- Welcome to the web-archive of our Departmental Human Resources news updates, supporting your contributions to our Department's endeavours in research, education, and clinical care. Surge is intended for all faculty and staff members in our Department. Surge is sent to you when news items become available.
- We invite you to submit items--and ideas for new features--that can foster our collaborations in academic and clinical surgery.
Please email them to my attention. -Celeste
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Celeste Pelc, UBC Dept. of Surgery Human Resources Manager
#3100 JPPN 910 W. 10th Ave.
Vancouver BC V5Z 4E3, Canada
P: 604.875.4234 F: 604.875.4036 E: Celeste.Pelc@ubc.ca
page last updated: 2010-September-7
Choose : 2010 issues 2009 issues
Issues of the SURGE- HR Newsletters are offered here in reverse chronological order, starting with the most current issue [largest #] to the first issue.
Choose issue: 7. 6. 5. 4. 3. 2. 1.
SURGE: Welcome to the fall 2010 issue September- 7
- FOR FACULTY AND STAFF:
- During an emergency, the most current and official information will be available on the main UBC.ca website. Staff and faculty are also being encouraged to sign up for cell phone emergency alerts. To register, add your cell phone number to your contact information in the Personal Summary section of the Faculty and Staff Self-Service Portal. Have questions about emergency preparedness at UBC? Contact Emergency Planning for more information.
- Mairi Murchison, Director of Operations for the Branch, has sent these updates:
* Dr. Sher-Ping Leung completed a Masters in Global Health Sciences at UCSF. UBC's own surgical alumnus Dr. Haile Debas was instrumental in bringing this new program to fruition. Sher-Ping Leung, a surgeon starting now at Mount St. Joseph's, has several years of providing basic health care in Guatemala, China and Bangladesh. The course has empowered her desire to make a long-term commitment to improve medical care in poor countries, particularly improving surgery. Read more
* Dr. Robert Taylor, Branch Director along with his wife, Suzanne a nurse, have taken on a short-term assignment with ICRC International Committee of the Red Cross in Peshawar, Pakistan. How did this opportunity come about? I have been an international delegate with the Red Cross since 2005. From time to time delegates are invited to accept assignments according to specific international needs and to their specific skills. ICRC contacted me for this assignment in Peshawar. I have worked for Red Cross twice in the past: Sri Lanka and Cote d'Ivoire. What do you know of the surgery-related or other health challenges you will be tackling? The ICRC Hospital in Peshawar deals specifically with casualties of war. Being completely neutral, any and all casualties are received on humanitarian grounds. The ongoing open conflict in that region is complex with most of the victims of war being civilian, often fleeing the conflict. Why are you taking this on? Both my wife and I have been committed to international health throughout our careers. One aspect of international health that is prominent today, particularly for the surgical-related disciplines, is complex humanitarian disasters. That is, where large scale armed conflict is superimposed on regions that are already impoverished and with minimal health resources. There are few health professionals who are both willing and able to respond to such situations. My wife and I are two of them.
Recent update from Dr. Taylor - Peshawar, Pakistan
Every day and night new patients arrive at the hospital, victims of armed conflict - injuries from gun shot, landmines, bomb blasts or mortar shells. Some are combatants but often they are civilians - men, women and children shopping at a market, working in their fields, travelling along the road or attending social gatherings. Some arrive within hours of their injuries, others arrive days or weeks later. They come from both Pakistan and Afghanistan. Some recover well, others are debilitated for life.
We have been here for nearly two months and it has been very busy. Not much down time. For good reason, our activity is restricted to the hospital, our residence and travel between the two. Occasionally, we shop for groceries and supplies at a nearby market, going there and back in official Red Cross vehicles. Life in Peshawar, which is a large and historic city, looks fascinating and inviting and we are only sorry that we can't engage in it at this time for security reasons. The regional conflict is large and Peshawar's location puts us at the geographic centre.
