Sessions
These knowledge acquisition sessions will take place in the geography of the inner city community as much as possible
FALL
FentanNIL naloxone training
Date: October 11, 2022
Time: 12 - 1 pm
Elective credit: 1 hour
Location: Katz 1080
Description: This event seeks to address an urgent necessity - knowledge and naloxone in the community to reverse overdose as it happens. This one hour long in-person training will consist of a brief background on the opioid poisoning epidemic, followed by naloxone injection training. All participants will also receive a naloxone kit.
Power & Privilege (with the entire Community Engagement elective)
Date: October 18, 2022
Time: 1 - 4 pm
Elective credit: 3 hours
Location: TBD
Presenter: Evelyn Hamdon, PhD. She is the Senior Advisor, Equity and Human Rights, in the Office of the Provost and Vice-President (Academic) at University of Alberta.
Description: An awareness of power and privilege is essential for patient-centered care. However, it is a concept that societies often struggle with and resist. Even among those who acknowledge the immense impact that power and privilege have in our society, it can be an uncomfortable topic that many tend to avoid. As future healthcare professionals and patient advocates, however, it is especially vital for us to become aware of and conversant in this issue.
Introduction to harm reduction in the context of a crisis
Date: Nov 17, 2022
Time: 1 - 3 pm
Elective credit: 2 hours
Location: Conference Room, Boyle Street Community Services
Presenter: Marliss Taylor
Description: The (famous) Marliss Taylor from Streetworks will be providing one of the best introductions to harm reduction a medical student could ask for. The seminar will be interactive and will include a jeopardy style drug quiz, as well as a tour of Boyle Street Community Services.
Structural determinants of the drug poisoning crisis
SIGN UP FORM - for ordering lunch
Date: Dec 2, 2022
Time: 12 - 1 pm
Elective credit: 1 hour
Location: ECHA 2-490 and Zoom
Presenter: Nanky Rai, MD
Nanky Rai (she/they) is a migrant settler from India-occupied Kashmir who is formally trained in public health and practices as a primary care physician in Toronto, on lands that should remain under the full jurisdiction of the Wendat, the Anishinaabek, Haudenosaunee, and the Mississaugas of the Credit nations. She works closely with 2SLGBTQIA+ communities including Black, Indigenous and other racialized queer, trans and gender nonconforming people, those who use drugs, those who are unhoused and or undocumented, and those living with the infectious complications of structural violence such as HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis C. She has been active in anti-colonial and anti-imperialist grassroots movements for migrant and health justice for over 10 years. She is a member of the Toronto Overdose Prevention Society which set up unsanctioned Overdose Prevention Sites in Toronto as a response to the devastating overdose crisis. Her academic work focuses on conducting historical analyses of structural violence embedded within health care and learning from grassroots responses towards health equity. She is passionate about building anti-oppressive clinical education and practice, health activism and harm reduction.
Description: Nanky Rai is bringing social justice and accountability to medicine. Students will be introduced to the structural determinants model and will gain an appreciation of how the structural determinants of health (e.g. racism, homophobia) may influence a person's risk of experiencing a drug-related overdose in their lives.
Optional pre-reading: Uprooting medical violence
Optional video: Uprooting medical violence
Link to prezi (full version)
WINTER
Addressing the opioid poisoning crisis through a social determinants lens
Date: Feb 8, 2023
Time: 12 - 1pm
Elective credit: 1 hour
Location: ECHA 2-140
Presenter: Ginetta Salvalaggio, MD
Dr. Ginetta Salvalaggio is the Associate Professor with the University of Alberta Department of Family Medicine, and the Associate Scientific Director of the Inner City Health and Wellness Program. She currently runs an Edmonton-based practice in family medicine and maternity care. Her research centers around social accountability, patient and community engagement, and health services for urban underserved populations.
Description: An overview of where we are, how we got here, and where we need to go... followed by an exploration of how to apply these ideas in practice through case-based discussion. Students will gain an appreciation of how the social determinants of health may influence a person's risk of experiencing a drug-related poisoning/ accidental overdose in their lives.
Date: Feb 16, 2023
Time: 5 - 9 pm pm
Elective credit: Variable
Location: Metro Cinema
Presenters: See website for details
Description: This is a timely public education opportunity on the importance of public health and evidence-based public policy. Respondents to film screenings will be sharing insights, trends, and a public policy analysis to connect the themes of the film to Edmonton. You are encouraged to submit questions in advance following your RSVP (via the website).
Introduction to opioid agonist therapy (OAT)
Date: Feb 17, 2023
Time: 12 - 1 pm
Elective credit: 1 hour
Location: ECHA 2-140
Presenters: Jess Kirkwood, MD
Description: Students will have the opportunity to lunch and learn with Dr. Jess Kirkwood - a family physician working at the Boyle McCauley Health Centre - who frequently works with patients engaging in opioid use. Find out how practitioners can start patients on opioid agonist therapy, and the myriad of factors involved.
