symptom-based approach to imaging test ordering as well as deciphering imaging report conclusions and management of incidental findings. The 29th Annual Organ Imaging Review Course was enhanced. Multidisciplinary content with formal lectures by surgeons, internists and or pathologists in subspecialty sections of the program were included. This was done with the intent of engaging radiologists in a clinical care team environment as well as increasing insight into the specific impact of radiology reporting on patient management. The Ontario Association of Radiologists ran a peer review course. University of Toronto Faculty contributed to lectures designed to promote and improve Quality Initiatives in Radiology. The Advanced Imaging and Education Center (AIEC) provided a variety of hands-on workshop sessions in small classroom setting on advanced cardiac imaging as well as virtual colonoscopy. This is a great resource for radiologists to acquire or enhance new skill sets.

Members of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology were invited to represent the University of Toronto at provincial, national and international CPD events. Notable among these activities was faculty involvement in the organization of the first comprehensive International Fetal Therapy Course, presented in Washington DC. This course used fetal and maternal simulators that were designed and created by our Department, in collaboration with Dr Francis Lebouthillier from the sculpture department at OCAD University. These University of Toronto simulators have been purchased by centres around the world to be used in teaching fetal therapy. In the sphere of global CPD, 2015 saw the first graduates from the Gynecologic Oncology Fellowship program at Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya. This program was developed and maintained on-site, under the leadership of Dr Barry Rosen from Princess Margaret Hospital. Dr. Rachel Spitzer has begun an interactive telehealth Rounds CPD program with Moi and an onsite Maternal-Fetal Medicine Division Fellowship program is also in development by Dr Nan Okun.

The CPD Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy committee has focused on the development of certificate courses over the past year. These courses will allow for intensive and applied learning and start in 2016. The first certificate course on Facilitating Work Integration Across Rehabilitation Populations will be offered January 22, 2016. Dr. Mary Kita is the Course Director. Other models of offering certificate courses are also being considered. There are several stand alone courses in the neruorehabilitation area that could be redesigned to count as part of an advanced certificate in this area. Also, as part of an Instructional Technology and Innovation Fund (ITIF) project, a shell for courses and sample e-learning courses are being built. Finally we will consider importing pre-existing certification courses to meet the needs of the rehabilitation community. This work is being done in conjunction with the curriculum committee under the leadership of Dr. Deirdre Dawson.

The Department of Ophthalmology and Vision Sciences continues to provide high quality and innovative continuing professional development (CPD) activities in the form of accredited annual CPD events, instructional workshops at the Canadian Ophthalmological Society annual meeting, and the web-based teaching modules of neuro-ophthalmology. The Visiting Professor and combined Toronto Ophthalmological Society/University of Toronto rounds continue to be an important CPD event for academic and community ophthalmologists. The department has invested in an updated and redesigned online visiting professor rounds, which is now approved for Section 3 credits. The department is constantly striving to increase the development and delivery of novel and in demand CPD events. This includes Section 3 education activities in Ophthalmology. The Macular OCT workshop at the 2015 Annual Canadian Ophthalmological Society Meeting, organized by University of Toronto faculty, was the only Section 3 accredited instruction workshop at that meeting. In addition to this, a number of courses such as the Walter Wright Conference and the Toronto Cataract Course provided generalists and specialists with updates in the field from local and international experts.

The Continuing Education Committee (CEC), led by Dr. Mark Feldman, is comprised of both academic and community-based health care professionals. The CEC develops and supports a breadth of programming. The committee adjudicates the Faculty members of the Department of Paediatrics have been very active in continuing education activities again this 2014-2015 academic year. The 2015 Annual Paediatric Update was held April 29-May 2, 2015. It is the largest general paediatric conference by a Department of Paediatrics in Canada and it attracted a local, national and international audience. 309 participants attended exceeding prior attendance records. There was outstanding faculty contribution with 64 members of our faculty members and 19 guests speakers presented at the event. This year, a Bioethics Subspecialty Day, under the direction of Dr. Jonathan Hellmann was presented. Recognizing the importance of assessment and feedback in continuing education, an innovative, electronic, pre and post conference test was expanded. In comparison to last year, the number of RCPSC category 3 (assessment) MOC course offerings and participants doubled. The department has been awarded the University of Toronto’s Education Development Fund Grant to study our innovation of ‘Test-Enhanced Learning’. It is believed this will be the first time that Test-Enhanced Learning will be critically evaluated at a large national medical CE event. The evaluation will take place at the Paediatric Update Conference in 2016 via a randomized controlled trial.

