2017 Southern Medical Program Graduate  – Celine Akyurekli

What attracted you to your field?
For a number of years, I had volunteered at my local hospital in the palliative care unit. I enjoyed visiting with patients and learning about their individual stories. I studied molecular biology in my undergraduate degree and was interested in working in the medical field but after many summers of work in medical research laboratories, I missed having interactions with patients. So therefore, I pursued a career in medicine so I could have a direct impact on the health and care of individuals.

In 10 years, what UBC moment will you still be talking about?
I have especially fond memories of my rural family medicine placement in Port McNeil. During that month, I had the opportunity to be a part of a very compassionate and skilled team of rural health care providers who practice the full spectrum of primary care in a remote setting. During this elective, I had one particular experience that solidified my desire to practice rural family medicine. When on call in the local emergency room, I treated a young woman who was very sick with a gallbladder infection. I then managed her care as an inpatient in the hospital. A few weeks later while I was working at a remote outreach clinic in her community, I had the opportunity to follow up with this woman on her recovery, and meet her young daughter. The ability to practice that spectrum of medicine, in a variety of environments, and to have continuity of care with my patients was extremely engaging and rewarding.

What’s next for you?
I will embark on a two year residency in Rural Family Medicine at UBC’s rural Okanagan program in Kelowna. I look forward to working with world class medical professionals and growing my knowledge base and experience. I am also very excited at the opportunities that await me in the R-2 year to practice in other rural communities of BC.

As you look ahead, who inspires you?
I am inspired by the rural physicians that I have had the opportunity to work with over the past two years. These physicians are devoted to caring for the health of their communities. Their broad medical knowledge and skills are impressive and yet they also know the personal stories of each patient in their practice and are always practicing patient centered care. I am inspired to be able to practice the full spectrum of primary care as they do following my residency.

Name one thing on your bucket list.
I am looking forward to more outdoor adventures in BC with my partner and our dog Gunnerbro. I am hoping to take a climbing trip to the Bugaboos in the near future.

2017 Southern Medical Program Graduate  – Alistair Hart

What attracted you to your field?
Medicine provides a unique opportunity to help people physically or mentally by providing direct care or providing advice and being a source of support. All while providing a rewarding and ever-changing career to the practitioner. This duo of a challenging career that allows you to continuously develop, and potentially make large differences in people’s lives for the better is why I chose medicine.

In 10 years what UBC moment will you still be talking about?
I will always remember the very first real lecture we had as a whole class in Vancouver. Everyone was chatting as usual in the lecture hall, but when the signal was given for the lecture to start it went dead silent in a hurry. Everyone was watching Dr. Crawford give one of his classic lessons like hawks, and the noise of scribbling pens and fingers typing was louder than I had ever heard. I remember sitting there thinking is this what med school was like? I thought it was just like something out of a movie, all these people doing their best to jot down and slam information into their brains while an experienced teacher was demonstrating embryology with colour-coded models. It’s nice to remember how excited we were to start and I expect to feel the same way in July.

Whats next for you?
In July, I will be heading to Edmonton to start my residency in Anesthesiology at the University of Alberta.

As you look ahead, who inspires you?
Over my couple years of training I came across many great clinicians, their examples inspire me to try emulate the parts of their practices that I thought were exemplary. Combine this with the stories of the patients you see being helped, and it is easy to stay committed to learning and doing your best. Personally, I want to provide work that is meaningful and I can be proud of in the future, and I am lucky to have siblings that are successful in health care that also push me/ inspire me.

Name one thing on your bucket list.
Ride the Maratona dles dolomites.

Candice Quinn, PhD student, Biology took top honours in the Science/Gastroenterology category at the 2017 conference

The fourth annual UBC Okanagan Interdisciplinary Student Health Conference showcased some of the great student research underway at UBC Okanagan and Kelowna General Hospital. Students from the Southern Medical Program, Faculty of Health and Social Development, Irving K. Barber School of Arts and Sciences, and BC Cancer Agency presented their research in four different categories: Science, Science/Gastroenterology, Clinical, and Public Health.

