People & Change: The Faculty of Medicine

With more than 4,500 medical and health professional trainees spread across the province, the scale and breadth of UBC’s Faculty of Medicine is extensive. Representing the only Faculty of Medicine in British Columbia, embracing new models of partnership is key to its success. In recent years, the faculty has welcomed collaborations with the Integrated Renewal Program (IRP) and the adoption of the UBC’s new human resources and finance system, Workday.

Dr. Roger Wong, executive associate dean of education at the Faculty of Medicine, recognizes the benefits the new system will bring.

“We are very supportive of the roll out of Workday,” says Dr. Wong. “It represents a tremendous opportunity to strengthen our systems and integrate our operations.”

For the Faculty of Medicine, which delivers medical training in collaboration with the University of Victoria and the University of Northern British Columbia, understanding the needs of its partner institutions has been a priority as they work toward the implementation of Workday.

“With the number of programs and vastness of our geographical region, the scope of the change will be huge so we have prioritized engaging our faculty, staff and partner institutions to ensure this change will work for everyone,” says Dr. Wong.

While the work underway to prepare for Workday’s launch is immense, there is much for the Faculty to be excited about with this change. Jennifer Golinski, senior director of education programs and services at the Faculty of Medicine, has been involved in the student programs with the IRP.

“We have fully embraced the change that is coming with Workday and the work that the IRP is doing to make it happen. Everyone is eager to learn more about the program, see the tools in front of them and experience first-hand the functionality and efficiencies that will help us stay leaders in medical education,” says Golinski.

Given the scope and complexity involved with the Workday change, the IRP team is engaging change leaders across UBC to act as a Transition Network.

Gabriel Rose, Special Projects Manager with the Faculty of Medicine, is acting as change management lead for the Faculty. As part of his role, and in partnership with senior administrative leadership in the Faculty, he has engaged a group of leaders, known as Transition Captains, across all Faculty units to participate in the Transition Network.

“The goal is to make the transition as smooth as possible so that we can collectively realize the full benefits of the new Workday system and associated processes. The Transition Captains play vital roles in achieving that by representing their units, sharing information, and acting as local change leaders,” says Rose. “The Transition Network is here to support staff and faculty in preparing to work in new ways with minimal disruption.”

Now in the third year in their 5-year strategic plan Building the Future, stakeholders at the Faculty of Medicine see success of the implementation of Workday by the IRP as a beneficial enabler to help them reach their goals.

“Our strategic plan involves four pillars: education, research, organization and partnership. Success of IRP will help us not only achieve our goals within these four areas but also help align our priorities within the Faculty of Medicine and with UBC as a whole,” says Dr. Wong.