Radical Collaboration launches today!

News & Announcements | 18 Oct 2021

Queen’s Health Sciences is proud to announce our new strategic plan, Radical Collaboration.

This transformational plan will change the way that we deliver health sciences education, do research and deliver care to communities across Ontario. It will also see a deep focus on interdisciplinary science, interprofessional education and collaboration across all facets of our work.

Radical Collaboration is anchored in five strategic priorities that champion collaboration across our faculty. It embraces:

Interdisciplinary research that moves away from siloed sciences to a thriving culture of team-based research. This will include research superclusters where scientists from a range of disciplines explore big questions together to make major advancements across six themes: cancer, neurosciences, translational medicine, health policy, health data, and global health. Through our interdisciplinary approach, we will take on more ambitious projects and discover solutions to the world’s most pressing health needs. Internally, we will enable shared resources and champion opportunities for all disciplines to collaborate.

Integrated health sciences education so that future health professionals in medicine, nursing, and rehabilitation therapy will learn and grow together from the start. The evidence tells us that this is important and effective, but the concept has yet to be meaningfully integrated into health sciences education. This revolutionary approach for health sciences education sets a new bar in Canada, breaking generations of siloed education within disciplines. As health systems retreat from providing disjointed patient services and make a move toward more integrated care, the next generation of health professionals will know how to work as vibrant contributors on multidisciplinary teams in any setting. Through collaboration, they will achieve better health outcomes and more positive experiences for their patients.

Clinical impact in the community and beyond enables students and faculty to partner with local and regional hubs to deliver excellent care that responds to a community’s specific needs. We will strengthen our partnership in the north with Weeneebayko Area Health Authority and with Lakeridge Health, enabling interprofessional teams to learn from these regions’ diverse populations while addressing the growing need for interdisciplinary placement opportunities for our learners.

A commitment to equity, diversity, inclusion, Indigeneity, and accessibility (EDIIA) will transform our internal structures and so that EDIIA principles are embedded in everything that we do, from education to research to providing care. We will create and sustain an inclusive, culturally safe environment so that by 2026, the diversity of our students, staff, and faculty matches the diversity of Canada. We will enable better care for Canadians by training learners who are ready to provide equitable, culturally safe care, and fostering research that is EDIIA-informed.

Thriving people and a nurturing culture will cultivate wellbeing and connection among our faculty, staff, and students through our physical and cultural spaces, enabling everyone to be and work at their best. This includes a revolutionary new facility to inspire collaboration by bringing all disciplines under one roof to study and work together: doctors, nurses, OTs, PTs, researchers, and others. We will make research labs prominently visible so students can follow their curiosity and see the possibilities for their future. Together, we will build an inclusive culture and environment where everyone - students, staff, and faculty - will thrive.

By learning together, discovering together, and serving together, we will dramatically renew the approach to training Canada’s future health scientists. This collaborative approach will foster an ability to address the world’s pressing health challenges through cutting-edge, interdisciplinary research.

We look forward to moving forward with you on this path to radical collaboration.

Read the full plan and learn more about Radical Collaboration

Radical Collaboration launches today!

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