April 24, 2020

Good evening everyone,

The past week has been difficult for Canadians as we struggle to process the unimaginable tragedy that took place in our province last weekend. Words cannot adequately express the collective pain we are experiencing, and as we grieve the tremendous loss, I encourage you all to support and take care of one another at this difficult time.

Resources are available to those of us in need of mental health supports. Please do not hesitate to reach out if you need such support.

Work within the Faculty of Medicine is continuing with much of it coming from home in a virtual environment. I will update you next week on more of the accomplishments and highlights occurring within the faculty.

At this time, our primary focus is on the wellbeing of our staff, faculty and learners.
My thoughts and deepest condolences go out to the families, friends and all those who have been impacted by the weekend’s tragedy.

I look forward to connecting with you again next week.

Sincerely,

Dr. David Anderson
Dean, Faculty of Medicine

Mental Health Supports Available
In this already uncertain time, last weekend’s tragedy may be causing additional stress and anxiety to our students, faculty, and staff. If you are in need of assistance, several mental health resources are available to you:

• Employee and Family Assistance Program (EFAP)
• EFAP Crisis Line: 1-844-751-2133
• Student Health & Wellness
• Dalhousie Remote Working: Mental Health Resources
• Doctors Nova Scotia: Professional Support Program
• Nova Scotia Mental Health Crisis Line: 1-888-429-8167
• Nova Scotia Health Authority: Mental Health, Stress & Resiliency
• Psychology works for COVID-19: Psychologists giving back to front line service providers
• Fredericton Mental Health Crisis Line: 506-453-2132
• Moncton Mental Health Crisis Line: 1-866-771-7760
• Saint John Mental Health Crisis Line: 1-888-811-3664
• New Brunswick Medical Society: msibbett@nbms.nb.ca or 506-875-6749

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 regularly to address your questions and communicate the answers to you in a timely manner. If your questions are not answered here, or on the website, please contact the Faculty of Medicine’s Communications Advisor, Jason Bremner (jason.bremner@dal.ca). For further information related to the impact of COVID-19 in the Faculty of Medicine, please visit our website at https://medicine.dal.ca/news/covid.html.

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. 

April 17, 2020

Good day everyone,

Yesterday marked one month since Dalhousie suspended classes and life began to rapidly change for us. Although there have been inconveniences for many, on behalf of the Faculty of Medicine I would like to thank our public health officials and health care providers, including our faculty and residents, who are working on the front lines dealing with COVID-19. We thank you for all that you are doing to keep us safe.

I want to share the very positive news that all students of the medical school Class of 2020 have matched to residency programs in Canada. This is an outstanding accomplishment for this distinguished class. I would also like to thank the Student Affairs Office for the guidance they provided our graduating students during their time in medical school and particularly throughout the residency matching process.

I am also pleased to announce that all of our postgraduate residency positions have been filled following the matching process. Congratulations to the over 50 Royal College and College of Family Physician program directors on this achievement. We look forward to welcoming a new class of residents July 1, 2020 to our campuses and affiliated health authorities.

Best of luck to our Med II class, who will be writing their exams online today and tomorrow utilizing virtual proctoring software. We are pleased that Med I and Med II classes have been able to proceed with their education using virtual lectures and tutorials, coordinated by our Med IT team. Their preliminary experiences are being highlighted in an upcoming Dal Med News article.

Our Med III clinical clerkships continue to be postponed while our clinical preceptors deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. Although many students have stepped up to offer their services by volunteering, their educational experience has been disrupted, which is understandably frustrating and concerning. Both locally and nationally, planning for the resumption of clerkship is taking place and we are working to ensure our Med III students enter residency on time in July 2021. Going forward, our UGME team will provide weekly updates to all classes about how timelines are proceeding. While we work through these details, please continue to reach out to UGME and/or our Student Affairs Office if you have any questions or concerns.

COVID-19 research continues at Dalhousie and we look forward to seeing the work of our scientists and others as they address the diagnostic and therapeutic challenges posed by COVID-19. I am very pleased to see today’s announcement of a COVID-19 Health Research Coalition of eight partner organizations (Dalhousie Medical Research Foundation, Dalhousie University, NSHA Research and Innovation, QEII Foundation, IWK Health Centre, IWK Foundation, Dartmouth General Foundation, and Research Nova Scotia) who have come together to support COVID-19 research. Researchers are urged to check this link today to get further information about this exciting and very time-sensitive research funding program.

COVID-19 has been very disruptive for most of our scientists and graduate students based in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, who have seen their laboratories temporarily close and teaching and research move to virtual platforms. I have been pleased with the efforts of scientists to keep in contact with their students and with departments for continuing academic activities including rounds and journal clubs. We look forward to seeing all research programs in the Faculty of Medicine resume when it is safe to do so.