We are both well. Until recently it has been very hot and dry. Day temperatures have been usually in the 40's and occasionally into the 50's. We are slowly adjusting. Thankfully, our bedrooms have air conditioning which means that we are sleeping. The Red Cross Hospital is also cooled, including the operating theatre, without which no one would survive.
No doubt, you have been hearing about the disastrous flooding that has hit Pakistan these past weeks. The news coverage has been extensive and there is probably not much information that I can add to what you already have heard. Something that may not have been included in the news reports is that these floods, as well as causing suffering directly, also prevent conflict injured people from getting to hospital, thus delaying treatment and increasing the death rate. One might have thought that the perpetrators of violence would step back in the face of such suffering from the flooding. Not so, the guns and bombs continue.
The Red Cross (ICRC) Hospital for the weapon wounded in Peshawar accommodates about 100 patients. The staff is both Pakistani and expatriate, with the expats coming from all over the world - Canada, Mexico, Norway, Italy, Hungary, Kenya, Sudan, Switzerland, Russia, Japan, Australia, New Zealand - there are almost as many countries as there are expats. There is a good esprit du corps and common purpose among us. Working with the Pakistani staff is a pleasure and we find them welcoming, well trained and hard working.
Nearly every patient who makes it to the hospital survives, but not all. It is always difficult to see someone die from violent trauma and particularly heart wrenching when children die. This is not the first time that we have worked in a disaster or a conflict setting, but it is the first time for such constant intensity on a daily basis. One can't help but ask big questions.
My work schedule is rather constant, working every day and every other night. There are two surgeons so we rotate night duty in order to provide complete coverage 24/7. The cases can be very challenging as there is often so much tissue destruction from the injuries and often the patients arrive late, after infection has become established. Injuries involve every part of the body, of course, so there is also the challenge of sometimes operating in anatomy where I am less experienced than in more familiar anatomy. There is also a third surgeon on staff who is an experienced "war surgeon" and is a resource if needed. I am becoming quite familiar with the different kinds of tissue damage from low velocity bullets, high velocity bullets, landmine blasts, bomb blasts, mortar shells, etc. There seems to be no limit to the ingenious ways that humans can inflict injury on others.
We are very grateful to those of you who have emailed us, filling us in on what is happening with you and assuring us of your prayerful concern for us. Thank you.
- To get instant access, all you need to do is start your research from the UBC Library web site. No setup is required. When accessing a journal or database, EZproxy automatically will determine whether you are a valid UBC patron. If it cannot determine you are a valid user, it will ask you to provide (example screen shot) your login credentials (i.e. CWL or Library Barcode/PIN).
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Health, Safety and Environment offers a range of health and safety courses to help UBC employees, specifically those who work in a laboratory setting, to stay safe in the workplace. Please remind your departments of the following safety courses available in September:
- Introduction to Laboratory Safety, Sept. 9
- Laboratory Chemical Safety, Sept. 13, 15 or 17
- Radionuclide Safety & Methodology, Sept. 27-28
- Occupational First Aid Training Level One, Sept. 9 or 23 (open to all faculty and staff)
- The UBC Benefits website has made several changes recently. The benefits section has become a microsite to improve information searches for web users. Benefits now are grouped according to "lifestyle stages," as many of employees experience family caregiving, parenthood, and leaves: http://hr.ubc.ca/benefits/.
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UBC's Employee and Family Assistance Program Provider (EFAP) Committee is presenting two free lunch-time sessions this September for faculty and staff at both campuses.
Foundations of Effective Parenting
September 16 (Okanagan) and September 23 (Vancouver)
Whether you're a new parent or have been in parenthood for awhile, come and find out what tools and resources are available to you through UBC's EFAP provider, Human Solutions.
Supporting the Caregiver
September 14 (Okanagan) and September 24 (Vancouver)
Worried about your parents' future? Caring for an ill relative? Find out more from eldercare and care-giving specialists who can lead you to the right resources and help alleviate your stress and anxieties about caring for your loved ones.
