Dean’s Message

When we created the Faculty of Medicine strategic plan, Building the Future: 2021–2026, we were uncompromising in our vision of what we would strive to achieve together as a faculty. We set the bar high with the understanding our ambitions as researchers, educators, learners and staff must be equal to the many challenges we face — and must begin always with the most vulnerable people and communities. This vision, transforming health for everyone, informs every aspect of our work.

Now that we have reached the plan’s midway point, it is time to reflect on all that we have accomplished so far, and I’m pleased to share with you a snapshot of some of our incredible work to date, in the form of the Strategic Plan in Action report.

In this special report, you’ll read about how we have expanded our education and training programs to create more opportunities and more supports for current and future learners, especially those from Black, Indigenous and other underrepresented communities.

You’ll learn how we’re accelerating the translation of breakthrough scientific discoveries into lifesaving treatments, and how we are expanding clinical and biomedical research capacity in northern British Columbia.

We have also come together to tackle health inequity and combat the complex and evolving impacts of climate change on health, with programs like the Drone Transport Initiative, which helps to safeguard healthcare in rural, remote and Indigenous communities against disruption from wildfires, floods and other hazards.

We have strengthened our relationships with international, national and local partners, collaborating with organizations such as the Rural Coordination Centre of B.C. on virtual health initiatives that strengthen emergency and specialist care in rural and remote areas and provide support to resident doctors training in these communities.

And through programs such as the Indigenous Speaker Series and the Disability in the Workplace workshops, we have taken important steps toward transforming our culture, creating learning and work environments where all people feel valued and respected.

These are just a few examples among many. The scope and breadth of our work is truly extraordinary, and would not be possible without the energy and dedication of the administration teams, faculty, clinical faculty, researchers and learners.

As I look back on the past three years, I am inspired by the ingenuity, compassion and collaboration on display across our Faculty each and every day. Our many successes testify to our strengths as a province-wide medical school and national and international leader in biomedical innovation — and validate our vision of transforming health for everyone.

Of course, we still have much to accomplish in the final two years of the plan. Guided by our vision, values and goals, and contracts with society and ourselves, we must continue to work together, to be bold, and to place the patient at the centre of everything we do.

Together, we are saving lives today and improving health for tomorrow — in B.C., Canada and around the world.

Dermot Kelleher, MD, FMedSci
Dean, Faculty of Medicine
Vice-President, Health
The University of British Columbia