Health Sciences Council2010 2010 Health Sciences Council

Administration/Operations

Identified Need: Common support for interdisciplinary functionsMajor Action: Administrative structures and processes are created to support health scholarship

Activities Benefits

• Support interdisciplinary health scholarship through budget, HR and risk management advising, and space planning

Administrative effectiveness and efficiencies are achieved where it makes sense

• 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

Internal & External Relations

Identified Need: Enhanced attitude toward, value of and support for interdisciplinary scholarshipMain Action: Coordinates and increases health team messaging and branding

Activities Benefits

• Continuous Coordinated Campus Communication

More and trustworthy internal communication about interdisciplinary health scholarship

Build brand for U of A around capacity for health team research and education

Reputation of Interprofessional health scholarship is enhanced and protected

• Integrated Strategic Communications Related to Edmonton Clinic North

• Maintenance of media relations and promotion of interdisciplinary health sciences success stories

• Alumni Relations

• Production of knowledge translation products

• Creative and strategic messaging for recruitment of quality undergraduate and graduate students

Identified Need: External relations and mechanisms that support interdisciplinary health scholarshipMain Action: Interdisciplinary opportunities are acted on in a timely manner

Activities Benefits

• Build and maintain relationships with existing and potential external partners / stakeholders

Increased resources are available for health team scholarship

U of A Health Sciences are seen as good partners

• Ensure that the interests of HS faculties are served in the development and implementation of the U of A framework for ECN

• Facilitate and steward interdisciplinary fund raising initiatives

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

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.

Health Sciences Council: Change Agent for Health Team Scholarship

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.

Working ArrangementA 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

Research Engagement• Facilitate successful interdisciplinary health

sciences research networks, relationships and resources

• 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 CouncilUniversity of Alberta300 Campus Tower, 8625 - 112 StreetEdmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 1K81-780-492-2861

www.healthscience.ualberta.ca

Health Sciences Council2010 2010 Health Sciences Council

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

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

Delivering on Needs and Expectations

Teaching and Learning

Identified Need: Interdisciplinary education to advance teamwork in health careMain 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

• 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

• Build capacity among faculty to effectively debrief for team learning

• Create environments to attract research teams in simulation learning, use of technology in health care, and team learning

Relevant interprofessional experiences are made available to health sciences faculties

Research Engagement

Identified Need: Interdisciplinary health sciences research networks, relationships and resourcesMain Action: Contributes to strategic interdisciplinary health research planning

Activities Benefits

Health research planning and development

• 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 team grantsmanship and team research implementation

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

Citizenship

Identified Need: A physical presence to embody interdisciplinary health sciences identityMain Action: Negotiates with partners to deliver the vision of Edmonton Clinic

Activities Benefits

• Focus on interdisciplinary health sciences leadership, research, and student engagement

• Build and maintain relationships with key representatives from all ECN stakeholders

HSC is a champion of Edmonton Clinic North, a spatial and administrative support for interdisciplinary health scholarship

• Develop administrative processes to make the vision work long term

Identified Need: Collective UA-Health Sciences policy and positions on interdisciplinary issuesMain Action: Provides interdisciplinary health science representation on key committees and task forces

Activities Benefits

• Interdisciplinary health science representation on key committees, task forces

Coordinated response to broad health sector policy questions and issues management requests from the Provost

• Drafting coordinated institutional responses to stakeholder questions and issues