As we gear up for our Undergraduate Medical Education (UGME) accreditation site visit April 28-May 1, I want to share some highlights of how the landscape at the Max Rady College of Medicine has been transformed since our last accreditation in 2011 – and remind everyone that we can be proud of many positive changes and accomplishments during this time. For more details, faculty and staff are encouraged to review our submitted data collection instrument (DCI) and all of our accreditation documents.

New Rady Faculty of Health Sciences

In 2014, the University of Manitoba established the new Faculty of Health Sciences bringing together the colleges of Dentistry, Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy and Rehabilitation Sciences and positioning the University of Manitoba as a leader in interdisciplinary education, research, clinical practice and community engagement.

In 2016, Ernest and Evelyn Rady, through the Rady Family Foundation, made a $30 million donation to the U of M, the largest in the university’s history, in honour of Ernest’s parents, Rose Rady and Dr. Max Rady (a 1921 MD grad). In recognition of this monumental gift, the university renamed the FHS the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences and the medical college the Max Rady College of Medicine.

Curriculum Review

The Max Rady College of Medicine responded to the rapid changes in medicine and launched a complete review and revision of its UGME curriculum starting in 2010. The result is a fully integrated spiral scaffold curriculum spanning four years, with fewer lectures and more small-group, interactive, and self-directed sessions.

The new curriculum emphasizes the importance of social responsibility, health advocacy and professionalism and is delivered through modules along with longitudinal courses in Indigenous Health, Population Health, Professionalism, Clinical Skills and Clinical Reasoning. The curriculum was introduced in 2013 with a new clerkship program and the following year with pre-clerkship. The Class of 2018 was the first cohort to complete the entire new curriculum.

Research

In 2017, the Max Rady College of Medicine held annualized research funds of $103.5 million, a 16.6 per cent increase over 2016 and a 38 per cent increase over 2015. Currently the Max Rady College of Medicine has 16 Canada Research Chairs and an additional 21 endowed chairs or professorships. Ongoing initiatives include greater support for student research with expansion of the summer research positions to include Med 1 summer positions in addition to the established Med 2 summer positions and the B.Sc. (Med) program. More than 50 per cent of students in Med 1 and Med 2 are involved in summer research programs.

Social Accountability

An important driver of change at the Max Rady College of Medicine is the principle of social accountability. The medical college strives to be responsive to the communities it serves. This includes incorporating community-based learning into the new curriculum, supporting four Habitat for Humanity builds over the past six years, and adding interprofessional learning sessions to orient students to the social service agencies that provide a wide range of services to the inner-city community around Bannatyne campus.

Since September 2016, all Max Rady College of Medicine medical students are required to participate in 46 hours of service learning experiences during pre-clerkship training. This year, we partnered with 36 community organizations in this initiative, supported by the Office of Community Engagement, connecting students with the local community.

Indigenous Respect & Achievement

The Max Rady College of Medicine integrates within its strategic plan the respect of Indigenous peoples and their history, and the promotion of Indigenous achievement.

On June 2, 2017, the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences launched Ongomiizwin, the Indigenous Institute of Healing. This brings together three earlier entities—the Manitoba First Nations Centre for Aboriginal Health Research, the Centre for Aboriginal Health Education and the J.A. Hildes Northern Medical Unit (which has provided physician services to more than 30 communities in northern Manitoba since 1969)—to form the largest Indigenous education and health unit in Canada.

Ongomiizwin leads the implementation of the faculty’s Reconciliation Action Plan. Led by Dr. Catherine Cook, vice-dean Indigenous, efforts have included faculty education on cultural safety, integration of Indigenous health into the UGME curriculum, provision of Indigenous health services to remote communities, and support and mentorship of students of Indigenous ancestry.

What positive changes have you noticed in the Max Rady College of Medicine over the last eight years?