Strategic Plan 2025-30 | School of Medicine

The York University School of Medicine’s 2025–30 strategic plan outlines the priorities and goals for designing and launching its academic programs. It is grounded in the school's mission, vision and values and the University Academic Plan; and informed by the University’s Decolonizing, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy and the Faculty of Health’s Strategic Plan, Building a Healthy World for All. The development of the School of Medicine strategic plan involved a wide range of inputs from faculty, staff and students at York University, as well as community partners outside the University.

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Impact Outcomes

Learners will:

Develop the skills and competencies required to provide clinically excellent, person-centred primary and generalist care across diverse community and health care settings.
Demonstrate strong systems thinking and critical reasoning skills to champion positive change in health care.
Excel in teamwork, communication and collaborative decision-making within multidisciplinary, digitally enabled health care teams.
Engage in research, scholarship and innovation that responds to the priorities of diverse populations.
Participate in health-promoting learning environments that support their growth, well-being and resilience.
Advance health equity through high quality, culturally responsive and compassionate clinical care.
Provide care that honours Indigenous Peoples’ experiences, respects cultural knowledge and reflects the commitments outlined in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada report.
Understand and respond to the complex factors that influence health at both individual and population levels, with a focus on underserved communities within the school’s service area.
Engage in communities of practice and continuing medical education to foster shared learning, sustain professional growth and meet evolving health system needs across all stages of their careers.

Our Research, Innovation and Scholarly Work will:

Be shaped by the priorities of the communities we serve, in collaboration with partners across academia, industry, health care and government.
Be embedded in community, clinical and educational settings, advancing evidence-informed, technology-enabled models of primary and generalist care.
Address pressing health challenges through interdisciplinary, equity-focused research and discovery that drives innovation in clinical care, population health and health systems.
Position the School of Medicine as a leader in medical education research, innovation and quality improvement.
Be translated into clinical and educational practice through knowledge mobilization, innovation and collaboration with health care providers, educators and communities.

The school’s contributions will result in:

Stronger health system design and policy, shaped by applied research, community-engaged scholarship and collaborative knowledge exchange.
Expanded community access to primary and generalist care through an increased number of primary and generalist physicians working in interprofessional teams in underserved and under-resourced communities.
Transformative change in education and health systems, enabled by strong partnerships with communities, health care organizations, government and other sectors.
Greater health equity, demonstrated by reduced disparities and improved outcomes for marginalized and vulnerable populations.
Healthier communities supported by integrated, responsive health care that address both local and regional health priorities.

Academic Priorities and Goals

Innovative Clinical Curriculum

Design continuing education opportunities that support the professional development of Undergraduate Medical Education (UGME) and Postgraduate Medical Education (PGME) learners, practicing physicians and community health partners, fostering lifelong learning and shared knowledge across the health system.
Develop and sustain an integrated, competency-based education strategy across Undergraduate (UGME) and Postgraduate Medical Education (PGME) that builds foundational and applied clinical competence and supports the full spectrum of physician competencies.
Employ a holistic person-centred approach to education that encompasses health promotion and illness prevention, acute and chronic care management, mental health, rehabilitation and geriatric and palliative care.
Design and implement a progressive clinical curriculum anchored by Longitudinal Integrated Clinical Learning Experiences (LICLEs).
Build an Integrated Community-based Learning Network (ICLN) that unites primary, generalist and interprofessional care partners to deliver longitudinal clinical education across diverse community and institutional settings.
Weave structured teaching on health and social determinants across the learning continuum.
Integrate digital health and artificial intelligence into the curriculum through dedicated content, case-based learning and interprofessional experiences.
Partner with colleagues in the Faculty of Health and across York University to co-design shared curricular experiences that reflect integrated, team-based models of care.
Embed biomedical and foundational-science learning in the curriculum through inquiry-based modules, critical appraisal and mentored scholarship.

Create a health-promoting environment where learners feel safe, included and supported through a system of academic, mental health, social and career planning supports.
Establish formal mentorship and coaching programs that support learners’ personal and professional growth by connecting them with faculty, peers and interprofessional role models.
Enable diverse learner journeys by offering layered learning, flexible pacing, opportunities for reflection and structures that accommodate different pathways.
Implement a systematic program evaluation process that integrates regular learner feedback and measures outcomes against key performance indicators to inform continuous improvement.

Fully integrate equity, diversity and inclusion into curriculum design, admissions, assessment and learning environments.
Embed the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action into curriculum, pedagogy, research and institutional practices.
Weave diverse cultural histories, traditions and contemporary issues across the medical education journey.
Provide clinical and service placements in Indigenous, Black and other diverse communities that are grounded in reciprocal relationships and shaped by community-identified priorities.
Weave in structured teaching on health and social determinants across the learning continuum.

Develop a transparent admissions policy that reflects the school’s values and advances excellence, equity and accountability.
Recruit and support diverse learners who reflect the communities and lived experiences across the school’s service area.
Prioritize outstanding applicants who demonstrate a strong commitment to primary and generalist care and a readiness to learn in and serve communities in the school’s service area.

Community-Engaged and Equity-Driven Research

Develop a strategic framework that defines the school’s vision, goals and areas of scholarly focus.
Establish research priorities in partnership with diverse communities and interprofessional scientists and collaborators.
Support Indigenous scholars and research grounded in Indigenous methodologies.
Engage learners in research that addresses community-related health questions, health system challenges and emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence and digital health.
Strengthen infrastructure and mentorship to enable scholars to access the full spectrum of research funding opportunities in Canada and globally.
Serve as a catalyst for research by supporting faculty and learners in securing funding, building collaborations and advancing knowledge.
Promote interdisciplinary collaboration across York faculties, such as health, engineering, business, basic and social sciences, humanities and the arts to accelerate the development of medical technologies, digital health solutions and biotech ventures.
Foster industry and cross-faculty research collaborations for translational research, data science and health-focused entrepreneurship and startups.
Establish a pan-University Health Education and Research Committee, with representation from all interested units, to coordinate interdisciplinary research projects and joint programming.

Enabling Organizational Capacity

Inclusive and Empathic Culture

Cultivate an inclusive, respectful and purpose-driven culture where learners, staff, faculty and communities feel valued, empowered and united around the school’s vision and mission.
Embed community perspectives, learner voices and patient needs in planning and decision-making.
Foster an environment that values teaching as a core component of health care delivery.
Embed research as a vital part of the school’s identity, visible in teaching, learning and community engagement.

Passionate and Prepared People

Develop and maintain a responsive human resources plan that aligns staffing (faculty and staff) levels, roles and workload models with enrolment levels, accreditation requirements and expanding academic priorities, including teaching, research and service.
Recruit, support and retain exceptional clinical and non-clinical faculty and staff.
Invest in faculty and staff development, recognition and advancement, fair remuneration and protected faculty time for academic accountabilities.
Equip all faculty to deliver equity-informed, inclusive and culturally safe teaching, supervision and mentorship.
Build communities of practice among peers to enable excellence across the academic mission.

Meaningful Partnerships and Engagement

Establish and strengthen healthy and balanced, trust-based partnerships with hospitals, family health teams, community clinics, Indigenous and Black health care providers, long-term care homes, other health services and community agencies and government.
Implement a robust communication strategy that keeps learners, staff, faculty and communities informed, engaged and aligned to the school’s mission and priorities.

Robust Infrastructure and Technologies

Ensure digital infrastructure and learning environments integrate emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence and are designed to support future innovation, such as medical technology laboratories and strategic technology partnerships.
Harness simulation resources to support hands-on, experiential learning.
Provide learners with tools and resources to enable consistent, effective learning across distributed sites.
Implement data systems within responsible AI/data governance frameworks that support evidence-informed decision-making, evaluation, quality improvement and long-term planning

Financial Stewardship and Long-Term Sustainability

Develop a long-range financial planning framework that aligns with enrolment growth, faculty expansion, infrastructure needs, cost-sharing agreements and accreditation milestones.
Establish transparent financial management systems that promote responsible resource allocation, operational efficiency and long-term sustainability.
Strengthen and diversify funding streams, including philanthropy, government investment, research grants and private-sector partnerships.
Use feedback, performance indicators and rigorous evaluation to drive continuous improvement.

Collaborative and Strategic Governance

Establish and sustain shared governance structures between the school and the ICLN that enable joint decision-making, ensure accountability across partners and uphold the school’s vision, mission and strategic goals.
Facilitate joint planning, collective decision making and efficient sharing of resources with the Faculty of Health, particularly for interprofessional health academic programming and interdisciplinary research.
Develop a risk management framework to assess, mitigate and address School of Medicine risks.