The University of Toronto, Department of Physical Therapy has a long history of supporting the continuing education and professional development of physical therapists. We have been fortunate to have consistent membership over the years on the CPD Committee including physical therapists Rosemarie Anderson, Denise Lai, Roz Crooks, Audra Sher, Bev Bulmer, Barb Beer, and David Stoyanoff, representing hospital, rehabilitation and private practice in Toronto. We are expecting to have some changes in committee structure as we move to the delivery of CPD using online and social media. The department has developed courses that capitalize on the rich resources unique to the University of Toronto. We have worked collaboratively with other partners such as the Dept. of Anatomy, Dept. of Occupational Therapy, Canadian Physiotherapy Association, Orthopaedic Division and clinicians in the local and international communities who generously share their expertise with others in the profession. In the past year, we have focused on the delivery of online courses in Evidence Based Practice, the Canadian Health Care System as well as face to face single event courses such as Exercise Prescription for Cervical Spine Dysfunction for Physical Therapists. Faculty have published and presented the results of their research at international and local conferences. Our efforts have also been focused on the development of continuing education resources for the Ontario Internationally Educated Physiotherapy Bridging Program covering a wide range of clinical and professional areas. Faculty members have been involved in public education through publication of articles such as “Sitting is the new Smoking: Minimal Exercise can counteract sedentary lifestyle.” Dr. Darlene Reid, the newly appointed Chair of The Department of Physical Therapy is a keen supporter of Continuing Professional Development and under her leadership, the Department plans to continue its efforts in CPD scholarship, innovation and public education in the coming year through the development of certificate courses and exploration of social media opportunities.

In keeping with the Faculty of Medicine’s key strategic priorities for Continuing Professional Development (CPD), the Department of Psychiatry focused on five areas this year – Enhancing best practice and Faculty Development for Continuing Education, Advancing Research, Innovation and Scholarship, Strengthening and Growing Practice based education, Fostering and Embedding Quality improvement in Continuing Education and Promoting Patient and Public Engagement. For 2014-2015, the strategic directions have given rise to many developments and achievements. The Department of Psychiatry was the first mental health department to join the Association of American Medical Colleges Aligning and Education for Quality (AAMC ae4Q) network. This has encouraged the alignment of CPD and QI in mental health, and the launch of initiatives to increase the number of QI trained faculty, such as by creating of an online repository for QI training opportunities, and by developing a job description for a Clinician in Quality and Practice Innovation for the Department of Psychiatry. The department’s Continuing Professional and Practice Development (CPPD) committee launched a 2015-2017 strategic direction document entitled, “Working Wisely – A Plan to Improve Quality of Care through Innovative and Outcomes Based Continuing Professional Development.” The document outlines four strategic directions with the goal of enhancing the alignment of continuing professional development (CPD) and quality improvement (QI) as part of a systems-based approach to education and practice improvement. In an effort to incorporate quality improvement into departmental CPPD activities, Psychiatry Morbidity and Mortality (M&M) Rounds have been piloted. The CPPD Office also supports the growth of M&M Rounds for Psychiatry across affiliated hospital sites through committee involvement and development of an M&M Rounds toolkit. This year the department increased its CPD activities to 92 accredited CPD events, making the Department of Psychiatry the leading provider of continuing education amongst Faculty of Medicine departments. In collaboration with the Canadian Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine (CAPM), the CPPD Office co-led the delivery of a national Maintenance of Certification Section 3 performance assessment continuing education activity on capacity and consent in medical psychiatry, and will deliver the second national performance assessment activity focused on improving delirium care this year. The Office of CPPD and the Division of Adult Psychiatry and Health Systems also launched a successful monthly International Psychiatry Twitter Journal Club in 2014-15 as a vehicle for sharing evidence-based practices in mental health.

RTi3 radiation therapy conference continues through its 10th year to deliver a high quality program for Radiation Therapy staff. This course has developed to be the premier research and education program from radiation therapy within Canada. In 2015, there were 165 attendees. The 9th instalment of Target Insight “Applying Information and Technology to Cancer Care” was held on May 8th, 2015. There were 102 attendees from all major professions within radiation medicine. The World Congress of Biomedical Engineering and Medical Physics was held in Toronto on June 7-12, 2015. This international event is held every 3 years. Many of the U of T DRO faculty were active on the organizing committee including Dr. David Jaffray who was the conference co-chair. One of the unique public outreach events held was to invite local high school science fair winners for a special one-day event at the conference where they presented their award winning projects.

In 2014-2015, the department of Speech Pathology participated in a number of CPD activities took place The Department of Speech-Language Pathology joint forces with the Ontario Association of Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists (OSLA) to organize a new CPD course titled “Advanced Literacy Practices: Make It Happen”. The 6 month course taught by Ms. Jana Leggett. This describes contemporary and advanced approaches to assessment and intervention in emergent literacy, reading, and writing disorders. The J.F. Walker Lecture, sponsored by The Donalda Jean McGeachy Memorial Lecture Series was another highlight. The half day workshop was organized but the University of Toronto Speech-Language Pathology Alumni Association. Speakers Sheila MacDonald and Gary Turner attracted a diverse audience of speech-language pathologists, audiologists, clinical educators, faculty and students. Lastly, four Speech-Language Pathology Clinical Placement Workshops were held. These half-day workshops were run prior to the full-time clinical placements and focused on preparing clinical educators for student placements.

Over the past three years, the CPD office has managed the majority of continuing education events run by the Department of Surgery. This year 25 events were held. The majority of them were fully managed and the remainders were accreditation only. The courses achieved great success with enrollment in the hundreds for several courses including the Update in General Surgery 2015 with 450 registrants and the Urology Update 2014 with 221 registrants. In total there were 2820 participants and faculty across all surgery courses. New programs were introduced this year including the Competency Based Education Training Workshop and newer courses such as the Burn Symposium continued. Many faculty members were also involved in national and international continuing education events that complemented the department’s CPD activities.