The first question in this review framework asks “In looking at our service, what have we done or accomplished that makes us most proud?” I feel the work of our team certainly deserves to be shared far beyond the review committee. In no particular order, here is a list of accomplishments over the past year from the notes of the Learning & Development and Telehealth Department of People and Learning:
- The development of an excellent Intranet site which includes internal business and productivity tools/resources (online business forms, documents, surveys, multimedia),
- We have delivered several successful conferences both critically and financially and the revenues have/are being reinvested by the programs in other education and research initiatives – plus we postponed two conference events that were on their way toward financial losses,
- Our telehealth accomplishments have established a national reputation for innovation and we are the first organization in Canada accredited for Telehealth services through new CCHSA Telehealth criteria,
- Our Library has leveraged technology to provide 24-7 levels of service to staff. Following the move to the new ROMHC, it is simply one of the best health care libraries in any hospital,
- We are renewing our key clinical train-the-trainer programs for Non-violent Crisis Intervention and Applied Suicide Intervention Skills, and moved toward developing in-house software training capabilities at BMHC and ROMHC,
- Our vision of our Learning and Development and Telehealth space remains relatively true to our vision for a Centre of Mental Health Learning in the new ROMHC. It required two years of consistent meetings, often supplemented with a strong dose of arguing and complaining. But we still feel we’ll have superb facilities for our staff and external partners when the dust settles,
- People have commented how we’ve lost manpower, yet they have not noticed the diminishing of valuable services – and this validates some of our toughest and most emotional decisions during our phase of staff reduction,
- The 2005-2006 staff survey indicated 40% of staff cited “Learning Opportunities” when asked for “Reasons they liked working at ROHCG” – exemplifying the strong traditional relationship between staff and Learning & Development.
- Our 2006-2007 activities and accomplishments are reflected in our Strategic Plan for the year. We’re proud of the fact that we created a plan, delivered on it, and continue to work from it.
There is much more that could have been cited, but the remaining 11 questions in the review demanded that we manage our time and proceed to other issues. If you were involved in the review and would like to share your points-of-pride, I encourage you to use this blog to promote the accomplishments of your department.