Full event details and RSVPs can be accessed at www.events.ubc.ca (for Vancouver campus participants) and www.ubc.ca/okanagan/events (for Okanagan campus participants). - As of June 25, 2010, Sun Life has closed its Edmonton office - the location in which UBC employees sent their claims to be processed. All claims sent to the Edmonton office have been redirected to Sun Life's Waterloo office. Download the latest extended health and dental care claim form with the updated Waterloo address from our online Benefits pages. Sun Life is using new technology which "lifts" data from paper claim forms so that no manual data entry is required - however, it's still preferable (and more sustainable) to go the paperless claim route for the quickest turnaround on your claim reimbursement.
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The Green Research Initiative is looking for UBC faculty and staff who want to reduce the environmental impact of their research.
UBC staff, faculty and students (at both the Vancouver and Okanagan campuses) are invited to apply for the Fisher Scientific Fund. You could be the lucky recipient of up to $6,500 to put towards making your research go green. The deadline is Nov. 30, 2010 (4 pm). In addition, the third annual Green Research Workshop takes place on Oct. 28, 11:30 am - 4:00 pm. All UBC faculty, staff and lab personnel are invited to attend. This year find out about hazardous materials substitution and source reduction, new opportunities in laboratory solid waste management, how to assess the energy consumption of lab equipment and more. Register for the workshop. - The University has added some new items to its Staff and Faculty Perks page , as additional benefits for Staff and Faculty members.
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UBC Athletics has a number of offerings for UBC Staff and Faculty during the school year. UBC Employees can access Athletics and Recreation, including:
- $5 tickets for all UBC Thunderbird games
- Access to Intramural Programs
- Discounts on UBC REC programs
- Discounted access to the UBC Aquatic Centre, the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre, and UBC Birdcoop.
- ESPECIALLY FOR STAFF:
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We are now accepting applications for the 2011
Leave for Change volunteer program . The deadline for applications is Oct. 4/10.
Every year, UBC sends six staff members abroad on the Leave for Change program, to volunteer in developing countries, sharing their knowledge and skills with others in an international setting. Together with international volunteer agency Uniterra, UBC works to provide successful applicants with a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Volunteer positions are diverse and range from technology training to youth leadership. Placements are offered in Bolivia, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Guatemala, Malawi, Nepal, Vietnam and more.
To learn more about the program, visit leave-for-change or contact Alex Bayne at alex.bayne@ubc.ca
Branch for International Surgery
ezPROXY: connecting to UBC Library (instructions
attached)
Health and Safety Courses in September
Upcoming EFAP sessions in September
IMPORTANT INFORMATION ON SUN LIFE CLAIMS
Green Research Workshop and Fund
Athletics and Recreation for Staff and Faculty
Leave For Change: International Volunteer Opportunities for UBC Staff
- FOR FACULTY AND STAFF:
- In 2002, Sun Life became UBC's benefits plan provider. As part of our best practices, and in response to concerns raised by the University's unions and associations, UBC's Department of Human Resources conducted a comprehensive review of Sun Life's services.
The results of the review are at
SERVICE REVIEW- Report to UBC Community For additional information about this report or about the Sun Life review, contact Natasha Malloff, Manager, Benefits, at 604-822-8140 (or by email at natasha.malloff@ubc.ca). The UBC HR Department thanks the many employees who provided valuable feedback, and they look forward to an ongoing dialogue with the UBC community about the benefit plans. - UBC's Benefits team recently launched www.hr.ubc.ca/benefits/travel , a series of web pages on travel benefits, to discuss what you need to know before you leave Canada:
What your benefits coverage are when traveling for leisure;
What your benefits coverage are when traveling for work;
Tips for preparing before, during and after your trip;
Emergency medical coverage and what to do in emergency medical situations; and frequently asked questions on travel benefits. -
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Faculty Pension Plan Open House: May 12
Members of the UBC Faculty Pension Plan are invited to attend the FPP Open House on May 12. There will be presentations on the Plan's performance and a discussion on the initiatives for 2010. Members are asked to RSVP in advance. Details are available on the FPP website. -
Staff Pension Plan Annual Pension Fair: May 27
The Staff Pension Plan's Annual Pension Fair will take place on May 27 from 11:30 am to 1:15 pm. The fair will be held in the Arbutus Room, Ponderosa Centre, 2071 West Mall [map]. There will be information booths, several opportunities to learn more about the SPP and retirement benefits, and a representative from Human Resources and Skills Development Canada will be available to answer questions. For more details, visit the SPP website , and watch for the May 2010 issue of the Staff Pension Plan Update newsletter.
