The exciting research of students and interns with Southern Medical Program, UBC Okanagan, and BC Cancer Agency was on full display at the 2018 UBC Okanagan Interdisciplinary Student Health Conference. Held at the Clinical Academic Campus on February 21, 2018, the event featured poster presentations on a diverse range of engaging research topics.

Top Honours:

• Southern Medical Program, Victoria Bass: What’s Happening to Me? Exploring Transformation in Medical Education Through Poetry
• Southern Medical Program, Ryan Dragoman: Surface-Engineered Cationic Nanocrystals for Biological Application

Honourable Mention:

• Southern Medical Program, Jung-In Choi: Temporal Changes and Spectrum of Findings on Follow-up CT Angiogram in Patients with Suspected Post-traumatic Blunt Cerebrovascular Injury
• UBC Okanagan (Biochemistry), Wyatt Slatterly: Ligand-directed integrin labeling: Novel insights into glia mediated synaptic

Best Visually Appealing Poster:

• Southern Medical Program, Breanne Cadham: Walk and Talk United: Evaluation of an online Walk and Talk program implementation toolkit

A special thanks to the event adjudicators Dr. Graeme McCauley and Leslie Bryant, Interior Health and guest presenter Dr. Kamran Golmohammadi, Medical Health Officer, Interior Health.

Grant Thornton representatives, from left, Ron Anderson, Don Catalano, and Geoff Yule (far right) with UBC medical students Daniel Woodsworth, Tanya MacDonell and Frances Morin. Missing: medical student Ben Guidolin

Local accounting firm supports UBC’s medical students in Trail 

Students at UBC’s Southern Medical Program (SMP) currently training in rural medicine are getting a financial boost thanks to a local organization.

Each year, a small group of UBC medical students move to Trail to take part in the Faculty of Medicine’s Integrated Community Clerkship (ICC) program. The students spend an entire year working alongside physicians and allied health professionals at the Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital (KBRH) and community health clinics.

The ICC program provides hands-on experience in a broad spectrum of medical specialties and gives the students heightened exposure to practicing medicine in a rural community. This year, the Grant Thornton LLP regional offices in Trail and Castlegar, are providing scholarship awards for the students training at KBRH. Current students will receive $2,000 and Grant Thornton has increased the award for future students to $2,500 each—for a total of $38,000 over four years.

“Our medical students are deeply invested in their learning and supporting health care delivery in our community,” says Dr. Elizabeth McCoid, site director for the Trail ICC program. “It’s tremendous to have local businesses encourage and support these students along their educational path to becoming physicians.”

The Faculty of Medicine and its partners provide training opportunities for UBC medical and health professional learners in more than 80 communities across the province. The ICC program is delivered in six different communities including Trail, Vernon, Fort St. John, Terrace, Chilliwack and Duncan.

“We are pleased to be able to support UBC medical students living and training in the Kootenays,” says Paul Gallo, managing partner with Grant Thornton. “It’s a tremendous opportunity for them to engage with local health professionals and to consider practicing in a community like ours in the future. Grant Thornton is committed to making a meaningful and sustained impact on the communities in which we live and work.”

Grant Thornton LLP provides accounting and business advisory services to private and public organizations across Canada, and together with Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton has more than 4,000 people across 135 offices focused on making a difference to our clients, colleagues and communities.

The Faculty of Medicine’s Flexible Enhanced Learning (FLEX) course encourages students to immerse themselves in activities and projects that enrich their educational experience and support their future career aspirations.

We checked in with Alyssa Zucchet, a second-year Southern Medical Program student who is working on a podcast series that examines sensitive health care topics. She recently teamed up with a health outreach nurse at Interior Health (IH) to interview them about their work in the community.

What was the motivation behind your project?
AZ: While working on a project last year about human sexuality and discussing its content with peers and the public alike, I noticed that I got very different reactions from different people. These experiences made me wonder how people that were uncomfortable with conversations about sex, even within a medical context, could have conversations about their own sexual health with their health care providers. Then, that thought expanded into me wondering how any topic with stigma attached to it (for example, sexism, substance abuse, homelessness, gender identity, etc.) could be productively discussed in a medical setting if people seem, in general, so unwilling to talk about these things. I wanted to design a project that could give me insight into how these discussions are approached by health care providers in medical settings, how stigma affects these conversations, and what we can do as a community to decrease stigma and make these conversations easier.

How do discussions about sensitive topics impact patients?
AZ: This is the very question I hope this project will help me answer. Having only produced two episodes thus far, I can tell you that a common theme seems to be that patients either avoid seeking the care that they need if it relates to a stigmatized issue, or they do not know how to access the care they need. For instance, a woman may avoid speaking with her physician about a chronic pain issue for fear of being brushed off as “overreacting,” a fear based in the sexist tendencies that still exist within the medical community. The reality is that these issues are affecting people’s health, which is why we need to talk about it.

How can health professionals reduce stigma to help support uncomfortable conversations?
AZ: There are two things you have to be able to do as a health care provider in order to have successful conversations about sensitive topics: (1) get the patients to come to you or go to your patients and (2) be accepting and non-judgemental. Personally, the first point seems to be the most difficult. If people are unwilling to talk to you about an issue they are having, it’s difficult to even get them to come to the office. Within Interior Health, there are health outreach nurses who go into the community, to health fairs and shelters, to meet with patients where they are, rather than expecting them to come to an office. Another approach is to just bring up the sensitive issues in routine medical office visits, even if that isn’t what the patient is seeking care for. Even if the patient is just there for hypertension medications, it is a great opportunity to sensitively screen for issues of sexual health, etc. When it comes to actually approaching sensitive conversations, the main idea seems to be leave your opinions at the door and focus on what the person in front of you wants from their care.

What is your hope for the podcast series?
AZ: I originally created this podcast to address my own questions. Now that I’m working on it and telling others about it, I realize that others may have the same questions. I hope that it can be a resource for both budding and seasoned health professionals to brush up their knowledge on stigmatized issues within health care, how to deal with them, and what resources are available (at least locally). Also, I hope that talking about and bringing awareness to stigmatized issues will encourage others to talk about them, thereby decreasing the silence created by stigma and the stigma in-and-of-itself.

What impact has this project had on your own education?
AZ: I’ve found that this project has allowed me to fill in knowledge gaps I sometimes find my education has left me with. While doing research for this project and interviews for the podcasts, I have had the opportunity to connect with local resources and learn practical skills to provide care that is mindful to social determinants of health. I have learned how to provide harm reduction for people who use substances, how to respectfully and sensitively speak with people that have experienced trauma, especially sexual trauma, etc. I can only imagine how much more I will learn from my local health care community over the next few months.

The full podcast series can be viewed at www.alyssazucchet.com.

The Southern Medical Program Class of 2018 celebrated their CaRMS (Canadian Residency Matching Service) match in Kelowna on March 1st. We caught up with a number of them to discuss where they are going for their residency.

Parmveer Brar
Matched to UBC Family Practice, Surrey

Surrey Memorial Hospital is family doc run hospital with a very high volume of patients. Surrey itself is very rapidly growing with a large Punjabi speaking population so that will allow me to practice conducting interviews in both Punjabi and English.

Hannah Duyvewaardt
Matched to UBC Family Practice, Rural Okanagan

I really like the style of curriculum, with the first year block rotation followed by the rural placements after I have gotten my feet wet. I plan on practicing in Kelowna and I am excited to build connections to the community during residency for future practice.

Carson Gill
Matched to UBC Pediatrics, Vancouver

I lived in Vancouver for several years before medicine while attending SFU, so I am excited to return to my ‘home-away-from home.’ I am also happy to remain close to the Okanagan where my family is and look forward to training in BC where I ultimately hope to remain and give back to the communities that have given so much to me. BC Children’s is an amazing institution and I am excited for what lies ahead.

Sidney Morrison
Matched to UBC Family Practice, Nanaimo

I love the variety that family medicine enables you to practice, from emergency medicine to palliative care. I also love the relationships you can build with not only your patients but the community as well. I love the Island and I’m so excited to be going to Nanaimo. The residency is generally referred to as having the happiest residents in BC. The support and teaching, as well as the community of the program make me so grateful to opportunity to train there.

The UBC Faculty of Medicine is hosting an evening information session for local high school students. Learn about the admission requirements, application process, and how the program is training the next generation of physicians for our province.

The event will be held on Wednesday, April 18th from 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm in the Reichwald Health Sciences Centre, room RHS 260, at UBC’s Okanagan campus.

Presenters include Dr. Shahin Shirzad, Assistant Dean, Admissions, Undergraduate Medical Education, current Southern Medical Program students, and a UBC Student Recruiter and Advisor.

Click here to register. If you don’t already have an account with UBC Okanagan, simply create one prior to registering for the event.

