As Emily Musing retires on April 29, it's appropriate to take a moment to reflect on her storied career.
"She is a giant among us," says Jin Huh, Senior Director of Pharmacy at UHN, and a longtime colleague of Emily's. "She's a tireless and enthusiastic leader who imbued those around her with energy and confidence to strive to meet the demands of a challenging healthcare environment."
Emily, who has been at UHN for 25 years, the past six of them as Chief Patient Safety Officer, most recently exemplified these qualities through her leadership of the UHN COVID vaccine rollout, where the impossible became possible with her warmth and humour.
"Emily has been a model of the values we try to live at UHN from her very first day here – she radiates calm, thoughtfulness, compassion and quiet efficiency," says Dr. Brian Hodges, EVP Education and UHN's Chief Medical Officer. "She has been a key leader on our quality and safety journey, an inspirational mentor and teacher, a gifted clinician and during COVID set aside two years of her life to propel our vaccine work and the astounding achievement of 400,000 vaccinations.
"We will miss her greatly."
Emily received her BScPhm from the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto, and her Masters of Health Science in Health Administration from the Institute of Health Policy Management and Evaluation, also from U of T.
Emily is a Certified Health Executive with the Canadian College of Health Leaders and a Fellow with the American College of Healthcare Executives and the Canadian Society of Hospital Pharmacists. She is an Associate Professor with the Faculty of Pharmacy and with the Institute of Health Policy Management and Evaluation, and is an affiliate member of the Centre for Patient Safety, U of T.
Her many accomplishments include past board member of the Canadian Patient Safety Institute, the Vice Chair of the Death Investigation Oversight Council reporting to the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services, and a board member of the Institute for Safe Medication Practices, Canada.
From a pharmacy perspective, Emily is a Past President of the Canadian Society of Hospital Pharmacists and has previously been active within the Society as an accreditor with the Canadian Hospital Pharmacy Residency Board.
Emily was previously the Executive Editor for the Hospital Pharmacy in Canada Report, the Pharmacy Examining Board of Canada Chief Administrator for the Toronto Objective Structured Clinical Examination and an assessor for the Ontario College of Pharmacists' Quality Assurance Practice Review.
Earlier this month, in the final edition of "Emily's Musings," her popular email updating UHN's Quality and Safety, she reflected on the "great strides" achieved on that journey since embarking on a safety transformation undertaken in partnership with the Hospital for Sick Children. She highlighted robust training of TeamUHN members, enhanced safety practices and strengthened quality and safety infrastructure.
"Our achievements were recently recognized by Accreditation Canada who awarded UHN the ranking of Exemplary Standing," Emily wrote. "We met more than 99 per cent of accreditation criteria and 100 per cent Required Organizational Practices at our most recent site survey.
"It has been my honour to be a part of UHN's quality and safety journey, and I know that I leave it in good hands."
Author and speaker John C. Maxwell states: "Leadership is influence."
By that measure, Emily's impact extends to a whole generation of leaders through her work in Pharmacy, Patient Safety, Quality and COVID vaccine strategy.
We are truly humbled to have worked with her and wish her a well-deserved retirement.