The event was held on March 16, 2017 at the UBC Clinical Academic Campus. Congratulations to all of the winners and honourable mentions:

Science
Top Honours – Caitlin Pointer: The effect of extracellular cardiolipin on microglia-‐mediated cytotoxicity and neuronal survival
Honourable Mention – Lisa Renaud: Investigating the effects of dietary fatty acids in drosophila

Science/Gastroenterology
Top Honours – Candice Quinn: The effects of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid on the developing infant microbiome
Honourable Mention – Sandeep Gill: Designer probiotics as a novel therapeutic against inflammatory bowel disease

Clinical
Top Honours (Tie) – Carson Gill, Brendan Arnold, and Sean Nugent: Review of pediatric psychosocial assessment documentation in emergency departments in BC; Lauren Hughes : Personal REsponse Determinants In Cancer Therapy (PREDICT) as a multidisciplinary research initiative to increase patient involvement in research and expand cancer research studies

Honourable Mention – Marc Jutras: Ultra-high resolution imaging for the characterization of the histological features of lung cancer subtypes

Public Health
Top Honours –  Haleema Jaffer: Tailoring the University of British Columbia’s positive space workshop for medical students
Honourable Mention – Golshan Massah: Implementation of preventive interventions for care of patients with type 2 diabetes at primary care clinics in British Columbia, Canada

A special thanks to adjudicators Brent Parker, Dr. Charlotte Jones, Dr. Silvian Mema, Dr. Kamran Golmohammadi, and special guest speaker Dr. Deanna Gibson, Associate Professor, Biology at UBC Okanagan.

Sarah Fraser and Michael Slater, second-year Southern Medical Program (SMP) students have been recognized for excellence in academics, leadership, and community service with the 2017 Reichwald Family Foundation Southern Medical Program award.

Born in Ontario and raised in Nanaimo, Fraser attended Vancouver Island University and earned BSc in molecular biology before joining UBC medicine. Through her medical studies and research interests, she has worked with the Sexual Assault Response Team at Kelowna General Hospital, CONNECT Communities for Acquired Brain Injury, and Sport Concussion Lab at UBC Okanagan. She serves as chief copy editor for the UBC medical journal and president and cofounder of the Institute of Health Improvement Open School UBC Okanagan Chapter, an organization that provides opportunities to learn why errors happen, how to prevent them, and how to become agents of change in patient safety, quality improvement, and the culture of medicine

Growing up on Vancouver Island, Slater earned a BSc in Kinesiology at the University of Victoria and work as a personal trainer prior to entering medical school. Serving as SMP Class Vice President for the past two years, he serves as advocate for his classmates on all curricular matters. With a research interest in social media and medical education, he co-presented a one-hour interactive workshop for health profession students at the Universitas 21 Health Science Group annual meeting in Birmingham, UK. Slater has also participated in numerous community outreach events including the Talk to Your Doctor workshops, UBC Okanagan Pre-Med Club events, and the recent MD Admissions information session for Okanagan high school students and parents.

Both students will receive $10,000 towards their medical education. Fraser will soon begin her third-year clerkship at Kelowna General Hospital while Slater will be relocating to Chilliwack for an integrated community clerkship.

The Healthcare Travelling Roadshow will be visiting Grand Forks, Trail, and Nelson in early May with the goal of recruiting the next generation of rural BC health professionals.

High school students at Grand Forks Secondary, JL Crowe Secondary, and LV Rogers Secondary will get an opportunity to experience numerous hands-on activities and engage with healthcare students from medicine, nursing, licensed practical nursing, respiratory therapy, midwifery, and optometry.

Since its inception, the roadshow has connected with more than 5,000 youth in 22 communities throughout B.C. The roadshow initiative has grown to three regional trips this year including Kootenay/Boundary, Cariboo (Quesnel, Williams Lake, 100 Mile House), and North Thompson/Robson (McBride, Valemount, Clearwater, and Barriere).

The program is supported by the UBC Faculty of Medicine and University of Northern British Columbia. The Kootenay/Boundary trip is funded through the Southern Medical Program, Rural Education Action Plan, and Interior Health. For more information, contact warren.brock@ubc.ca.

Dr. Olusegun Oyedele, Course Director and Senior Instructor, UBC Southern Medical Program has been acknowledged with the Canadian Association of Medical Education (CAME) 2017 Certificate of Merit Award. The annual award recognizes faculty across Canadian medical schools who have made valued contributions to medical education.

Dr. Oyedele was recruited to join the SMP as Basic Science Instructor in 2011, relocating from South Africa as a senior lecturer for the University of Witwatersrand. Commencing with the SMP’s inaugural class, Dr. Oyedele has led the teaching of first and second year SMP students in anatomy, embryology, neuroanatomy, and histology. Dr. Oyedele has been integral in both building the technical aspects of the anatomy and histology laboratories from the ground-up in addition to creating the SMP Basic Science Program.