For more information, contact Warren Brock, Communications Manager, Southern Medical Program at warren.brock@ubc.ca or 250.807.8601.

(L-R): Stephanie Maguire, MNP, Wayne McNiven, Scotiabank, SMP students Alex Rudecki, Buzz Mason, Landon MacGillvray, Thomas McFarland, Shari Slattery, CMHA Kelowna, and SMP students Patty Massel and Rosie Mazzola.

The Southern Medical Program (SMP) Class of 2020 and the local medical community traded their stethoscopes for golf clubs for a fun afternoon on the links in support of the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) Kelowna.

Over 40 medical students, physicians, and guests enjoyed eighteen holes of golf and a delicious dinner at the Harvest Golf Club on a sunny October day. Students raised $4,085 through golf proceeds and a silent auction with an additional $2715 in matching funds provided by Scotiabank. A total of $6,800 was donated to support Foundry Kelowna, a wellness centre for local youth.

“The annual golf tournament provides an opportunity for students and local physicians to meet in a non-school environment, while at the same time raising funds to give back to the community,” says Patty Massel, second-year SMP student. “As present and future medical professionals, mental health is something that is near to our hearts. When we heard that CMHA was opening the Foundry Kelowna, we were excited to continue our sponsorship, and help this important community based intervention flourish.”

“We are so grateful for the support,” says Shari Slattery, Fund Development Coordinator at CMHA Kelowna. “Foundry Kelowna intervenes early so young people can get the help they need when they need it in order to live their best life. We are seeing an average of 200 youth access Foundry Kelowna each month and for the vast majority this is their first time accessing mental health services.”

The Healthcare Travelling Roadshow is seeking BC healthcare students and recent graduates to help recruit the next generation of rural healthcare professionals.

Travel with a multidisciplinary group of healthcare students and graduates from post-secondary institutions across B.C. to showcase career opportunities to rural high school students. Explore rural BC and engage with local community stakeholders and healthcare professionals.

Join us for one of three exciting roadshow trips in Northern and Interior BC:

• Cassiar-Fort Nelson Roadshow (Smithers, Dease Lake, Watson Lake, Fort Nelson) – April 29 to May 5, 2018
• Columbia-Shuswap Roadshow (Sicamous, Revelstoke, Nakusp) – May 6 to 12, 2018
• Coastal Roadshow (New Aiyansh, Gingolx, Lak Kw’alaams, Metlakatla) – May 13 to 19, 2018

The Healthcare Travelling Roadshow was conceived as a grass roots initiative to address rural healthcare workforce shortages. The provincial initiative has grown to include three regional trips each year in Northern and Interior BC. Since its inception in 2010, the roadshow has connected with more than 7,000 teenagers in 32 communities throughout BC.

If you are a healthcare student or recent graduate and interested in participating in one of the 2018 roadshows, please submit your online application by February 28, 2018. Click here to apply.

All travel, accommodation, and meal expenses are covered for participating students. Interprofessional Education Passport credits also available.

The Healthcare Travelling Roadshow is delivered in partnership with the University of Northern BC, UBC Faculty of Medicine, Northern Medical Programs Trust, Rural Education Action Plan, and Interior Health.

For more info, visit https://www.unbc.ca/northern-medical-program/healthcare-travelling-roadshow or contact Warren Brock, Columbia-Shuswap Roadshow Lead at warren.brock@ubc.ca or 250-807-8601.

Dr. Scot Mountain with the patient simulator, SimMan 3G at Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital.

A perfect storm for patient simulation is generating new education and training opportunities at Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital (KBRH) in Trail. As the acute care facility for Interior Health (IH) in the West Kootenay and Boundary region, the hospital supports a rural population of approximately 75,000 people.

KBRH also serves as a primary learning environment for students with the Southern Medical Program (SMP) and resident physicians with UBC’s Kootenay Boundary family practice site.

Dr. Scot Mountain, Director of the Intensive Care Unit, is one of the local physicians working closely with IH to develop a dedicated patient simulation centre for health professionals and learners.

“As a rural hospital with full-time teaching obligations, we need to be at the top of our game to proficiently care for critically-ill patients,” says Mountain, Clinical Associate Professor with the SMP. “Having our own simulation centre is a real step forward in terms of advancing medical education and patient care in the region.”

