Emily Musing, Executive Director of Pharmacy, Clinical Risk and Quality & Patient Safety Officer, was recently awarded the prestigious Arbor Award from the University of Toronto. The award recognizes volunteers for outstanding personal service to the University.
We sat down with Emily to learn more about her role at UHN and initial reaction to receiving this honour.
Can you describe your role at UHN?
I provide leadership and support to both inpatient and outpatient services of the pharmacy department. The newer portion of my role is clinical risk, safety and quality. Everything we do is linked to quality – mainly through the quality of care committee chaired by Dr. Bob Bell. I'm also the face of UHN from a patient safety perspective for organizations like the Canadian Patient Safety Institute and the Ontario Hospital Association patient safety network.
What does your vision of quality care at UHN look like?
Everything we do is under that quality umbrella. For example: Do we provide timely access to patients? How do we ensure patients are satisfied with our services? A lot of that is communication, patient discussions and education. Sometimes, you can have the best care in the world, but if the patient doesn't understand that, it's hard for them to play an active role in continuing that care.
What is the most rewarding part of your job?
The people! I'm involved in so many different things that allow me to interact with people across all sites. We have fantastic people working at UHN – they are the best of the best so I'm always learning from them.
What was your initial reaction to learning you were an Arbor Award recipient?
I was called by the faculty of pharmacy dean who nominated me, and I have to say I was shocked! It was very humbling to know I was among so many people actively teaching and supporting U of T.
What volunteer services have you provided to U of T?
Much of this award is on behalf of the pharmacy department and the great work they've done. Recently, we worked collaboratively with U of T and piloted the "Early Experiential Program." This program is now a standard part of the curriculum. I'm also a member of the Task Force on Valuing Academic Performance, Phase Two. We come up with guiding principles to decide how well we're doing as an academic health science centre and health facility at U of T.
What motivates you to continue providing your volunteer services?
It's in my personality to be involved in many, many things. I like learning from different people and that's why I'm involved with teaching, administration, U of T and patient safety – they each add a layer of new knowledge and insight that I can bring to everything else I'm involved in.
