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.