Strategic Plan 2030
A Letter from the Department Head
I am delighted to present to you the Department of Medical Education’s (DME) Strategic Plan 2030. This five-year strategic plan has been created over the past 15 months. The process has engaged members of the DME Staff and Faculty, leadership in the UI COM, UIC, and UI Health systems, alumni, students, and leaders in education across the globe.
We started the process by building consensus around our Vision and Mission statements during a retreat in December 2023. We then explored many candidates for our Guiding Principles, and used a second retreat in July 2024 to align around the following seven:
• Serving UIC
• Cutting Edge in Research
• Fostering the Next Generation
• Building on Diversity
• Multidisciplinary Approach
• Building Community
• Financial Stewardship
Members of the DME then joined teams – one for each of the Guiding Principles – to develop 5 year goals. These were finalized at a third strategic planning retreat in December 2024. Through the first three months of 2025, the goal teams developed one-year objectives for the 2025-2026 Academic Year, designed to get us off to a great start towards our 2030 goals.
I want to thank the many individuals who contributed to our Strategic Plan from the Department, UI COM, UIC, our alumni and students, and members of our broader community. I will support this plan with the necessary resources to reach our vision and fulfill our mission as we continue to strive to inspire excellence, innovation, and collaboration in education at home and abroad.
With gratitude and optimism,
Yoon Soo Park, PhD
Department Head and Ilene B. Harris Endowed Professor
Department of Medical Education
University of Illinois College of Medicine
DME Vision & Mission
-
Vision
Improved health care through an interdisciplinary community inspiring excellence, innovation, and collaboration in education at home and abroad.
-
Mission
To advance the theory and practice of education across the globe in the pursuit of better health care. We achieve this mission through cutting edge research in education and related disciplines; through outstanding educational programs that develop leaders, scholars, and educators; and through expert collaborations, consultation, and service with the University of Illinois College of Medicine, the University of Illinois system, and other organizations.
Guiding Principles
Serving UIC
Overview
DME is an integral member of the UICOM, UI Health, and UIC and needs to contribute to the mission of the medical school and the university. This includes contributing to the administration, development, and provision of its educational UME, GME, graduate programs, and clinical educational programs. The DME also needs to be aligned with UIC in its core processes such as recruiting practices and models of tuition reimbursement, and UI Health educational programs.
5-Year Goal
By June 30, 2030, DME will be an indispensable member of the UICOM, UI Health and UIC and contributing to the mission of the medical school and the university by utilizing its expertise to serve and influence educational programs, activities, policies, and scholarship.
Objectives
- DME will develop and conduct a survey of full and part-time departmental faculty and staff about current service activities within UICOM, UI Health and UIC. What should DME be doing to make these service activities indispensable? Who do they identify as key informants for an education and training service needs assessment survey?
- DME will develop and conduct a survey about education and training service needs for key stakeholder groups outside DME but within UICOM, UI Health and UIC. (e.g., including Educational Administration, dept chairs, GME leaders), other Health Science Schools, and UI Health. What would they consider indispensable services? How would they prioritize their needs?
- Analyze data by April 1, 2026. Have 2-3 objectives prioritized for year 2 by March 31st, 2026
Fostering the Next Generation
Overview
DME should have an international reputation as thought, research, and implementation leaders in Health Professions Education research and innovation.
5 Year Goal
By June 30th, 2030, the DME will foster the next generation of health professions educators through:
- Regular and ongoing engagement with and among our alumni, providing them with opportunities to collaborate and network with the department and one another, a strong professional identity associated with DME, and development of innovative continuing education offerings
- Educational offerings that meet the content and access needs of current and future health profession education leaders and scholars
- Course content, pedagogy, and assessment reflecting or establishing best practices in the field, as identified by regular review of the literature and informed by feedback from our students and faculty.
Objectives
- Create an alumni feature for the newsletter – a template, interview process, etc. – and publish the first interview.
- Create an online form for alumni to submit career news / changes / email updates.
- IBHE self-study of MHPE and PSL program offerings.
- Review course evaluation responses and syllabi to document the landscape of current practices in assessment.
Cross Departmental Objective
Combined Objective (Owner is Yoon Soo): Create an Institute of Teaching Excellence focused on offering tools for clinician educators. In AY 2025-2026 we will design the Institute, develop a Master Plan of Courses, and try to raise money through the “George Miller” Fund.
Cutting Edge in Research
Overview
Education is a primary departmental mission. We must build on our educational programs to foster the next generation of leaders and scholars in HPE. Our programs must model best practice, consistent with the literature, and deliver innovative curricula and assessments grounded in evidence about how we best teach and learn.
