Department of Anesthesia, University of Toronto

A Message from the Faculty Development Program Director
Dr. Martin Van der Vyver


What is Faculty Development ? VanDerVyverM

 

Faculty development include programs to enhance teaching and education, research and scholarly activity, academic leadership and management, and faculty affairs, including faculty recruitment, advancement, retention, and vitality. The intent of these activities is to assist faculty members in their roles as teachers, educators, leaders, administrators and researchers.

We all teach at some level as a requirement of our appointment. Most of us recognize the need to improve our teaching. Besides being clinical teachers, we also have other roles and responsibilities in our work environment. The knowlegde and skills we need to function optimally in these roles is very seldom taught at resident level

This need ‘to facilitate educators’ was identified as one of the key priorities during the strategic planning done in 2010.  The Faculty Development Program(s) as a separate entity at the Department of Anesthesia was thus formally established in 2010

In order to fulfill some of the above-mentioned needs in the context of this department, an annual Faculty Development Day is held. Another new initiative is the New Faculty Experience program. More opportunities will be created in the future. This web site will act as a great resource in the future for those who wish to update their knowledge re. teaching in anesthesia. However only practice (and may I add reflection) makes perfect. I also urge you to look  at other opportunities for faculty development. The Centre for Faculty Development, University of Toronto also offers a large number of workshop, small-group events and rounds on education.


“The wise man doesn’t give the right answers, he poses the right questions.”

Claude Levi-Strauss was a French philosopher and anthropologist of the 20th century