In January 2023, the University of Puerto Rico (UPR) School of Medicine embarked on a journey to develop a five-year strategic plan encompassing year 2024 through 2029. The plan was the result of the work done by the Strategic Planning Committee (SPC) of the UPR-SOM. The SPC is constituted by nineteen (19) members, include the dean who serves as the Chair but may delegate this position to a senior faculty member which was done for the development of this plan, the associate deans, two (2) chairs from the basic science departments selected by the Dean, four (4) chairs of the clinical sciences departments selected by the dean, one (1) representative from the Curriculum Committee selected by the associate dean for academic affairs, the director of the Informatics and Technology Center, the director of the Curriculum Office, a representative from the Development Office, the chair of the Institutional Assessment Committee of the School of Medicine, the executive director of the School of Medicine Faculty Practice Plan all with a right to vote. Permanent invited guests include a student representative from each year of the MD program selected within the student body, a resident selected amongst themselves, and a doctoral student representative from the Graduate Program in Biomedical Sciences selected amongst themselves.
The plan was developed during the 2022-2023 academic year by the SPC and the department chairs. The Strategic Plan was developed using what has been called by Michael Wilkinson, Director of Leadership Strategies, Inc., “The Drivers Model”. In this model strategic planning revolves around four (4) major steps:
- Step 1: Where are we? An assessment of the external and internal environment using a S.W.O.T. analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats).
- Step 2: Where do we want to go? Resulting in the new Mission, Vision, Strategic Areas and Goals.
- Step 3: How are we going to get there? Resulting in the development of objectives and activities.
- Step 4: How do we follow up on the progress of the Plan? A monitored operational plan of the implemented strategies.
To carry out this work, there were 8, three-hour long, on-site, formal meetings for a total of 24 contact hours. The activities included the analysis of the S.W.O.T. results performed in the 2021 and updated in the 2023. The revision of the school’s Strategic Plan culminated with a Strategic Planning Workshop, which was celebrated with the attendance of over 46 members of the academic community that included faculty, students, residents, administrators, and non-teaching staff. A total of 50 hours were invested in all the activities leading to the development of the 2024-2029 Strategic Plan.
The final strategic plan, which was aligned with the strategic goals of the University of Puerto Rico and Medical Sciences Campus, was approved by the SPC and then submitted to the Dean of Medicine for approval by the Committee on Administration (COA). Following approval by the COA, the plan was submitted to the faculty for its final approval in December 2023.