Hi Everyone,

Well, it has been a busy first three weeks on the job. Along with the usual work of onboarding, orientation, signing up for Blue Cross and making sure I was on the payroll, I have been diving into the job and have gone to a national meeting.

I am also happy to say at home in Stanhope, the boxes are all gone, the pictures are all hung, you can walk through the garage, the two Springers (Murphy and Lincoln) are getting to know Stanhope with their walks, and most importantly, Jane’s car (and her independence) has arrived.

Health PEI warmly welcomed me in my new role as Chief Academic Officer. I have had a chance to welcome our new CEO, Melanie Fraser, and I certainly appreciate her enthusiastic support for the medical school. I have attended two Executive Leadership Team meetings and appreciate their warm welcome.

I look forward to getting to know the Med Ed team at Health PEI.

At the Faculty of Medicine in our temporary offices on Belvedere Avenue, we are now up to a team of 17 with an approved budget for 2024-2025, allowing that team to grow further to ensure we are ready for August 2025. I have been meeting with the team leaders and reviewing their portfolios, work done to date and next steps. I am highly impressed by the team’s accomplishments, the skills of the team, the effective project planning approach, and the remarkable esprit de corps amongst the team. These people are doing a great job and are having fun doing it! And as you can see on University Avenue, a beautiful building which will have great resources for all UPEI health professions, Health PEI, and all of PEI is taking shape nicely.

Recently, some members of the FoM team and I went to the International Congress on Academic Medicine in Vancouver, the premier Canadian meeting for medical schools and medical education with over 1,250 participants. It was fun being one of the new kids on the block (my friends might find that funny – I mean UPEI), and there was great interest and enthusiasm for what we are doing on PEI.

However, we were certainly not alone, as Canada has seen the most significant expansion in medical and health education since four new medical schools opened at the time of Confederation in 1967. Many new campuses are being planned, and three other universities are starting new medical schools (TMU, SFU, and York). One speaker jokingly said: “Stand up if you are not starting a new campus or medical school. Or, more correctly, stand up if your government hasn’t told you to start a new campus or medical school!” Seriously though, we had great opportunities to network and learn from established medical schools and others like us. Islanders can take pride, as I was convinced we are holding our own and ahead of some in this enormous national effort to contribute to the solution of the massive local and national shortage of healthcare professionals.

Besides the growth of enrollment and programs, the conference’s key themes were indigenous health, equity, diversity, inclusivity, anti-racism, accessibility, interprofessional education, team-based care, simulation-based education, and artificial intelligence. It was a great conference with excellent education and networking.

And Vancouver is a wonderful city when the sun shines, and it did. We had lovely weather and got to see a bit of the city, ocean, and mountains. One of my favourite places in the country to run is the “seawall,” I managed to squeeze that in, as well as a nice restaurant or two.

I am happy to be back home, and the weeks ahead are full! I chair the first accreditation of Toronto Metropolitan University in May and June. I have meetings scheduled with doctors around the province and do my first road trip to Prince County Hospital with some Health PEI colleagues in the next few weeks. And there are a few moving-related jobs left to do, like getting an ID card at two places, getting the cars inspected (I didn’t do that in SK) and registered, and finishing the garage!

My door is open, and I am happy to take your call or meet wherever is convenient for you.