Over the past month I have been continually impressed by the commitment and dedication of our students, faculty, and staff to address current and future challenges posed by the consequences of COVID-19. Please stay well, take care of yourselves and your families, and reach out if you have questions or concerns.

Have a safe weekend,

Dr. David Anderson
Dean, Faculty of Medicine

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

CIHR Early Career Award in Infection and Immunity
Congratulations to Dr. Zhenyu Cheng, Assistant Professor in the Department of Microbiology & Immunology for receiving the CIHR Bhagirath Singh Early Career Award in Infection and Immunity.

Dr. Cheng received this $25,000 prize for obtaining the highest ranked research proposal in the 2019 CIHR Fall and Spring Project Grant competitions.

Medical Research Development Office
As we welcome Dr. Roger McLeod back from his recovery from injury, I would like to thank Dr. Craig McCormick and Dr. Jim Fawcett for filling in admirably to cover the responsibilities of the Associate Dean, Research portfolio while Dr. McLeod was away. It was especially helpful to be able to lean on their expertise during the initial stages of the pandemic.

Postgraduate Medical Education
The College of Family Physicians (CFPC) announced earlier this week that both the Simulated Office Oral (SOO) component of the Certification Examination in Family Medicine and the oral component of the September 2020 Examination of Added Competence in Emergency Medicine (FM-EM exam) have been cancelled. The CFPC is actively exploring alternative options for delivering the Short Answer Management Problem (SAMP) portions of these exams in fall 2020; no decisions about any changes to the delivery format have been made.

A reminder to all residents that the Nova Scotia Health Authority is introducing an expanded FIT testing model for N95 respirators to ensure that those who need to perform or be involved with aerosol-generating medical procedures (AGMP’s) are FIT tested to a variety of N95 respirators. Please read NSHA’s FIT Testing FAQ for more information.

Simulation Activities
As a result of the COVID pandemic, there has been a greater need for hospitals and their interprofessional staff in Nova Scotia to be able to utilize simulation to practice with ED, ICU and other acute care teams using appropriate PPE precautions and safety techniques.

I would like to acknowledge the tremendous effort put forth by our Department of Emergency Medicine simulation team. With leadership by Drs. Connie LeBlanc and Stephen Miller, cutting edge COVID related materials that had been developed in-house were quickly put together to deliver a training program for interprofessional front line health care providers across the province.

This effort was informed through excellent work by local, national and international experts within the department to provide a core suite of materials for teams at sites across the province. This gives them the tools to facilitate and deliver simulations in their departments to help teams safely prepare for COVID patients.

Faculty of Medicine Awards of Excellence in Leadership
As a reminder, I encourage you to take some time to consider who you could nominate for our various faculty awards as well as our Faculty of Medicine Awards of Excellence in Leadership, which celebrate the incredible contributions of our staff in administrative, technical and clerical support roles, professional and managerial positions, and those in academic leadership roles.

During times such as these, it’s especially encouraging to acknowledge the impact these contributions have on the Faculty of Medicine. The deadline to submit a nomination is April 30, 2020.

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 regularly 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). For further information related to the impact of COVID-19 in the Faculty of Medicine, please visit our website at https://medicine.dal.ca/news/covid.html.

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

April 9, 2020

Good evening everyone,

As we move into our fourth week experiencing the impacts of COVID-19 in the Maritime provinces, case numbers continue to increase, and tragically, our region has experienced its first COVID-19 related deaths. Clinical activities related to COVID-19 are ramping up with the operation of designated assessment units and hospital wards to manage patients requiring medical attention. As we head into this long weekend of great religious significance to many, we give thanks to our residents, faculty, other health care workers, and our student volunteers who are doing so much to keep us safe.

Under usual circumstances, our Student Affairs Office and student leaders would be busy planning graduation activities and convocation week for our graduating Medical Class of 2020. Although convocation will not move forward as it has in years past, preparations are being made to ensure that the class of 2020 will be properly recognized for their tremendous accomplishments. We will be sharing more information as soon as it is available.

The transition to virtual learning continues this week, as we prepare to hold Med 1 and Med 2 exams utilizing virtual proctoring software. This will enable students to take exams at home while allowing the exam process to proceed in a controlled environment.

For those upcoming graduates who are scheduled to be starting their residency placements at Dalhousie on July 1^st, there is much to be done to prepare. Information sessions are being planned for our future residents to meet with Dr. Andrew Warren (Associate Dean, Postgraduate Medical Education) and Dr. David Bowes (Assistant Dean, Postgraduate Medical Education) to have their questions answered, and help make this transition into residency as seamless as present circumstances allow.

