Copy
Issue No.77 Community Voices in Health Professional Education at UBC
ISSUE 77 / July 2020

Newsletter

A partnership between Patient & Community Partnership for
Education in the Office of UBC Health and the community.
Change this image to 600px by 300px size

Health Advocacy Workshop with Physical Therapy Students

On July 15th, 80 physical therapy students took part in a workshop about different kinds of health advocacy that health professionals can do with and on behalf of patients. The workshop uses a real case facilitated by patient and community partners to help students learn how they might work with patients to effect change in practice.

It was the first time the workshop was offered online. Students were put into small groups and worked through the case with a facilitator in virtual breakout rooms. The groups then presented examples of advocacy from the case and their own experience to the full class.

The new online format worked well and will be offered in occupational therapy and pharmacy classes in the Fall. The session was adapted from a face-to-face workshop developed previously with financial support from UBC Vancouver students via the Teaching and Learning Enhancement Fund

The next workshop will be with occupational therapy students on September 30th. Stay tuned!

Change this image to 600px by 300px size

Medical Student Project: What can students learn from family caregivers?

Tracy Huynh, a 2nd year medical student, completed a research project about what students can learn from family caregivers. The project is part of 'FLEX', a component of the Undergraduate Medical Program at UBC which allows students to engage in self-directed learning opportunities that incorporate personal interests, critical thinking, innovation, and advocacy.

"The topic of family caregiving is important to me because I have seen the impacts that caring for a loved one has on a family," says Tracy.

Tracy interviewed 5 family caregivers from UBC's Interprofessional Health Mentors program about what doctors can do to better support family caregivers and what resources are most helpful. Her findings highlight the importance of peer support and the need for physicians to work in partnership with caregivers.

“Shared or informed decision-making, I think that’s great that the students are learning about it but … Nobody actually says it to the patient that this is what we’re talking about today is informed decision-making, shared decision-making,” said one caregiver.

The next step is to develop educational resources to help students learn how to better support family caregivers. Stay tuned!

Change this image to 600px by 300px size

Health Mentors Cohort 10: Planning Underway!

On July 22, a steering committee of the Health Mentors program met to plan for cohort 10. The committee is comprised of current students, faculty, and mentors. A top priority for the group is preparing for the orientation to be held online due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

It was also a good time to review program policies and lessons learned over the past decade. In 2019-20 the program was re-structured into a 1-year format. The redesign reduced mentors' workload to only one group per year without any loss to the learning objectives or activities. The new format also works better with the UBC academic calendar.

The Interprofessional Health Mentors Program is celebrating it's 10th year and has reached over 1,500 students!

Change this image to 600px by 300px size

Study Published on the Outcomes of the Health Mentors Program

Our paper about the long-term impact of the Health Mentors Program has been published ahead of print in the journal Academic Medicine and is freely available.

Data were collected in follow up interviews with a 18 medical residents 3-4 years after they completed the program. Professional identity was explored by asking participants how Health Mentors had influenced their ideas about the ideal physician and the kind of doctor they aspire to become.

We found that early learning from the authentic and autonomous patient's voice can foster a professional identity that embraces patient partnership, interprofessional collaboration, and patient-centred practice. The study shows how patient mentors can help medical students explore and commit to professional values that society expects of physicians.

Read More
Change this image to 600px by 300px size

Update: Mentor Database Project

This month, work learn student Kurtis So has been collecting information through online surveys, phone calls and Zoom videoconferencing to find out what kinds of education and advocacy activities our Health Mentors are interested in! We will use the information to update our database so that we can match mentors more effectively to the opportunities available.

Over 50 mentors have completed the survey. If you haven't responded, Kurtis is available to help mentors fill out the survey. For more information or assistance with completing the survey, please email Kurtis at kurtisso@mail.ubc.ca. The survey closes August 10, 2020.

Special thanks to Darren Lauscher for testing our online survey and providing valuable feedback prior to launch. We also gratefully acknowledge that funding for this project is provided by the UBC Office of Equity & Inclusion via the Equity Enhancement Fund.

email

Ways to Get Involved

Patients
Patients*
Students
Students
Faculty
Faculty
Community
Community
*The term patient is overearching and is inclusive of individuals with personal experience of a health issue and informal caregivers, including family and friends.
Copyright © 2020 UBC Patient & Community Partnership for Education| UBC Health, All rights reserved.

604 822 8002 | pcpe.isdm@ubc.ca
Forward this email to a friend


If you wish to unsubscribe <<Email Address>>, please click here

Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp