Strategic Plan

Encouraging a People-First Culture

Continue to build inclusive environments and supportive systems, and practice our stated values to ensure comfort and success for all stakeholders.

The People We Are

• Continue work in establishing a safe, open, environment of trust for all DOVS stakeholders
• Increase the hiring and retention from marginalized groups by promoting dedicated personal DOVS member education, incorporating recruitment best practices, and addressing stereotyping and othering
• Increase professional development, health disparities education, and wellness learning opportunities for DOVS members
• Bolster departmental mentoring programs with attention to adopting new models of support

The People We Serve

• Broaden communication bridges for all stakeholders
• Provide comfortable, thoughtful, proximal space for patients, faculty, staff and learners that promotes efficiency, communication and collaboration
• Actively participate and amplify programs of health equity and inclusion that further connect DOVS with marginalized individuals and groups
• Increase development/philanthropic activities for research, education and clinical trial needs

The Systems We Build

• Invest in collaborative faculty/learner global exchange opportunities
• Utilize different technologies and reimagine processes to provide efficiencies in education, research and patient care
• Upgrade and optimize communication processes with task automation and other novel methods
• Enact environmentally sustainable efforts across all operational areas
• Implement advancement and communication workshops/ training opportunities that focus on development, finances, branding and awareness tools to enhance our philanthropy

Enhancing Educational Endeavors

Develop new ways of effective engagement in teaching and learning.

The People We Are

Cultivate and foster faculty commitment to teaching and training:

• Increase faculty teaching participation by developing and rewarding champions in teaching and training
• Identify strategic opportunities to engage alumni in educational programs to increase alumni-learner connections
• Create expectations and encourage professional pedagogical opportunities to advance our commitment to diversity and inclusion

The People We Serve

Collaborate within and beyond the University of Wisconsin to save sight globally:

• Identify, develop and implement policies and procedures for successful faculty/learner/research collaborator global exchanges
• Solicit and utilize funding resources to expand local to global partnerships
• Build additional capacity to address eye health, treatment, and low vision services in underserved populations through education and community outreach

The Systems We Build

Enhance learning experiences and grow recruitment efforts of top-talent learners:

• Explore the enhancement and growth of the residency program class size to 5 residents per year
• Expand medical student clinical learning opportunities, as well as help mentor/match those going into ophthalmology
• Explore new training pathways for optometry, orthoptists, technicians, and clinical fellows
• Bolster and enhance the educational experience of T32 pre- and post-doctoral students
• Develop structures and benchmarks to guide learner assessments and program planning
• Secure new funding for new physical training spaces – a simulation lab, surgical wet lab and telemedicine facility

Advancing Patient-Centered Care Experiences

Compassionate, customized patient care for all clinical operations.

The People We Are

• Engage in continual learning of systemic and health inequities
• Expand leadership opportunities for clinical staff
• Streamline the surgery-scheduling process
• Optimize staff training and clinical spaces for visually impaired patients, with special emphasis on pediatric and elderly care circumstances

The People We Serve

• Acquire onsite social services
• Amplify awareness of clinical programs of distinction and destination (low vision, uveitis, inherited retinal diseases, ocular tumors, Mohs surgery)
• Build a strong patient navigator volunteer base at all clinical sites

The Systems We Build

Optimize spaces by implementing patient-centered lean workflows, smart technologies, and in consideration of the unique needs of our patients to enhance efficiency, quality of care, and productivity:

• Continue Quality Improvement and Lean Modeling team activity along with ubiquitous distribution of eSynchrony technology boards
• Collaborate with UW Health Specialty Care Redesign efforts
• Grow virtual scribe processes in all clinics
• Grow tele-ophthalmology at clinical outreach and neonatal intensive care practice sites
• Secure more cutting-edge opportunities for the Clinical Eye Research Unit through marketing
• Build a premier eye institute as our central hub, and improve existing facilities to maximize patient, staff and provider experiences

Pioneering Research Discoveries

Discovery begets greater understanding, informed prognosis, and directed treatments for eye diseases.

The People We Are

Strengthen professional development and mentoring:

• Promote clinician visual scientist training by applying for a departmental NIH K12 Clinical Scientist Institutional Career Development Program Award
• Involve optometrists in research through investigator training and faculty appointments

Bolster mentoring committee guidelines/provide training to ensure consistent role engagement:

• Onboard new faculty with pre-defined, instated mentoring committees
• Diversify clinician mentoring committees to also include non-clinical faculty and staff
• Strengthen faculty engagement and retention through continued mentorship post-tenure

Invest in our continued research vitality and competitiveness:

• Recruit and retain diverse, expert faculty hires in the areas of population health, immunology, ocular imaging, molecular genetics, and big data
• Facilitate research planning and progress by hiring a PhD-level biostatistician
• Continue hosting recurring research events such as bi-annual research retreats, Frontiers in Vision Research seminar series, Kambara Vision Science Symposia, and Learner’s Day
• Increase philanthropic funding for pilot and collaborative projects
• Establish and/or support special interest research groups o Streamline administrative research processes with SMPH senior leadership

The People We Serve

Enhance educational opportunities to explore the visual system:

• Advance vision science education for medical and graduate students through continued promotion of UW Ophthalmology 911 and 750 courses
• Amplify our T32 Vision Research Training grant for graduate education
• Improve medical student vision research opportunities using the Shapiro award and other funding
• Create a research fellowship program with basic science training

Increase collaborative vision research locally to internationally:

• Promote telemedicine for recruiting subjects for research projects and clinical trials
• Broaden the reach of DOVS Vision Research Core Services through novel communication channels

The Systems We Build

Develop and support multi-principal investigator strategic research initiatives (Centers of Innovation):

• Position the Wisconsin Advanced Imaging for Visual Systems (WAIVS) cross-campus partnership to be a leading regional center for ocular imaging
• Become a center of excellence for national big-data programs such as Intelligent Research in Sight (IRIS) and Sight OUtcomes Research CollaborativE (SOURCE)
• Establish a centralized DOVS human ocular tissue biobank for directed research projects