For the past few years, Trail has been a frequent stop for IH’s Rural Mobile Simulation Program facilitating sessions with healthcare staff to practice emergency or trauma room scenarios in a safe learning environment. With the recent push for ongoing access to patient simulation, the mobile program’s main high-fidelity patient simulation, SimMan 3G, is now stationed at the hospital when not in use at other rural sites.

More than $100,000 has been raised through a joint venture with IH and the region’s hospital foundations and physician groups to purchase additional simulation equipment. Existing space within the hospital will be renovated to create a new dedicated training space and to house all of the new equipment.

“We are working closely with the hospital administration and UBC to meet the training needs of the staff and learners and support interdisciplinary training opportunities across our healthcare teams,” says Roger Parsonage, Director, Strategic Initiatives, IH.

IH has provided funding for a simulation coordinator that will support training requests and promote the resource throughout the region. Dr. Mountain also recently completed the Boston based Comprehensive Instructor Workshop taught by faculty from Harvard Medical School, MIT, and Mater Hospital, Brisbane, with the help of scholarship funding from the Doctors of BC.

The Southern Medical Program Class of 2021 have arrived in the Okanagan to continue their MD undergraduate studies. Meet some of our first-year medical students:

Tami Lin
Hometown: Coquitlam, BC

Why did you choose a career in medicine?
I am fascinated by the inner workings of the human body and have an interest in anatomy and physiology. I’ve also had previous positive experiences being involved in patient care and want to continue doing so in a more hands-on way.

What do you like to do in your spare time?
I studied piano performance during my undergrad, so a lot of my time is spent there. I also like knitting, and since I like keeping my hands warm I make a lot of mittens.

If you could travel anywhere, where would you go and why?
New Zealand – I am the biggest Lord of the Rings fan (my mother bought me a replica of the One Ring which I have worn all day every day for the past five years). The fact that Xena: Warrior Princess was also filmed in New Zealand is a bonus.

What are you most looking forward to about training with the Southern Medical Program?
I’ve only ever lived in Coquitlam and the Vancouver area, so I am most excited about living in Kelowna and experiencing a different part of BC.

Dakota Peacock
Hometown: Abbotsford, BC

Why did you choose a career in medicine?
Medicine represents a fabulous opportunity to integrate research, community service, leadership, and advocacy while also exploring what makes us human. Additionally, the privilege granted to physicians is optimal for serving individuals in my community while also pursuing research to benefit those around the world. I am convinced the extent of this opportunity is unique to medicine.

What do you like to do in your spare time?
I enjoy snowshoeing in the winter, travelling in the summers, and looking up pictures of cute puppies in between.

If you could travel anywhere, where would you go and why?
I would like to travel to the moon. Seems like a hoot.

What are you most looking forward to about training with the Southern Medical Program?
The most exciting part will definitely be training alongside this small cohort in the sunny Okanagan.

Taiysa Worsfold
Hometown: Kamloops, BC

Why did you choose a career in medicine?
Growing up I was inspired by the impact my mom (a labour and delivery room nurse) had on people in our community. I wanted a career that I could also impact the community and help people. I am also passionate about healthcare, science and love the life learning aspect of medicine.

What do you like to do in your spare time?
Play basketball, ski, go boating/camping, play with my dog and hang out with friends and family.

If you could travel anywhere, where would you go and why?
Vietnam. There is an amazing rural village that I visited in 2016 and I would love to return there. The food throughout the country is delicious and the people are so friendly. Vietnam also has beautiful quiet beaches!

What are you most looking forward to about training with the Southern Medical Program?
I am looking forward to being exposed to opportunities in smaller communities and also to enjoy some of the natural beauty of the area in my spare time.

The Southern Medical Program invites you to join health professional students, faculty, and staff for the 2018 UBC Okanagan Interdisciplinary Health Conference.

Date: Wednesday, February 21, 2018

4:00 pm: Posters available for viewing
5:45 pm: Presenters at their posters
6:15 pm: Official welcome and poster presentations begin

UBC Faculty of Medicine, Clinical Academic Campus, 2312 Pandosy Street, Kelowna

Featuring poster presentations from students and interns with the Southern Medical Program, BC Cancer Agency, and UBC Okanagan Health Sciences. In addition, a special guest presentation by Dr. Kamran Golmohammadi, Medical Health Officer, Interior Health will be held following the poster presentations.

Join us as students and interns share their research and public health experiences with the local health professional community. Free to attend. For more information, contact Carolyn Roque at carolyn.roque@ubc.ca or 250-807-9827.