Two new Vice-Chair appointments at the Department of Surgery
Dear Colleagues,
We are happy to announce two recent appointments at the U of T Department of Surgery.
Congratulations to Sarah Ward, MD, MLA, MSc, who has been appointed as Vice-Chair of Quality and to Stanley Hamstra, PhD, who has been appointed as Vice-Chair of Clinical Teaching. Both appointments are effective July 1st, 2023 and play a pivotal role in the advancement of the Department of Surgery.
In her new role, Dr. Ward will be coordinating QI education for undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate learners, as well as QI initiatives across U of T affiliated surgical sites. Dr. Ward will also be leading Best Practice in Surgery guideline development, publication and dissemination.
Dr. Sarah Ward completed medical school and Orthopaedic residency at the University of Toronto. She is an arthroplasty surgeon at St. Michael’s Hospital, with a focus on complex primary and revision hip and knee arthroplasty and trauma surgery. She is an Assistant Professor with academic appointments in the Department of Surgery as well as the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at the University of Toronto and she is an Associate Program Director for the Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Program at the University of Toronto.
Dr. Ward has completed a Master’s degree from the University of Toronto in Quality Improvement and Patient Safety. She is the NSQIP Surgeon Champion as well as the Quality Improvement and Patient Safety Lead for the Department of Surgery at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, Canada, where she also holds a Waddell Early Career Professorship in Orthopedic Surgery. She also leads the Quality Improvement curriculum within the Surgical Foundations program at the University of Toronto. Dr. Ward's research focus is in Quality Improvement and Patient Safety.
Commenting on the new role, Dr. Ward said that she is “very excited to take over the role of Vice Chair, Quality and to carry on the incredible work started by Dr. Robin McLeod with the Best Practice in Surgery program. Dr. Ward and her team will be coordinating quality improvement education and initiatives across the University of Toronto affiliated surgical sites, with a focus on incorporating environmental sustainability and continuing to promote best practices. Dr. Ward also aims to increase the engagement of University of Toronto surgical trainees in quality, safety and sustainability projects.”
As Vice-Chair of Clinical Teaching, Dr. Hamstra will be reviewing existing practices to improve clinical teaching and existing mechanisms to generate and tabulate teaching effectiveness scores and feedback to teachers. He will also coordinate CBD implementation amongst surgical programs and lead the modification of EPA use across surgical programs.
Dr. Hamstra is a Professor at the Department of Surgery, University of Toronto and a Senior Scientist at the Sunnybrook Research Institute, Toronto. He is also Adjunct Professor of Medical Education at Northwestern University and a Research Consultant for the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education.
Dr. Hamstra’s research addresses the link between graduate medical education and patient outcomes. Stan continues to work with the ACGME, various medical specialty societies, program director organizations, and specialty certification boards to determine the predictive validity of residency evaluations for early career performance following graduation. He has also worked on developing administrative support for educational scholarship within academic health settings while at the University of Michigan and the University of Ottawa. He continues to work closely with the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada on competency-based medical education.
Dr. Hamstra said that he is excited to be re-joining the Department of Surgery after being away for over 15 years, adding "This department, and the University of Toronto, are consistently recognized as among the best in the world. That is truly exciting and allows one to “think big”. One attitude that truly great organizations encourage is that no matter how good they are, they can always be better. It is in that spirit that I hope to contribute to improving education: for medical students, residents, fellows, and also for faculty. It is exciting to know that we have a Chair, and a culture here, that fully supports this goal. I look forward to communicating with all faculty on a regular basis to see how we can improve education in the Department of Surgery."
Both faculty members will be actively participating in the Department of Surgery Executive Committee and Senior Advisory Committee.
Congratulations on your appointments at the University of Toronto’s Department of Surgery and looking forward to working with you both.
Sincerely,
Carol J. Swallow MD PhD FRCSC FACS
RS McLaughlin Professor and Chair
Department of Surgery, University of Toronto