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'Scripts by David Anderson, MD

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Faculty of Medicine: COVID-19 Update #12

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May 1, 2020

Good afternoon everyone,

Before I begin, it is with a heavy heart that I regret to inform you of the unexpected death of current laboratory technician, and former graduate student, Mr. Luke Hattie. Mr. Hattie worked closely with Dr. Barbara Karten in her biochemistry laboratory and was a valued member of the team. Our thoughts are with Mr. Hattie’s family, friends and our entire faculty graduate student community. Please see more details about Mr. Hattie below.

Today is National Physician’s Day, so I would like to take this opportunity to thank our faculty and residents who are battling on the front lines of the COVID-19 crisis, and our scientists who are working hard researching improvements to diagnostic testing, and vaccine and drug development.

Their work is always valued, but during this pandemic their contributions to our society are on full display, and the Faculty of Medicine thanks you for your hard work and dedication. Dalhousie University President, Dr. Deep Saini, also took time this week on his podcast “Message from the President” to acknowledge the personal risks and sacrifices that this group is making to ensure that the COVID-19 infections in our community are managed effectively

During these stressful times, physician wellness is of the utmost importance. This is why I was so pleased to see that Dr. Jason Morrison, Interim Head of the Department of Psychiatry and colleagues in the Department of Psychiatry, in partnership with Doctors Nova Scotia, have launched the COVID-19 Support and Resources for Physicians and Their Families website. This collaborative approach to mental health services and support provides physicians and their families resources to turn to during this time. Department members such as Dr. Jackie Kinley are offering wellness programs to physicians, which have been well subscribed and received. Well done!

I was also extremely pleased to see that Ms. Christine Silver Smith was awarded the Ross Award for Service to Residents by Resident Doctors of Canada last week. Now retired, Christine served as the Director of Postgraduate Medical Education at Dalhousie for 22 years, and I am so glad that Resident Doctors chose to recognize the positive impact she had on our residents over the years. Congratulations Christine!

The past few weeks have been extraordinarily difficult as we continue to grieve in the wake of the tragedy that took place in Nova Scotia, and deal with the ongoing impacts of COVID-19 social distancing measures. I find comfort in knowing that there are still so many positive activities taking place within the Faculty of Medicine and Dalhousie, and it is important to take the time to recognize these accomplishments.

As we move into the final month classes/exams for our Med I and Med II classes, I would like to thank the staff and faculty throughout the Faculty of Medicine who came together to provide our learners with an excellent educational experience throughout the year. The last several weeks have been especially challenging, but I know your efforts all year have been appreciated by our students.

As you will read below, we are developing plans for the Class of 2021 to return to their clerkship rotations. As we finalize preparations for the return of the Class of 2021, we will turn our attention to the start of clerkship for the Class of 2022. We will provide more information to all classes as soon as it becomes available.

Please take care of yourselves and each other and 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.

Undergraduate Medical Education
Congratulations to the Class of 2020 for completing their final lecture of PIER IV last week. I was very pleased to join the class along with our UGME and Student Affairs Deans and staff on Microsoft Teams last Thursday to wish them all the best as they set off to start their residencies on July 1, 2020.

These are unusual times, but completing their final class of medical school is an occasion worth celebrating. I look forward to celebrating this accomplishment again with this class at the upcoming Virtual Launch Ceremony for our DMNB students and at our Virtual Graduation Ceremony for the entire Class of 2020 on May 21st.

The continuation of undergraduate medical educational activities would not be possible without the efforts of our MedIT team, which were featured in a recent Dal Med News article.

Resumption of Clerkship
We are tentatively aiming to restart clerkship on June 8th, 2020 with a plan for two 8-week units to allow all remaining core objectives to be met. While these are shorter than the usual 12-week units, this will enable the class of 2021 to complete the remainder of the Med III year in time to provide multiple elective experiences in MED IV prior to the CaRMS match. More information can be found on the Faculty of Medicine COVID-19 information page.

A town hall is scheduled for Tuesday, May 5th at 11:00 a.m. to discuss these plans and to address any other concerns of the Class of 2021. In the interim, please do not hesitate to contact Dr. Evelyn Sutton (Evelyn.sutton@dal.ca) or Dr. Jennifer Hall (Jennifer.hall@dal.ca) if you have any questions.

Our goal is for the class of 2022 to start clerkship on time. If this changes, we will notify all those affected as soon as possible.

