MD Program Strategic Plan

Group of MD students in an elevator

In the fall of 2021, the MD Program embarked on an exciting journey, initiating a comprehensive three-phase design and consultation process to craft a strategic plan for our medical education program. Together with students, faculty, staff and community stakeholders, we revisited our mission, goals and values, aligning them with our ambitious vision for the future.

The outcome was a dynamic plan, continuously evolving from the robust framework of the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry (FoMD) Vision 2025 strategic plan. Subject to yearly review, it was unanimously endorsed by the MD Curriculum & Program Committee (MDCPC) on March 17, 2022.

Our Vision, Mission + Values

As we move forward together, our strategic plan reflects the shared vision, mission and values of all who contributed to the plan.

Vision

With our communities, inspired through learning, serving society

Mission

Our medical school develops diverse, competent and compassionate physician leaders to serve the health needs of Alberta, northern communities and Canada through adaptive innovation and social accountability.

Values

In all our interactions with students, learners, staff, instructors, care providers and patients, we value:

  • Well-being: Every individual is a valued and respected member of our educational community; therefore, we actively promote, support and value well-being
  • Compassion: Exhibiting compassion will foster well-being, empathy and understanding
  • Cultural Safety: A respectful learning and work environment supports positive collaboration and communication, addressing power imbalances in the learning and work environment
  • Diverse Perspectives: Diverse perspectives count in the partnership of all individuals and communities; therefore, we actively practice anti-racism, anti-oppression and decolonization principles at all levels of the program
  • Health Equity: We seek to address health inequities through active innovation in our admissions process, educational practices and advocacy
  • Growth: We believe that our development as individuals and as an organization is essential; therefore, we learn from mistakes that embody adaptive innovation and quality improvement

Our Process

  1. Design phase (October 2021): Regular consultations between the Associate Dean, MD program, an external consultant and other stakeholders, ending in a two-day workshop with 20 participants.
  2. Engage phase (November/December 2021): Proposed vision, mission and values shared with medical education faculty, staff and students; feedback gathered through survey. Twenty distinct focus groups provided input on the strategic plan roadmap. Extensive revisions followed, based on feedback gathered.
  3. Refine phase (January 2022): Final revisions, based on accumulated feedback, made by initial design group.

Altogether, more than 600 people were involved in the strategic planning process, including the groups who participated in the design and refine phases and hundreds of people who contributed feedback through surveys and focus groups in the engage phase.

Thanks to everyone who contributed. Special thanks to Don Winn and his team for facilitating the sessions and to Dr. Shelley Ross, Rachel Hislop-Hook and Angie Hill who compiled and analyzed the feedback.

Six Strategic Focus Areas

People Come First

Fostering a learning community where interactions amongst learners, staff, faculty, patients, families and community members are grounded in compassion, dignity and mutual respect.

Generalism + Adaptive Practice

Redefining how medical education is delivered so that our graduates exemplify the professional identity formation, adaptability and readiness for clinical practice in the varied settings encountered by generalists.

Social Accountability

Building on the values, strengths and wisdom of the communities we serve, particularly the systemically excluded and underserved, to better understand and respond to what they expect from the MD Program.

Health Promoting Work + Learning Environment

Influencing transformation in learning and work environments in pervasive ways, so that it is health-promoting for all, enabled by policies, processes, procedures and accountabilities.

Responsive Curriculum

Ensuring our curriculum, objectives, delivery and evaluation are transparent, accessible, responsive to feedback and undergo regular, formal review and improvement.

Educational Technology

Implementing a robust and well-designed program delivery and curriculum management system (PCDMS) that addresses the needs of all stakeholders.

View the full MD Program Strategic Plan roadmap

Tracking Our Progress

We will track our progress in these six areas using the same methods FoMD has employed in monitoring Vision 2025:

  • Leads are assigned to each of the six strategic areas
  • Leads meet quarterly to discuss the "big rocks" that have been moved for the quarter and to confirm the targets for the upcoming quarter
  • To ensure accountability and transparency, quarterly progress is shown on this website for each strategic area
  • Pre-determined metrics evaluated and reviewed quarterly and annually, supported by the Program Evaluation Unit and through continuous quality improvement measures set up by the director, Program Quality & Accreditation and the program evaluation specialist