For our students, staff, faculty and friends, please continue with public health measures and stay safe. Holiday weekends are often a time for family gatherings and a great time to get away, but it’s more important than ever for us to continue social distancing measures. With no clear end in site, we must adhere to the best advice put in place by Public Health to minimize the risk of spread of this deadly infection. These measures are especially difficult when we would like to celebrate the holidays, but I encourage you all to support our health care workers by staying home.

Have a safe long weekend,

Dr. David Anderson
Dean, Faculty of Medicine

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

Tri-council Research Funding
This week, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) announced that Dr. Shelly McNeil, Head of Infectious Diseases at the Nova Scotia Health Authority, and Professor in the Department of Medicine, and her colleagues, have been awarded almost $1 million in funding to gather data related to COVID-19 symptoms. Their research will also explore possible treatments and risk factors, which will inform Canada’s public health response to COVID-19. This work will be performed through the Canadian Immunization Research Network (CIRN). Dr. McNeil joins an increasing list of Dalhousie scientists who are funded to study the COVID-19 pandemic.

Two other colleagues received major research awards from Social Science and Humanities Research Council. Dr. Sandra Meier, Assistant Professor and Tier II Canada Research Chair in the Department of Psychiatry received a four-year research award evaluating the impact of social media on mental well being.  Dr. Anna McLeod, Professor of Medicine in the Division of Medical Education, also received a four-year award for her evaluation of teaching students about death and dying in medical school.

K.G. McKenzie Award for Clinical Neuroscience Research
Congratulations also goes to Dr. Mark MacLean, a second-year neurosurgery resident in the Faculty of Medicine who recently received the K.G. McKenzie Memorial Prize for Clinical Neuroscience Research – the top research prize in Canada for a neurosurgery resident.

For more information on Dr. MacLean’s well-deserved prize, please visit Dal Med News.

Postgraduate Medical Education
For residents completing Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada specialty training programs and originally scheduled exams this spring, the College has announced today that oral exams have been cancelled and will no longer be part of the examination process. These residents will have written exams scheduled for the fall of 2020. Residents are directed to visit the RCPSC website for more information.

Graduate Students: Lab2MarketHealth
For our graduate students, please have a look at a new innovative program Lab2MarketHealth, a virtual program hosted by Dalhousie and Ryerson Universities, that will provide training and support to students and researchers looking to bring innovative health solutions to market.

This program is looking for graduate students with big ideas who believe their tech research can solve real world problems (such as COVID-19 related issues). Together with the direct involvement of the faculty supervisors and the support of mentors, graduate students will go through a program that provides the resources, training and guidance needed to take their innovation from lab to market.

Deadline to apply is April 17^th. Learn more at, www.lab2market.ca

Extension of NSERC Discovery Grants
To lessen the negative impact of COVID-19 on research, the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) announced this week that all active holders of Discovery Grants can elect to receive a one-year extension with funds at their current funding level. This includes grants from the recent 2020 competition. For more information, please visit the NSERC website. For previous research related announcements please visit https://medicine.dal.ca/news/covid.html

Accessing Campus for Work Activities
Faculty and staff are reminded that, if you require access to buildings at DMNS or DMNB, to first check in with the appropriate contact person.

For Carlton campus, Building Services is managing non-research-related access. If you need to visit campus, please contact Paul Bourgeois (Paul.Bourgeois@dal.ca). For research related access please notify Dr. Roger McLeod (Roger.McLeod@dal.ca).

Access to the DMNB building is limited to essential services and functions only. Staff access is restricted to picking up essential items to support their continuing work. These visits must be submitted for approval to Ken Lerette (Kenneth.Lerette@dal.ca). Please provide 24 hours notice in advance of your visit if possible. Staff are reminded to be brief and ensure you complete your business in one visit.

ProjectDal
In response to the financial hardships experienced by many at Dalhousie as a result of COVID-19, Dalhousie recently launched new crowdfunding campaigns on ProjectDAL.
There are three ways people can help:

1. Supporting the Student Emergency Relief Fundwill help students facing urgent financial hardships. The money raised will go towards travel, housing or food costs for students.
2. The Student Technology Fundwill ensure all students have access to the technology they need to continue their studies remotely. It will help mitigate the cost of equipment, such as laptops, computer rentals or mobile internet devices for those without internet access.
3. Lastly, the Community Connection Project will enable the Dal community to offer support by means of jobs, mentorship or housing solutions.

Faculty of Medicine Awards of Excellence in Leadership
As a reminder, I encourage you to take some time to consider who you could nominate for our various faculty awards as well as our Faculty of Medicine Awards of Excellence in Leadership, which celebrate the incredible contributions of our staff in administrative, technical and clerical support roles, professional and managerial positions, and those in academic leadership roles.

During times such as these, it’s especially encouraging to acknowledge the impact these contributions have on the Faculty of Medicine. The deadline to submit a nomination is April 30, 2020.