HARES street outreach (*community event*)
Date: Mar 26, 2023
Elective credit: Variable
Location: Whyte Avenue, Edmonton
Description: Coordinated by the GHHS representative from the 2026 class, a group of student volunteers will be creating welcoming space for community members on Whyte Ave, while learning about grassroots-based approaches to harm reduction. This is part of HARES Outreach's regular Sunday activities, focused on assisting transient and houseless community members.
How does change happen: from micro to meso advocacy for health sciences students
Date: Apr 15, 2023
Time: 1300 - 1400
Elective credit: 1 hour
Location: Katz 1-080
Presenters: Kathryn Dong, MD; Naheed Dosani, MD
Dr. Kathryn Dong is the Alberta Health Services Chair in Emergency Medicine Research at the University of Alberta and an addiction medicine physician at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Edmonton. In addition to her training and experience in emergency and addiction medicine, she has a Masters in Population Health from the University of Alberta. Her clinical and research work focuses on improving health care access and outcomes for people who use substances that seek care in emergency department and acute care settings. She is also the Chair of the Addiction Medicine Area of Focused Competence Committee for the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and the Social Accountability Lead for the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry at the University of Alberta. She is also one of the principal founders of the Addiction Recovery and Community Health (ARCH) program at the Royal Alexandra Hospital.
As a palliative care physician and health justice activist, Dr. Naheed Dosani is dedicated to advancing equitable access to healthcare for people experiencing structural vulnerabilities like poverty and homelessness. These efforts include founding the Palliative Education and Care for the Homeless (PEACH) Program at the Inner City Health Associates, serving as the Medical Director of Kensington Hospice in downtown Toronto, a Health Equity Expert Advisor at the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer and as a palliative care physician at St. Michael’s Hospital at Unity Health Toronto. Dr. Dosani shares his passion for palliative care and health equity with learners as an Assistant Professor with the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Toronto. His research interests include improving care models for people experiencing structural vulnerabilities and access to palliative care for culturally diverse communities. Dr. Dosani has received many prestigious honours for his trailblazing work. These awards include the Meritorious Service Cross for Humanitarianism from Canada’s Governor General in 2018, a humanitarian award from the Canadian Society of Palliative Care Physicians in May 2019 and the Early Career Leader award from the Canadian Medical Association in 2020. Most recently, Dr. Dosani received an Honorary Degree (Doctor of Laws) from Ontario Tech University in 2022.
Description:
Students will learn about the genesis of programs like ARCH and PEACH, how to identify and implement solutions for perceived gaps in health service, and how to tangibly engage in health system advocacy.
Outline a process for identifying and using gaps in the healthcare system to change health policy and processes.
Understand the importance of shared decision making and advocacy with patients and communities.
Perspectives on substance use in Canada: experiences during the drug poisoning crisis, the importance of harm reduction and safe supply, and the current Canadian landscape
Date: Apr 15, 2023
Time: 14:15 - 15:45
Elective credit: 1.5 hours
Location: Katz 1-080
Presenters: Petra Schulz; Garth Mullins, PhD; Patty Wilson, NP; Marliss Taylor
Petra Schulz lost her 25-year-old son, Danny, to accidental fentanyl poisoning in 2014. She is one of the co-founders of Moms Stop the Harm, a network of Canadian families impacted by substance-use related harms and deaths. Through the lessons learned from her personal experience and by sharing Danny's story, Petra has become an advocate for drug policy reform. She believes that substance use is a matter involving human rights and health and must not be criminalized.
Petra represents families with lived experience on national advisory committees. She has been a speaker for TedX, at rallies, conferences, community meetings, professional organizations, universities, and all government levels. She contributed to the anti-stigma campaign, "See-Beyond" and research projects related to her advocacy work.
Garth Mullins is an old school dopefiend. He’s long time member of the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users and host and executive producer of the Crackdown Podcast where drug users cover the drug war as war correspondents. He is also a trade union organizer and musician in Vancouver band Low Dead Space.
Patty Wilson is a Primary Health Care Nurse Practitioner and works with clients who experience complex mental health, use substances, and encounter high barriers to equitable health care. She works in outreach harm reduction settings and opioid agonist therapy. She completed an Addiction Fellowship in 2021 through the BC Centre on Substance Use and focused on policy development and advocacy. Patty has a passion for low-barrier, client-centred care and advocates for this approach in all settings.
Marliss Taylor is the Manager of the Streetworks Program and Director of Health Services at Boyle Street Community Services in Edmonton. She received her Diploma in Nursing in 1982 and Degree in Nursing in 1992. After working for 11 years in adult and pediatric Intensive Care Units in Regina, Edmonton and San Antonio Texas, she moved to the high Arctic. There she received her certificate in Advanced Practice Nursing and worked as a Nurse Practitioner in the community of Kugluktuk, and Nurse Manager in the community of Gjoa Haven, Nunavut. In 1995 she returned to Edmonton as the Program Manager of the Streetworks program and has worked in Harm Reduction for the past 27 years. She was the first to initiate the use of community-based naloxone in Canada in 2005. She created the HER Pregnancy program – an innovative model of care for women who are street involved and pregnant . She has been involved in Health Promotion/Harm Reduction Initiatives in Siberia and Guyana, and a multitude of local, provincial and national research and advocacy projects. She was a member of the Alberta Health Services Board of Directors (the largest health organization in Canada) from 2015-2019, and was a member of the Minister’s Opioid Emergency Response Commission for the time of its existence from 2017-2019. She is the Chair of the Canadian Drug Policy Coalition.