5 Year Goal
By June 2030, we will engage in collaborations, both at home and abroad, that generate cutting-edge and thought-leading research disseminated in impactful ways as evidenced by:
- Initiating Trends of Inquiry, Synthesis, and Knowledge Translation/Application (e.g. AI and technology)
- Dissemination and application of DME scholarship across multiple platforms
- Maximizing collaboration, influence, and recognition with scholars, institutions, associations, accreditation bodies, and government agencies
Objectives
- Conduct a Needs Assessment:
- Query the DME to gather insights into:
- facilitators and barriers to conducting research in the DME
- potential strategies for improvement and
- potential alignment around a unified research area/ topic/ focus/identity.
- Identify and engage with three top HPE departments/centers (using bibliometric criteria) to understand their research infrastructure and best practices.
- Identify and engage with three top HPE departments/centers (using bibliometric criteria) to understand their research infrastructure and best practices.
- Query the DME to gather insights into:
- Baseline Data Collection: Identify and collect internal DME baseline data including traditional bibliometric data and potential variables identified through the needs assessment.
- Develop a 4-year Strategic Plan for research (through 2030): Based on the needs assessment and collected baseline data, develop a proposed 4-year strategic plan for supporting cutting edge research in the DME.
Building on Diversity
Overview
We are committed to a diversity of lived experiences and identities in our faculty, staff, and students as we engage in the challenges ahead. We must build on our commitment to diversity in all our core processes, including recruitment, retention, research, and pedagogy for our students, staff, and faculty.
5 Year Goal
By June 2030, DME will build and sustain a thriving community of faculty, students, and staff vis-a-vis:
- demographic diversity
- transparent admissions, hiring, and retention processes,
- DEI expertise, scholarship, and practice
Objectives
- Gather demographics from key groups; Develop plan for analysis
- Gather data about hiring processes/practices; Develop plan for analysis
- Gather baseline of DEI-related departmental work; Develop plan for analysis
Multidisciplinary Approach
Overview
The success of DME has been in no small part due to its multidisciplinary approach, including differences in educational backgrounds, disciplines, interprofessional backgrounds, and approaches to scholarship. We must make that approach explicit and leverage it to optimize fulfillment of our mission and attainment of our vision.
5 Year Goal
By June 30th, 2030, we will build a culture of creative and meaningful interdisciplinary/ interprofessional collaborations in education, research, and service. These collaborations will be both focused within DME and between DME and UIC. This goal is only attainable through a multidisciplinary staff and faculty within DME.
Objectives
- We will have compiled an inventory of our fulltime DME faculty and staff members by surveying them about: a. their various professional and disciplinary identities/expertise b. current and recent interdisciplinary/interprofessional collaborations both within DME and UIC (specific projects and partners in education, research and service) c. ideas for future interdisciplinary/ interprofessional collaborations both within DME and UIC
- We will have compiled an inventory of adjunct and secondary faculty (both adjuncts, courtesy and part-time) including information regarding: a. their various professional and disciplinary backgrounds/expertise b. current and recent interdisciplinary /interprofessional collaborations with others in DME (specific projects and partners in education, research and service)
Cross Departmental Objective
Combined Objective (Owner is Yoon Soo): Create an Institute of Teaching Excellence focused on offering tools for clinician educators. In AY 2025-2026 we will design the Institute, develop a Master Plan of Courses, and try to raise money through the “George Miller” Fund.
Building Community
Overview
The success of the department is directly linked to the joy and fulfillment experienced by its faculty, staff, students and alumni, which is enhanced when we are connected and working towards common goals. The DME is committed to being a great place to work, learn, and grow together.
5 Year Goal
By June 30th, 2030, we will build and sustain a community within the DME grounded in a shared sense of purpose and belonging through meaningful connections and professional development.
Objectives
- Identify and finalize definitions and metrics for our three key constructs (belonging, connectedness, and shared sense of purpose)
- Devise needs assessment tool (e.g., survey) to administer to a sample of faculty, staff, students, and alum; measuring both our key constructs and leaving room to identify areas for improvement or critical concerns that may impede our community building goal
- Analyze assessment data and draft report to be shared with the DME leadership and advisory committee
Financial Stewardship
Overview
The ability of the Department to succeed in its mission will depend on financial solvency in the long term. We must reimagine our revenue streams and costs to ensure long-term financial health.
5 Year Goal
By June 30, 2030, we will have a positive financial balance from transcribed (for credit) educational programs and at least double revenue from other sources, including grants, contracts, and non-tuition revenue.
Objective
- Establish baseline financial balance from transcribed (for credit) educational programs and baseline revenue from other sources
- Develop a master plan for transcribed educational programs that incorporates goals for incremental revenue over the next four years
- Initiate George Miller funding campaign towards a George Miller Institute
- Apply to 1 or 2 new grants equal to or greater than $300,000 towards the goal of doubling the revenue from sources outside transcribed educational programs
Cross Departmental Objective
Combined Objective (Owner is Yoon Soo): Create an Institute of Teaching Excellence focused on offering tools for clinician educators. In AY 2025-2026 we will design the Institute, develop a Master Plan of Courses, and try to raise money through the “George Miller” Fund.