Postgraduate Medical Education: Self-Isolation Measures Adjusted
We received notice from Dr. Robert Strang, Chief Medical Officer of Health for Nova Scotia, that residents returning from rotations elsewhere in the Maritimes must now adhere to ”work isolation” protocols, as defined by the NSHA, rather than strict self-isolation for 14 days.

This is great news for our training programs and for individual residents who will now be able to spend more time in their learning environments and miss less time due to self-isolation.

Postgraduate Medical Education: Electives Update
We are pleased to announce that along with all other postgraduate medical institutions, Dalhousie electives will re-open on July 1, 2020. Public Health rules may still require a period of self-isolation upon arrival in a new province, so residents and Program Directors are asked to use their best judgement about the relative value of individual electives, depending on the specific Public Health requirements of the individual province.

Given the challenges in travel and changes in clinical work availability, the importance of electives in subspecialty match applications will be actively de-emphasized through the CaRMS subspecialty / FM-enhanced skills match processes this year.

Simulation Recognition
Once again, I would like to recognize the important role Simulation is playing to train physicians and first responders in urgent COVID-19 interventions.

Recently, EHS LifeFlight reached out to Mr. Rob Sandeski, Manager of the Human Body Donation Program, for use of clinical cadavers to provide tissue-based training using a new airway device. Rob secured access to our Dalhousie facilities for this request so LifeFlight responders could receive this high-fidelity training, and ultimately save lives.

Special thanks go to Dr. George Kovacs and Dr. Scott MacDonald, who lead the instructional program provided to the EHS LifeFlight team.

Leadership Group of the COVID-19 Immunity Task Force
Congratulations to faculty members Dr. Susan Kirkland and Dr. Scott Halperin, who have both been named to a COVID-19 Immunity Task Force recently established by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

This task force will provide the evidence needed to guide decisions on a return to life and work in the context of COVID-19, and establish priorities and oversee the coordination of a series of country-wide blood test surveys that will tell us how widely the virus has spread in Canada and provide reliable estimates of potential immunity and vulnerabilities in Canadian populations.

Dr. Kirkland’s and Dr. Halperin’s expertise will undoubtedly provide great value to this important work.

Nova Scotia COVID-19 Health Research Coalition Funding Results
Earlier this month, a coalition of eight organizations (Dalhousie University, Dalhousie Medical Research Foundation, Nova Scotia Health Authority, QEII Foundation, Dartmouth General Foundation, Research Nova Scotia, the IWK Foundation and the IWK Health Centre) worked in collaboration to raise $1.5 million in support of COVID-19 research. These grants were awarded on April 30th, and I am pleased that 24 members of the Faculty of Medicine received awards. For full listing of awards, please see link.

NSERC Grant Recipients
Last week, 12 Faculty of Medicine scientists received grants from the NSERC in its latest funding competition. Congratulations to all. For a complete listing of recipients, please see link.

Support for Research Trainees
Last week, the government of Canada announced funding support for students and new grads affected by COVID-19. This funding announcement included $291.6 million to maintain income support for trainees whose programs have been affected due to the closure of academic research labs.

Critically for CIHR-funded investigators, this investment will also provide support for those whose funding is derived directly from operating grants. To read the full announcement, click here.

CMAF Financial Support
Thank you to the Canadian Medical Association Foundation (CMAF), who announced last week that they have committed $20 million to support urgent needs within the health care system related to COVID-19. These supports included more than $5 million that will be granted to 17 medical schools to address financial hardships experienced by medical students and residents in the context of COVID-19.

For the full announcement, please visit the CMAF website.

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 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 has been extended to May 15, 2020.

In Memoriam – Luke Hattie
We were very saddened to learn earlier this week of the death of one of our former graduate students, Mr. Luke Hattie, who passed away suddenly and unexpectedly on April 28 at the age of 25. Luke is survived by his parents Kimberley Ann and Alan Hattie, his brother Daniel Eric Hattie and fiancée Bailey McNutt.

Luke received his undergraduate degree at Memorial University in Newfoundland, and his MSc degree in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Dalhousie. He remained an important part of the department working as a technician, and had recently been hired as a bioanalytical scientist in Nova Scotia. He had a bright future ahead of him.

Luke will be remembered for his kindness and thoughtfulness, his great sense of humor, his creative ingenuity in fixing and building equipment of all sorts, and his love for animals. He deeply cared for his family and friends, and was much loved in return. Our deepest condolences go to Luke’s family and friends. He will be missed by all.

Mental Health Supports Available
In this already uncertain time, last week’s tragedy, and the recent passing of one of our former graduate students 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:

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. 

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