2024 Education Strategic Plan Refresh
A Message from Our Vice-President
I am delighted to share the new 2024 Sunnybrook Education Strategic Plan refresh. Education, lifelong learning, and research have been fundamental to improving clinical care and patient safety at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre for decades. At the same time, we know that contextual factors and external forces often spark and define what kind of change each era faces. The past several years have brought profound changes to learning and education. Notably, the global pandemic, the much-needed heightened attention brought to equity, diversity and inclusion, and the fast-paced technological advances in artificial intelligence have reshaped the needs of learners and educators alike.
“Today, Sunnybrook has established itself across three campuses and is distinguished by its excellence in teaching and learning and its emphasis on inclusivity and belonging. The health centre’s Education initiatives build on these strengths, supporting our Education purpose to create quality learning for all in a world of growing change."
With these developments, we understood that we had reached an inflection point requiring us to review and refresh our strategy carefully. The review of the strategy was a timely process that began with a reflection of our past ambitions.
We engaged key stakeholders through various forms of consultation.
We engaged a group of stakeholders during the refresh of the strategy. The feedback was consistent: our current approach has served Sunnybrook well over the past several years and has remained relevant and practical. But our actions or initiatives needed a refresh, considering that our world had significantly changed. Together, we worked to identify what is possible. We set out to do things differently where needed in a new era of education and learning.
One of the main areas we focused on was revaluating our core purpose. We updated our purpose to meet today’s needs and better reflect our values, vision, and goals. Another key area is our commitment to inclusivity and belonging. While it has always been an integral part of our approach, we are taking more deliberate actions to ensure it is engrained in our decision-making, actions, and overall strategy refresh.
Our strategic direction remains the same, but our actions have changed.
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Five strategic directions map our purpose
- Learner Experience & Culture
Learners state they are valued and supported throughout their placement.
- Team-Based Learning
Team members from diverse professions, roles and organizations work to their full potential through interactive learning and simulation within a positive, culturally safe environment.
- Patient as Educator
We will partner with patient and families so we can include their experiences and perspectives in all teaching and learning.
- Life-Long Learning
We will support the career-long personal and professional growth of our employees and physicians.
- Education Research & Scholarship
Education research and scholarship will be enhanced to improve learner, teacher and patient experiences and outcomes.
We know that in order to prepare the next generation of educators and learners, change is needed in this new era of education and learning. Mainly, we are:
- Creating a more inclusive learning environment and approaches. We are listening and engaging in a more meaningful and deliberate manner.
- Embracing technological disruption. Technology is our enabler—the opportunity to increase accountability, measure real-time impact, and significantly impact education.
- Adapting teaching and learning methods such as microlearning and microteaching to respond to the new needs in which people work, learn, and consume information—all to improve how it can be adapted at the bedside of our patients for better quality care.
The refresh of our strategy is ambitious and necessary, and we believe the success of our strategy will be felt across Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre.
I am deeply grateful for the time and contributions of Elizabeth McLaney, Agnes Ryzinski our Education Strategic Direction leaders and SEAC committee members, and Samantha Sexton and Suzanne Diab-Chahine, who provided thoughtful and necessary input to help refresh the strategy and plan.
Ari Zaretsky, MD, FRCPC
Vice President, Education
Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre
Our Strategy At a Glance
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Our purpose:
Creating quality learning for all in changing times.
Our vision:
Inventing the future of healthcare through education.
Five strategic directions map our purpose
- Learner Experience & Culture
Learners state they are valued and supported throughout their placement.
- Team-Based Learning
Team members from diverse professions, roles and organizations work to their full potential through interactive learning and simulation within a positive, culturally safe environment.
- Patient as Educator
We will partner with patient and families so we can include their experiences and perspectives in all teaching and learning.
- Life-Long Learning
We will support the career-long personal and professional growth of our employees and physicians.
- Education Research & Scholarship
Education research and scholarship will be enhanced to improve learner, teacher and patient experiences and outcomes.
Strategic enablers
- Infrastructure
- Technology
- Stakeholder Engagement
- Investment
Embedding belonging in all we do
- Equity
Fair access, opportunity, and support
- Diversity
Presence of differences
- Inclusion
Genuine sense of belonging and value
Our targeted and measurable initiatives are how we will achieve our immediate goals and contribute to our long-term vision.
The Refresh: Five Measurable Initatives Steer our Purpose and Vision
Set in place an infrastructure to support robust monitoring, measuring and reporting results.
Discover and implement novel approaches to education and learning for patients, volunteers and partners.
Utilize microteaching and microlearning methods to facilitate rapid knowledge application.
Enhance career progression, employee satisfaction and life-long learning through specialty training and certification.
Strengthen capability and capacity for education research.