Description:
Understand the underlying issues contributing to the drug poisoning crisis and why it is not an opioid or an addictions crisis.
Identify changes in drug policy that are essential to prevent further harm, including decriminalization and providing access to regulated substances.
Learn what medical professionals can do to help.
Unlearn harmful concepts often taught in med schools around “drug seeking behavior” and “diversion”
Identify stigmatizing practices in healthcare: witnessing doses, daily dispensing, UDS, siloed addiction care (please feel free to add others)
Systems thinking for social innovation
Date: Apr 15, 2023
Time: 16:00 - 17:00
Elective credit: 1 hour
Location: Katz 1-080
Presenter: Patrick von Hauff
Description: An applied session created around the main asks/positions that were developed and researched as part of the Provincial Day of Action. This workshop will focus on social design considerations, how to use positionality to drive advocacy, and how to tackle stigma.
Bridge Healing Transitional Accommodation / Asamina Kochi
Date: Apr 16, 2023
Time: 09:00 - 09:45
Elective credit: 45 min
Location: Katz 1-080
Presenter: Matthew Robrigado
Matthew Robrigado (he/him) is a first-year medical student at the University of Alberta committed to improving access to essential services for all populations. During his BSc (hons) at the University of Ottawa, Matthew worked as a STEM education outreach program coordinator for kids and youth in rural and Indigenous communities, and researched the educational implications of teaching students with diverse language backgrounds. Matthew is writing a publication in collaboration with the Bridge Healing project, a grassroots initiative that seeks to end houselessness in Edmonton and worldwide.
Description: A talk explaining the history, the context and the need for the The Bridge Healing Transitional Accommodation Program in Edmonton. In this session, followed by Q&A, participants will engage with the issues pertaining to houselessness, current health-related supports, and the role of health care professionals and advocates.
The Narcotic Transition Service and Alberta’s Recovery Model
Date: Apr 16, 2023
Time: 10:00 - 11:00
Elective credit: 1 hour
Location: Katz 1-080
Presenters: Euan Thomson, PhD; Kate Colizza, MD
Euan Thomson started a business in his hometown of Calgary right as the pandemic broke, and quickly realized there was another public health crisis at play that businesses could do a lot more to help mitigate. EACH+EVERY: Businesses for Harm Reduction was formed among a group that felt they could build a new story about how businesses interact with communities of people who use drugs. Since then, the coalition has grown nationally to over 200 members in many industries. They have collaborated on the world’s first harm reduction-centred Workplace Substance Use Policy, organized activism including Calgary’s first pop-up overdose prevention site, and conducted dozens of media interviews to change the narrative coming from the business community on harm reduction approaches. Stay current on the latest in Alberta drug policy and support Euan’s work (free subscriptions are great!) at www.euanthomson.substack.com.
Dr Kate Colizza is a general internist and addiction medicine physician in Treaty 7 territory in Calgary. Her clinical and academic training has taken her throughout Western Canada and the US, where she has had the privilege of seeing various models of care. She is a strong supporter of harm reduction and hopes to help reduce the harms caused by the acute care medical system.
Description:
Explore the role of advocacy in medicine
Reflect on our influence and obligations as medical professionals
Review the Narcotic Transition Services regulations and their impact and implications
Explore the current policy strategies surrounding the recovery model and how it stands in contrast to other evidence-based practices
Discuss strategies on how to conceptualize and take action on political determinants of health
Indigenous perspectives on drug poisoning, houselessness, and hope
Date: Apr 16, 2023
Time: 11:00 - 12:00
Elective credit: 1 hour
Location: Katz 1-080
Presenters: Will Cardinal
Description: Will aims to center his experience as a skilled, long-time outreach worker for the Bissell Centre, in sharing his perspectives on the drug poisoning crisis and the challenges for houseless and transient community members. In particular, he is passionate about the importance of Indigenous resilience and how it ought to be considered in all responses to the drug poisoning crisis. He will also lead a targeted naloxone training toward the end of his session.
Thanks for learning with us this year!
POSSIBLE FUTURE EVENTS
Indigenous determinants of health and substance use (with the Indigenous Health portfolio)
Date: TBD
Time: TBD
Elective credit: 1 hour
Location: TBD
Description:
Introduction to community services
Date: TBD
Time: TBD
Elective credit: 2 hours
Location: TBD
Description: Students will gain an understanding of community services and participate in networking with a selection of the types of community supports and services that could contribute to the health and wellbeing of the inner city population.