Leadership and Administration

Associate Chair (Education)

Dr. Elisa Ruano Cea MDCM, MHPE, FRCPC

The Associate Chair [Education] mandate derives from the Department's essential academic mission to train the current and next generation of physicians, through excellence and leadership, to help children and families maintain health and well-being despite illness. The Department of Pediatrics is committed to maintaining the highest quality educational programs that are reflective of current needs and educational practices, as well as fostering innovation and scholarship in medical education and promoting shared efficiencies and insights amongst the educator community.

Specific advisory, and when necessary, operational challenges include and are not limited to the following:

  1. Enhancement of an existing socially responsive undergraduate curriculum in Pediatrics that is aligned with the overall objectives of the Faculty MDCM program.
  2. Enhancement of postgraduate and advance postgraduate [fellowship] programs in pediatrics that are competitive at a national and international level.
  3. Alignment of Divisional education missions and goals with those of the Department's educational mission and goals with increased transparency and accountability of the Department's education mission, vision and values.
  4. Enrichment of Pediatrics-related continuing professional development (CPD) activities directed at physicians in practice with the explicit goals of:
    1. Maintaining and advancing competency
    2. Increasing the Department's exposure and profile in the local and provincial professional community
    3. Developing a CPD model that will allow cost-recovery and possibly revenue-generation to further support educational initiatives
    4. Encouraging inter-Divisional collaboration
  5. Promotion and development of internal faculty development of Departmental members.
  6. Support and promote a respectful, responsive, and engaging work and learning environment that is technology-enabled which takes maximal advantage of advances in technology to facilitate learning.
  7. Development of an inter-professional educational program with fellow health professionals involved in child health care delivery.
  8. Expansion of simulation-based learning within the Department directed at all levels of learners and pediatric health care professionals.
  9. Promotion and support of scholarship innovation and knowledge translation in medical education which includes allocation of educationally-related funds.
  10. Chair of the Departmental Education Leadership Committee (DELC) which leads the coordination, synchronization, expansion and development of Departmental educational efforts.
  11. Identification and integration of educational innovations that will result in improved clinical outcomes.
  12. Membership in the Department's Executive Committee providing input that reflects the educational community and mandate.
  13. Representation of Chair in his/her absence, when so delegated.

It is to be expected that to meet the above operational challenges close interaction will be necessary with ongoing existing leadership in undergraduate medical education and postgraduate medical education that respects current responsibilities and leadership styles, as well as with leaders within the Faculty of Medicine, Close interaction is also anticipated with Associate Chairs for clinical operations, outreach, and the Vice-Chair.