'Leading for Wellness' Communities of Practice Program for Faculty Leaders in the Temerty Medicine returns in 2024

Leading through times of uncertainty and change can take a toll on academic health leaders. There is also a great responsibility leaders bear in ensuring that those under their wings are well and able to fulfill their duties and responsibilities. Particularly at a time when faculty and learners are telling us that they are faced with new challenges, uncertainties and addressing injustice, and as well they are experiencing anxiety, moral distress, and overall fatigue, it is incumbent upon leaders (big L and small l) to support the work of creating a culture of caring and wellness. Leaders are key to establishing environments that support wellness – for example, by communicating a wellness vision, providing access to important information or resources, reducing barriers to disclosure and help-seeking, and being available to listen to and act on the needs of learners and faculty.   

The Temerty Faculty of Medicine heard from many leaders that having a support, education, and a leadership community would be extremely helpful during the pandemic. In response to this valuable feedback, we offered communities of practice (COP) for faculty leaders to create an opportunity to develop new skills, share strategies, and support one another.

The COPs were held in 2020 – 2021 and 2022 – 2023 for a 12-month period, meeting once monthly with approximately 80+ leaders participating. We received feedback that these COPs helped leaders to feel more confident in their abilities to lead in a way that facilitated the well-being of themselves and others and was a valuable support to them in discussing challenging leadership situations.

We are pleased, given the overwhelmingly positive feedback, to offer these COPs again! The COPs will be facilitated by the expert leadership of Drs. Julie Maggi and Heather Flett.

The program will consist of: 

• 12-monthly facilitated meetings of leaders, for discussion, problem-solving and support. Content experts may be invited to speak on particular topics of interest.  
• A focus on education regarding elements that impact on well-being – the pandemic; the impacts of racism/harassment/intimidation; inclusion; protective communities and relationships; organizational justice; communication; and psychological safety.

Dr. Julie Maggi is a seasoned leader, having served as Director of Postgraduate Medicine at St. Michael’s Hospital (2008 – 2012), interim Psychiatrist-in-Chief at St. Michael’s Hospital (2016 – 2017), Director of Postgraduate Wellness in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine (2017 – 2021), and since 2021 has held the position of Director of Faculty Wellness in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine. Dr. Maggi began to conceptualize the need for the COP in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine during the COVID-19 pandemic when she held a leadership role focused on understanding and promoting faculty member wellbeing. She co-facilitated this COP past year and has been co-leading the evaluation of the COPs.

Dr. Heather Flett has been involved in health professions education and leadership for many years as a Site Director at CAMH (2009 – 2013), a of Director Postgraduate Wellness (2018 – 2021), and most recently as the inaugural Temerty Professor of Learner Wellness since 2021. Dr. Flett has been teaching and practicing as a consultant psychiatrist with the Department of Psychiatry at U of T since 2009. She has completed a Master of Health Professions Education and has an academic interest in understanding the socio-cultural influences on health professions education and practice. She has participated in the Leading for Wellness COP as a participant and more recently has been co-leading the program evaluation of the COP. 

This opportunity is open to those with a faculty appointment in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine. We seek participants who would be interested and motivated to participate. Interested participants may be department chairs or vice chairs, directors of faculty development, Undergraduate program and course directors and Postgraduate Program and Fellowships Directors, education leaders, leaders in equity, diversity and inclusion (ED&I), division leads, or chiefs, for example. There will be two groups and groups will be limited to 12 individuals.

Deadline to receive participant names is by Friday, August 30, 2024, at 11:59 pm. We plan to have our first meeting in late October 2024. Please submit names of interested participants using the online registration form.

The exact timing of the sessions will be determined collaboratively with the group once we have a list of participants.