Medical Education and Curriculum Development

Description

Advocated, raised awareness/ action, and created an educational initiative (the Inner City Health elective) on the drug poisoning crisis as an appointed champion to represent ~640 local medical students; led two junior students during the senior year; and collaborated with peers to create events, initiatives, and curriculum change. This work resulted in advocacy meetings with federal, provincial, and municipal government officials; media interviews/engagement; an innovative systems-level thinking course targeting junior medical students that provided ~25 events/ experiences and engaged ~100 medical students over two years; the integration of a trauma-informed care workshop into the main MD curriculum; enhanced student awareness of the drug poisoning crisis; and the fostering of new and existing relationships between the student association/ university and the community.

Actions and Achievements

• Designed and delivered a pre-clerkship elective for junior medical students to gain a systems-level overview of the drug poisoning crisis, which disproportionately devastates inner city populations

• Created two shadowing programs to connect junior medical students with the inner city community in clinical settings: the Addiction Recovery and Community Health (ARCH) program at the Royal Alexandra Hospital and the Radius Clinic (formerly Boyle McCauley Health Center) in Edmonton

• Wrote a position paper, recruited speakers/ presenters for a training weekend, and helped coordinate the Alberta Medical Student's Provincial Day of Action (2023) on addressing the ongoing drug poisoning crisis. Additionally, was featured on CTV News Edmonton about these advocacy efforts

• Participated in the Canadian Federation of Medical Students' National Day of Advocacy (2022) on addressing the ongoing drug poisoning crisis

• Advocated for and successfully championed the integration of Trauma Informed Care in the main MD curriculum (with peers and faculty; 2021-22 academic year)

• Advocated for naloxone training to be implemented at the beginning of the year in the main MD curriculum, in response to resuscitations by commuting medical student peers

• Designed a research approach to evaluate the elective experience and disseminate our ideas to the medical education community

• Participated in, and recruited other students to attend community events - such as the Community Conversation Love in the Time of Fentanyl

• Attended meetings with City Councilors, changemakers, grassroots activists, and local organizations

• Volunteered in providing mutual aid outreach to inner city populations with grassroots organizations, such as Water Warriors and 4B Harm Reduction

Skills honed

• Systems-level thinking for social innovation and advocacy in medicine and medical education

• Leading a team of peers, including for both operational and research purposes

• Community-based participatory approach to curriculum generation

• Building and honoring relationships with community

• Engaging with medical providers, social services providers, local grassroots organizations, patients, and other stakeholders within the inner city community

• Advocacy and social accountability