To all members of the Faculty of Dentistry, including learners, faculty, and staff,聽
Firstly, I would like to express聽how humbled I am聽by your resilience and dedication during this challenging time.听We may all be practicing聽physical聽distancing to ensure our well-being and that of our community, yet it is precisely during this time that our dearest friends and colleagues remain at the front of our minds. We are a small community, and this crisis will surely bring us closer together as we all share in this struggle.听
Despite the interruption to normalcy this pandemic has caused, we have much to be proud of:聽
Faculty聽operations remain fully operational聽thanks to聽support staff聽and their聽ability to聽swiftly聽shift to this new mode of work. Our instructors聽have successfully transitioning teaching activities to remote learning where possible, and students have demonstrated聽great resilience in adapting to the聽circumstances聽during this challenging time.听All the while, the Faculty鈥檚 academics, dental residents, and oral health care givers continue to work on the front-line of patient care in McGill affiliated hospitals and are now deploying all the necessary measures to deal with a potential influx of patients with the virus.
Research activities聽have largely ramped down,聽yet聽all聽of聽our聽researchers聽have been able to聽continue their work聽remotely聽and moreover, an聽exciting聽collaborative research聽has been launched in the Faculty regarding COVID-19 and聽our聽profession.听
The mandated closure of all dental clinics in Quebec during this period, including the Faculty鈥檚 teaching and outreach聽clinics, is an interruption that has聽dealt聽an important blow to both the clinical curriculum for our students, and the oral health needs of聽many patients served by the Faculty鈥檚 Service to the Community program.听However,聽in case of emergencies, all community clinic patients are referred to hospital-based clinics where they can receive expert care during this crisis.听聽
Rest assured, we are regularly meeting with University leadership and regulatory bodies to develop the best strategy for resuming clinical operations聽in a timely manner that ensures the health and safety of learners, instructors, staff, and patients.听We will share more information on the suspension of clinical activities as the situation develops. For now, University campuses remain closed until further notice. The Faculty will maintain remote operational throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.听
Secondly,聽it is important to recognize the myriad sacrifices made during this time, and the many challenges we face outside the Faculty. This crisis has affected both the dental profession and each of our personal lives in different聽but no less important聽ways. Although the Faculty of Dentistry may聽be small, we are a community that spans the聽globe鈥攁ll of us have family, friends, and colleagues around the world, making the necessary measures of聽physical聽distancing more difficult in many cases,聽as well as聽health-related, financial or travel-related stresses. In addition to the government programs announced over the last few days, please remember that McGill offers these resources:聽
- Because many students are facing unforeseen expenses due to the pandemic, Principal Suzanne Fortier recently announced the launch of the聽McGill Student Emergency Support Fund, an emergency bursary to provide McGill students facing emergency expenses with financial support in the here and now.听Please visit this page for more information聽on how to apply for emergency support.听
- A helpful FAQ for information on聽Student Financial Assistance.听
- All students have access to聽Keep.meSAFE, a mental health counselling service offered to students in partnership with SSMU and PGSS, which provides 24/7 access to licensed counsellors聽through telephone and mobile chat in more than 60 languages. To access this service, download the聽MySSP聽app in the聽听辞谤听
- McGill employees can contact the聽Employee and Family Assistance Program (EFAP), which is available 24/7.听聽
For now, I encourage everyone to stay informed on the latest Governmental and University news. 聽The University sends frequent updates to the community by email,聽which you can consult here,聽and Christopher Buddle, Associate Provost of Teaching and Academic Programs, regularly shares information and resources聽.听
In addition, the following resources are available to stay informed:聽
- All University聽COVID-19 updates鈥嬄燼re posted here,聽together with聽FAQs聽and important聽self-declaration information.
- You can find further information in the聽Faculty of Dentistry鈥檚 COVID-19 FAQ.
- Preliminary resource information for instructors and students from Teaching and Learning Services (TLS) can be found听丑别谤别.
- I also encourage everyone setting up at home to read聽, which provides tips on promoting your musculoskeletal health.
I am聽grateful to聽everyone聽and聽proud of聽your outstanding efforts and collaboration鈥攚e are all in this together and have already accomplished so much in this short time. Ultimately, I am confident that this crisis will strengthen our resolve towards building a healthier future for all.
Stay聽safe, healthy聽and聽connected.听脟A VA BIEN聽ALLER!聽
Warmest Regards,聽
Elham聽Emami, PhD
Dean & Professor