March 20, 2020

Good evening everyone,

The past week has presented unprecedented challenges and disruptions to our daily lives, educational experiences and careers. I am deeply grateful for the professionalism and dedication demonstrated by our students, faculty and staff in these ever-changing times, to continue their work and studies.

I also want to acknowledge the efforts of our residents and clinical faculty throughout the Maritime provinces who are working tirelessly on the front lines of our health care system, which now includes screening and managing COVID-19 patients. Please know that the entire Faculty of Medicine, and indeed all of the people in our provinces are thinking of you and are grateful for all that you are doing.

For the time being, remote working for our faculty and staff, and online classes for our medical and graduate students is becoming the new normal. I am encouraged by how seamlessly everyone has adapted and heartened by the fact that the need for social-distancing and remote working has brought us closer together. I am confident that our collective efforts will guide us through this pandemic.

As this situation unfolds, I am committed to keeping you updated with at least weekly emails.

Please take care of yourselves and your families and don’t hesitate to reach out for any support you may need.

Sincerely,

Dr. David Anderson
Dean, Faculty of Medicine

Update
This communication is to provide updates of events over the past 48 hours. For details on more Faculty of Medicine specific information related to COVID-19, please visit: https://medicine.dal.ca/news/covid.html.

Research
The Office of the Vice President Research and Innovation announced earlier today that all campus-based research not considered essential will cease at Dalhousie University as of Tuesday, March 24, 2020. This is in line with decisions being made in most U15 universities in the country.

Although this will present significant challenges, the safety and well-being of our researchers, research staff, trainees and participants is of the utmost importance.
Critical COVID-19 research is exempted and will continue as a matter of urgency, with full support, including the CIHR funded COVID-19 research projects led by Dr. David Kelvin and Dr. Scott Halperin, from the Faculty of Medicine.

Exceptions will be considered for other time- or resource-sensitive critical projects. Principal Investigators who are conducting research that meets these criteria must request permission to continue operations. Read Dr. Aiken’s memo for more information on applying for exceptions, and processes for temporarily shutting down a research lab.

Clinical research at NSHA, IWK and Horizon will continue to be guided by health authority research leadership.

Graduate Studies
This research announcement above will have implications for the training of many of our graduate students and post-doctoral fellows – the backbone of our health and medical research programs in the Faculty of Medicine. We are all grateful for the efforts of. Dr. Valerie Chappe, the Assistant Dean for Graduate Studies, who will be reaching out to our graduate students to provide further information and support. Students, please do not hesitate to reach out to Dr. Chappe (valerie.chappe@dal.ca) if you have questions or concerns.

Medical Student Activities
Earlier this week, we made the difficult decision to suspend clinical clerkship, which has understandably caused a disruption in our third year medical students’ education. Our future doctors are facing this challenge as the community leaders that they are.

From the helping health care workers initiative we highlighted earlier this week, to volunteering their time to meet the increased demand on the 811 service and occupational health, our medical students are stepping up to the plate.

I am incredibly proud of their passion and dedication – the future of our health care system is in capable hands.

COVID-19 at Dalhousie
Late yesterday, Dalhousie University President, Dr. Deep Saini, announced the first presumptive positive COVID-19 case connected with the Dalhousie community in Halifax. In his message, he stressed that if you have NOT been contacted directly by Public Health, you are not considered to have been exposed. Please read Dr. Saini’s message to the Dal community for more information.

Online Classes
Beginning March 23, 2020, all Faculty of Medicine educational activities will transition completely online.

This transition has required a tremendous effort from our MedIT staff, who have been working diligently to ensure the proper infrastructure and supports are in place for both our learners and faculty.

Each class and lecturer has been contacted with specific login information, which can also be found on the Faculty of Medicine COVID-19 information page.

Questions
Thank you to everyone who has reached out with feedback and questions during this ever-changing period and have expressed how this is impacting your education, research or professional responsibilities. Please know that we are meeting daily to address your questions and communicate the answers to you in a timely manner. If your questions aren’t answered here, or on the website, please contact the Faculty of Medicine’s Communications Advisor, Jason Bremner (jason.bremner@dal.ca)

A reminder that the Public Health Agency of Canada, Nova Scotia Public Health, New Brunswick Public Health and PEI Public Health remain the best source for up-to-date public information on this rapidly changing situation. More information related to Dalhousie can be found at www.dal.ca/coronavirus.