DESTINATION
OF CHOICE

COMMUNITY-ENGAGED LEARNING

Through Community Engaged Learning (CEL), Schulich Medicine & Dentistry is bringing exceptional education and learning to its Bachelor of Medical Sciences (BMSc) students. Sarah McLean, PhD, an assistant professor who teaches in the BMSc program, saw an opportunity to enhance learning by stepping outside the classroom. She wanted her students to be able to use their knowledge in a practical way, in order to not only expand their skillset, but at the same time make a meaningful contribution to the community.

“Knowledge doesn’t matter unless you can apply it,” McLean said. “There is such a need in London, and we have so many motivated students and an awesome population that wants to contribute.”

The students, all in the fourth year of an interdisciplinary medical sciences degree, combined in-class instruction about working in teams, leadership, science communication and health literacy with a community-focused component where they worked with partners in the city to help solve real-world problems.

“This course was one of the most valuable learning experiences I have been a part of during my time at Western,” said Nicholas Mehta, who was in McLean’s class this year and worked on a project with Middlesex-London Emergency Medical Services (EMS) to create a business plan that could bring a Community Paramedicine Vulnerable Patient Program to the area. “In this CEL project, I felt I was making an actual contribution to the world.”

McLean’s students worked with paramedics to address high call volume in its Lift Assist program.

“A lift assist is a non-essential call to 911 requesting paramedics to support someone to either mobilize or transition from Position A to Position B. Paramedics do this because of other policies and procedures in our health-care sector that restrict other organizations from doing that – the default is 911,” explained Dustin Carter, superintendent of community paramedicine with the Middlesex-London Paramedic Service. The Schulich Medicine & Dentistry students stepped in to help Carter draft a business case to offer a potential solution to the Lift Assist program demands, and had the opportunity to present and publish their work on the Lift Assist project.

This was one of several projects that allowed students to expand their understanding of health care needs in the community and enhance their skills. Other projects included the creation of a resource booklet for teens recovering from addiction, and content creation for a mobile app for caregivers who are caring for a person with mental health concerns.

“Each project was a little bit different because with CEL it really is a partnership. We told them the skills that our students have and where their interests lie, and they come up with project together,” said McLean. “I took a risk because this was the first course like this at the BMSc level, and I am so pleased I took that risk because the outcome was incredible for not only the students, but the community as well.”

“This course was one of the most valuable learning experiences I have been a part of during my time at Western”

TEACHING RESIDENT TEACHERS

A Bootcamp for Resident Teachers was hosted with the goals of addressing undergraduate and postgraduate accreditation standards, and supporting residents in their instrumental roles as instructors of medical students and junior colleagues.


Thirty-six residents from 24 different specialties attended two days of intensive teaching workshops facilitated by nine clinician educators representing seven specialties. Residents were given the opportunity to receive feedback on their teaching skill through follow-up teaching observation and debrief, ensuring they were confident in their abilities and able to provide exceptional education to medical students and junior colleagues.

the goal of... supporting residents in their instrumental roles as instructors

Since the establishment of this initiative, there has been a significant ripple effect throughout a variety of training programs at Schulich Medicine & Dentistry. The Departments of Psychiatry, Internal Medicine, Orthopaedic Surgery, Emergency Medicine, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Obstetrics & Gynaecology, and Ophthalmology have all conducted follow-up training sessions led by residents who attended the Bootcamp for Resident Teachers as a way to disseminate critical teaching skills and strategies, ensuring the School continues to excel as a destination of choice for education.

INDIGENOUS STUDENT MATRICULATION

Schulich Medicine & Dentistry’s commitment to improving access to education for Indigenous students was met with encouraging results this year. Six Indigenous learners were accepted into the Medicine Class of 2021 (five admitted with one deferral), and one Indigenous learner was admitted into the Dentistry Class of 2021.

...advance opportunities for Indigenous students and recruit and retain more Indigenous students.

The School furthered its efforts to help improve the health status of Indigenous peoples, advance opportunities for Indigenous students and recruit and retain more Indigenous students. This year, the School increased the designated seats in each entering class for First Nations, Métis and Inuit students from three to five seats in Medicine and from one to two seats in Dentistry.


In a collaborative effort with the School’s Indigenous Liaison, a group of current Indigenous medical students and a representative from Western University’s Student Success Centre and the School’s Admissions Office held an inaugural Interview Readiness Workshop for Indigenous candidates for Medicine.


The Admissions Office also worked in partnership with Undergraduate Medical Education and the Centre for Education Research & Innovation on admissions-related research projects which will be impactful in terms of informing policy and process. The School’s manuscript titled, “Indigenous Student Matriculation, into Medical School: Policy and Progress,” was also published in the Indigenous International Policy Journal.

RECONCILIATION AND HEALING

Tyo ko Tak naht’ yu kwa nute’, Let’s Move What We Know Forward was a half-day special learning session held in the fall of 2017 for all medical students. The School’s Indigenous Liaison, Adrean Angles, was a key organizer of the learning session and said that. "The goal was to provide future physicians with a deeper and richer understanding of the history of the country and the negative impact of colonization on Indigenous people." With this knowledge, students will be better able to facilitate care in the future and help to eliminate stereotypes about Indigenous populations.


Ry Moran, Director of the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation at the University of Manitoba, delivered the keynote lecture. He shared the history of the residential school system in Canada focusing on the trauma and injustices that continue to shape and impact Indigenous communities.


Students also participated in a Blanket Exercise, which is a one-hour interactive workshop designed to help participants understand the historic and contemporary relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in Canada.


The session was opened by local First Nations community members – singer and drummer Thunder Jack, visiting elder Irene Peters and Farley Eagle Speaker.


The event was successful in introducing students to moments in Canadian history not often taught in school, as well as the role health professionals play in the process of reconciliation.

Cheyenne La Forme, Medicine Class of 2020, and Local Officer of Indigenous Health Junior with the Canadian Federation of Medical Students, felt positive about the learning session. “From start to finish Indigenous voices were heard. That’s very hard to come by in academic settings, where we are often spoken for or not included,” she said. “My time at the School has strengthened my cultural identity because my classmates are so eager to learn and understand what it means to be an Indigenous person in Canada. And that eagerness comes from a genuine interest and sense of solidarity.”

...students will be better able to facilitate care in the future and help to eliminate stereotypes about Indigenous populations.