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Faculty Pension Plan Open House: May 12
- In March 2010, the Faculty held a Quarter Century Celebration to recognize members of our Department's faculty and staff, along with others, who've contributed more than 25 years of service to the Faculty of Medicine (and were still active in 2009). See more on the Department's web page Past Special Events: Year 2010
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(a new feature about books you've read that may be of interest to all; we welcome your submissions)
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot (Hardcover - Feb. 2, 2010) "Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor Southern tobacco farmer who worked the same land as her slave ancestors, yet her cells-taken without her knowledge-became one of the most important tools in medicine. The first "immortal" human cells grown in culture, they are still alive today, though she has been dead for more than sixty years. If you could pile all HeLa cells ever grown onto a scale, they'd weigh more than 50 million metric tons-as much as a hundred Empire State Buildings. HeLa cells were vital for developing the polio vaccine; uncovered secrets of cancer, viruses, and the effects of the atom bomb; helped lead to important advances like in vitro fertilization, cloning, and gene mapping; and have been bought and sold by the billions. Yet Henrietta Lacks remains virtually unknown, buried in an unmarked grave.
"…Rebecca Skloot takes us on an extraordinary journey, from the "colored" ward of Johns Hopkins Hospital in the 1950s to stark white laboratories with freezers full of HeLa cells; from Henrietta's small, dying hometown of Clover, Virginia-a land of wooden slave quarters, faith healings, and voodoo-to East Baltimore today, where her children and grandchildren live, and struggle with the legacy of her cells.
"Henrietta's family did not learn of her "immortality" until more than twenty years after her death, when scientists investigating HeLa began using her husband and children in research without informed consent. And though the cells had launched a multimillion-dollar industry that sells human biological materials, her family never saw any of the profits. As Rebecca Skloot…shows, the story of the Lacks family-past and present-is inextricably connected to the…history of experimentation on African Americans, the birth of bioethics, and the legal battles over whether we control the stuff we are made of."
Service Review of SUN LIFE: UBC HR Department's Report
Travel Benefits: Know Before You GO
Quarter Century Celebration, Faculty of Medicine
Favourite Books on Life Sciences, recently published
- FOR FACULTY AND STAFF:
- This message is sent on behalf of David Farrar, Provost and Vice President Academic and Brian Sullivan, Vice President, Students
The UBC Board of Governors, UBC Okanagan Senate and UBC Vancouver Senate have recently approved a policy to support and better prepare students for safe travel abroad. Policy #69 covers UBC students travelling abroad for university activities such as exchange and study abroad, attending conferences, international service learning, conducting research, and volunteering.
Under the Student Safety Abroad policy, all staff and faculty members are to inform students of their obligation to register for travel for university purposes. Students can undertake these steps on the Go Global website at www.students.ubc.ca/global/safety-abroad.
UBC students are required to seek authorization and register for international travel on university activities. For most regions, students can complete these requirements online on the Student Safety Abroad website.
For regions designated as Level 3 or 4 by the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT), students must undertake additional safety planning and risk assessment prior to authorization. In partnership with Go Global, Heads of Units will be responsible for granting or declining students' requests to travel to Level 3 and Level 4 destinations.
The Safety Abroad website provides students with:
- A quick and easy online mechanism to register travel dates and complete essential documents
- Instructions and reminders on safe travel abroad
- Travel reports status updates on the region they will be studying or working in
- A process for them to request approval to countries with Level 3 and 4 advisories
University activities do not include activities sponsored or organized by student clubs or the AMS, the Students' Union or the Graduate Society unless the activity is funded, coordinated or sponsored by UBC. Students engaged in these activities are welcome, and encouraged, to use the Student Safety Abroad resources and registry.