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 regularly 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).  Again for further information related to the impact of COVID-19 in the Faculty of Medicine, please visit our website at https://medicine.dal.ca/news/covid.html.

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. 

April 3, 2020

Good afternoon everyone,

We are heading into the end of our third week managing the COVID-19 pandemic at the Faculty of Medicine. Although many have settled into the “new normal” of working from home, virtual classrooms, and social distancing, COVID-19 has resulted in major disruptions to our work and the education of our students and residents.

We are also settling into the reality that this pandemic is likely to be with us for months. Therefore, our planning must look towards the summer and fall. Although this is a major inconvenience, our focus must be on the health and wellness of our region and the commitment to ongoing aggressive public health measures until the situation shows signs of improvement. Flattening the curve to help our health care system deal with COVID-19 is our highest priority.

I continue to have deep respect and admiration for our clinical faculty and residents who are dealing directly with COVID-19 risk and infection along with other challenges in our health care system. A sincere thanks for all that you are doing.

While COVID-19 is top-of-mind for us all, it’s important not to lose focus on the great work and accomplishments of faculty, students, and staff in the Faculty of Medicine. Please continue to share news of awards, recognitions or positive stories you may have during these trying times.

Please hang in there and take care of yourselves and your families as we deal with the COVID-19 pandemic together. We will get through this, and we all need to play our part. Don’t hesitate to reach out to friends, colleagues and health care professionals for advice and support.

Have a safe weekend.

Kindest regards,

Dr. David Anderson
Dean, Faculty of Medicine

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

2020 CIHR Project Grant Cancelled
Yesterday, CIHR announced that as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, they have cancelled the Spring 2020 Project Grant competition.

CIHR made the decision to cancel the spring competition following consultations with Governing Council, Science Council, partners at the U-15, Universities Canada, HealthCareCAN, and the University Delegates Network, among others.

They have decided to extend the funding term on existing grants and to provide supplemental funding to those most impacted by this cancellation. Please read the full announcement for more details.

Next week we will schedule meetings between Principal Investigators, Human Resources, our research deans, and myself to discuss the planning and management of research operations over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Although most research taking place in the Tupper Building and LSRI has been postponed, COVID-19 research projects are continuing as our scientists collaborate to better understand and manage this difficult infection.

Education Programs
Our undergraduate and graduate medical programs continued online this week without major incidents, and our residents are continuing in their programs.

Undergraduate medical exams are planned to continue as scheduled (with the exception of the Med 1 and 2 OSCE’s, which are postponed). Unfortunately, Royal College and College of Family Physician examinations for our residents will need to be postponed until the fall.

I’m proud to continue to provide updates on the volunteer efforts of our medical students during these challenging times. Many third-year medical students have begun their work with both the Nova Scotia Health Authority and Provincial Occupational Health phone lines to reduce the burden on the 811 system and help screen health care workers for COVID-19.

Our first and second year medical students in both Halifax and Saint John were featured in a recent CBC article, highlighting the program they launched that pairs students with health care workers who could use some help with personal tasks during the COVID-19 response.

For more details about the impact of COVID-19 infection on our education and research programs, please refer to our website.

Appointments
This week the Faculty of Medicine announced the reappointments of two key faculty members; Dr. Jennifer Hall, Associate Dean, Dalhousie Medicine New Brunswick, and Dr. Andrea Rideout, Assistant Dean, Admissions.

Dr. Hall has been instrumental in the continued development of Dalhousie Medicine New Brunswick, and Dr. Rideout has worked diligently to improve all aspects of the admissions processes to Dalhousie Medical School. Congratulations to Dr. Hall and Dr. Rideout on these highly deserved reappointments.

Information Security
A reminder to our community to be vigilant and cautious with email in your inbox and the tools being used to communicate and share information. More details can be found at the Remote Working site under the Technology Resources menu, including:

• COVID-19 Related Scams: a number of malicious actors are taking the opportunity to exploit fears about the pandemic and are using alerts and other communications to trick people into installing malware on their devices. Don’t click on a link or open an attachment of anything suspicious. “When it doubt, throw it out.” More information can be found here.
• Technology Security Topic: The Technology Security Topics site contains information related to Zoom Risks and Best Practices, VPNs and Remote Access, Securing Mobile Devices, Protection from Phishing, and much more.

Please contact medit@dal.ca if you have any questions, concerns, or challenges when it comes to working remotely and/or distributed education. MedIT will work with you and your department to select and develop the appropriate tools and strategies you need to communicate online safely.

Continuing Professional Development
The Continuing Professional Development Office has launched a website with a number of articles, links, videos, and webinars that are useful to both the general public and physician audiences regarding COVID-19. For more information, please visit their site.

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.