Review the policy on the University Counsel site: www.universitycounsel.ubc.ca/policies/policy69.pdf
David Farrar
Provost and Vice President Academic
Brian Sullivan
Vice President, Students - Career & Life Counseling:
- UBC Life and Career Centre (at UBC Robson Square):
http://www.lifeandcareer.ubc.ca/, to help clarify goals and identify next steps in:
- managing issues of stress or loss
- adapting to a new life in Canada
- finding practical information and resources
- discovering opportunities for career development
- developing new life skills
Coaching Services:- Coaches are allies who support you by bringing you back to your vision, to what is central and important to you and by holding you to your commitment to achieve the goals you set for yourself. They help you manifest your best and manage your time and energy in a grounded, creative and efficient way.
- Coaches we've selected for our Department's funded Residents Coaching Service--a first in North America--are pleased to offer services to any of us in our Department who are interested (direct payment; not Department-funded).
- Their bios (http://www.surgery.ubc.ca/choice.html) on our website give a good sense about their different perspectives, to help individuals find a good fit.
- The main page is: http://www.surgery.ubc.ca/rescoach.html
- Other UBC coaching services providers that have provided valuable services: http://www.theneutralzone.ca/
Personal/health and well-being counseling:
- Employee & Family Assistant Program (EFAP):
- our UBC EFAP provider: Human Solutions: 1.800.663.1142; in strictest confidentiality
- website and online resources
- information about child and elder care providers in Canada:
Child and/or Elder Care
- see also UBC's memorandum
- contact information and office locations
- on-line booking form
- privacy policy
- UBC Life and Career Centre (at UBC Robson Square):
http://www.lifeandcareer.ubc.ca/, to help clarify goals and identify next steps in:
NEW: Student Safety Abroad Policy
Counseling and Coaching Resources
for Faculty, Staff and Students
- Physician Health Program: 1.800.663.6729; in strictest confidentiality
Teaching Aboriginal Issues - Discussion Series
Working in Socially and Culturally Diverse Classrooms: Teaching Aboriginal Issues (Discussion Series)
The complexities and challenges of classroom discussions of Aboriginal issues have been well documented at UBC, and in response UBC has identified the classroom climate as priority area of address university-wide (http://aboriginal.ubc.ca/implementation/#priorities). Many instructors, however, have not had the opportunity to develop skills for working with Aboriginal issues in classrooms, which can leave instructors ill-equipped to address problematic situations that can occur as a result.
Starting March, 26th, the UBC Centre for Teaching and Academic Growth with the UBC First Nations House of Learning will begin holding a discussions series designed to provide starting points for developing more effective instructional approaches for working with Aboriginal issues, and other socially and culturally contentious issues. Each session for this series has been built on key themes emerging from interviews with students and instructors on troubling classroom situations emerging from discussions of Aboriginal issues in classrooms at UBC (www.issuesintheclass.com). A greater understanding of these issues is critical to building instructor capacity to work with Aboriginal issues and other culturally and socially contentious issues in the classroom.
For more detailed information on this series and to register, please visit: http://www.events.tag.ubc.ca/series/view/133
This series is open to faculty, teaching assistants, instructors, and others interested in addressing classroom climate issues. Please distribute this information widely.
Thank you, Karrmen Crey
Coordinator of Aboriginal Initiatives at TAG karrmen.crey@ubc.ca
(604) 827-4398
- FOR FACULTY AND STAFF:
- If you'd like to add, delete, or change any information on our Department's website listing for you, please send an email to Eva Germann at eva.germann@ubc.ca .
SURGE: HR e-update February-18
- FOR FACULTY AND STAFF:
- Dr. Mary Tee, General Surgery Resident, in the news: The attached two articles ( Health & Wellness.. and New Medical School... are about the newly established Southern Medical Program and feature an interview with Dr. Mary Tee about residents' contributions to the new distributed education site. The later article also is online at Kelowna Capital News - New medical school plans outlined
- Surge now is available for you to highlight employment opportunities you've created.
Readers of Surge can forward your featured career listing to anyone who may be interested in the opportunity.
This service is in addition to the usual, full listings on UBC's career pages ( http://www.hr.ubc.ca/careers/) and in online and print resources. Contact me (Celeste ) to ask for a Featured Careers listing in Surge. (Thanks to Kevin Shillito for this idea.)
New item: Featured Careers at UBC Surgery
SURGE: HR e-update February- 5
- FOR FACULTY AND STAFF:
- T-4 Slips now available for 2009 Personal Income Tax Filing:
T-4 slips for 2009 are available online via the UBC Self Service Portal: http://www.msp.ubc.ca/ ; they're no longer mailed.
- FOR FACULTY AND STAFF:
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If you're paid a salary by UBC, you'll see changes in the net pay you receive:
- If you reached the maximum contributions on CPP/EI deductions in 2009, the deductions will begin again in 2010 (until you max out again).
- Provincial sales tax on parking will be increased from 7% to 21% by the South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority (Translink)
- For more information please see their website at www.translink.ca or Ministry of Finance Tax Notice
- AAPS members (Management & Professional staff at UBC) have a dues holiday this January. In February, dues deductions will return.
- Basic Personal Exemption in BC has gone from $9,373.00 to $11,000.00
- If you claimed anything other than basic exemption, you should complete a new TD1 & TD1BC
NEW Instructions- Access to UBC Self Service Portal:
Our Department's Computer Manager, Gayle Uthoff, has prepared the attached instructions for Mac and PC users to use UBC's Self Service Portal from home or elsewhere.
Our thanks to Gayle for having updated our instructions (the attached summary and setup pages for "Mac" and "Windows" ) to respond to the VPN change.
UBC Never Asks for your Password- Malicious Emails:
- If you receive any emails directing you to respond with your UBC account name or password, or to enter this information on a web page, these requests are fraudulent . UBC IT staff will never ask for password information via email.
- If you receive an email which asks for this information and you're not sure if the request is valid, contact UBC's IT Service Centre at 604-822-2008 to confirm. If you receive an email like this, or if you are made aware of one by colleagues at UBC, please forward the email to security@ubc.ca as soon as possible.
Haiti Emergency Medical Relief- Our Surgeons Respond:
- Dr. Janice Journeau, newly appointed to UBC's Clinical Faculty for our Division of General Surgery, is departing from Shuswap Lake General Hospital for Haiti as we write.
- Dr. Kelly McQueen, a US-based alumna of SURG 510-Surgical Care in International Health, will leave for Haiti, as well. She is an anesthesiologist and oversees the international organisation, Burden of Surgical Disease Working Group.
When you are able to do so, tell us about your work and the work of others in our Department in providing emergency medical care in Haiti.
SURGE: HR e-update before the holidays : December 21
- FOR FACULTY:
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Centre for Health Education Scholarship: (main website)
CHES Seminar Series- Thinking About Education Research
CHES Research Rounds
are held the third Wednesday of each month, from 12:00pm to 1:30 pm .
UBC Surgery's NEW weekly HR e-update: December 11
- FOR FACULTY AND STAFF:
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Changes to the Faculty and Staff Optional Life Rates - Effective January 1, 2010
Eligibility for New Enrolments
If you are not enrolled in the UBC Optional Faculty and Staff Life and Spousal Life insurance plan and are enrolled in the UBC Basic Life insurance plan, you are eligible to apply for coverage. Applications are subject to a health questionnaire and approval from Sun Life, UBC's life insurance provider. For more information on the plan, visit the Benefits section of the Human Resources website and click on your Employment Group on the right navigation menu, then Optional Life Insurance.
If you have questions regarding the changes to the Optional Faculty and Staff Life and Spousal Life insurance plan, please contact Stephanie Mah at stephanie.mah@ubc.ca.
page first released: 2010-April-30