In addition to his teaching duties, Dr. Oyedele has continued to expand his leadership roles within the Faculty of Medicine. In 2015, he was recruited to serve as SMP Course Director, Foundations of Medicine helping to oversee this robust course on both provincial and local levels. He has also served as SMP Director of Anatomical Sciences Education and SMP Faculty Development Lead for small group learning providing education and support for over 50 problem-based learning tutors. In November 2016, Dr. Oyedele led a Faculty of Medicine pilot project to create video recordings of case based learning (CBL) best practice scenarios to be used as a faculty development resource for CBL tutors provincially

Dr. Oyedele continues to play a critical role in the success and evolution of the SMP. His teaching contributions are exceptional and he continues to have a significant impact on countless learners within the SMP and across UBC’s distributed MD Undergraduate Program.

Dr. Dianne Valenzuela
Southern Medical Program Class of 2015
PG-Y2 Resident, Division of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, UBC

Tell about your current training.
As part of my training to become an otolaryngologist/head and neck surgeon, I spend time doing surgery in the operating room, taking care of patients in the surgical wards, seeing patients in various ENT subspecialty clinics, and addressing any ENT issues for the hospitals in the city while on call.

What attracted you to a career in medicine?
I enjoy the fast paced lifestyle of medicine, and how it can make a big impact on people’s lives.

Today in healthcare it’s important to…
Listen to your patient! With all the technological advances it’s easy to get caught up in fancy tests and gadgets without actually connecting with the patient in front of you.

What is the best professional advice you received?
Learn from your mistakes and strive to do better each day. An advantage of residency (and medical school) is you can learn from your mentor’s mistakes.

What is your favourite memory at the Faculty of Medicine?
Moving to Kelowna with a bunch of strangers as the first class of the SMP. There was a lot of uncertainty initially but it turned out to be a great 4 years! My classmates and mentors then ended up becoming my lifelong friends.

What advice do you have for current medical students?
Work hard but don’t forget to enjoy the journey and create lasting friendships along the way.

Bucket list item?
Travel to Bora Bora.

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 Tuesday, April 4th 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. Bruce Fleming, Associate Dean, MD Admissions, 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.

Dr. Jesse Ory
Southern Medical Program Class of 2015
PGY-2 Urology Resident, Dalhousie University, Halifax

Tell us what you do at your workplace.
As a second year resident, my year is broken up into rotations including Urology, Gen Surg and ICU. Most of my time is on surgical rotations where I’m in the OR most days of the week, taking care of inpatients, or doing clinic.

What attracted you to a career in medicine?
Initially, I got into medicine because I had done lifeguarding, lifeguarding competitions, and was teaching first aid classes. That, in combination with my biopsychology degree in undergrad, made medicine a good goal to shoot for. After starting clinical electives in third year of medical school, specializing in something surgical became obvious after loving my time in the OR. And after checking out several specialties, Urology became the obvious choice for me.

Today in healthcare it’s important to…
Have systems in place so that patients leaving the hospital have a full understanding of their problem and what to expect going forward. I find that patients who know what to expect going forward after leaving the hospital have much better quality of life and lower stress when seen in follow up. With more information, patients are able to take ownership and feel in control of their disease, instead of feeling powerless to a myriad of symptoms that they didn’t expect.

What is the best professional advice you received?
Be the first one there in the morning and the last to leave at night. Establish yourself as reliable, hard working and trustworthy and opportunities for success in life will inevitably find you.

What is your favourite memory at the Faculty of Medicine?
My favorite memory is wrapped up in my first year at the Southern Medical Program in Kelowna. Being the first class there, meeting new friends, and getting to be a part of the excitement surrounding a new satellite program of UBC was wonderful. As students, we were able to shape how the program evolved and could do this collaboratively with the doctors and staff getting the program off the ground. I wouldn’t have spent medical school any other way.

What advice to you have for current medical students?
(1) If you’re unsure of what to do in medicine, first try and figure out: medicine or surgery. After that, find a mentor you look up to; someone who loves their job, and research that specialty. Certain personalities do tend to gravitate towards specific specialties, and you want to find a career where the people around you enrich your life.

(2) Work harder than you’re used to. Make yourself useful to the residents and staff you work with. Be there early, and stay late. When CaRMS comes around, the residents and staff care more about who was a hard worker than who got that one challenging question right during the OR. You’ll be working with these people for 2-5 years in residency: they want someone they can trust and rely on, not a lazy brainiac (not that those two things are mutually exclusive!)

Bucket list item?
Go to Cape Canaveral and get front row seats for a SpaceX rocket launch. Watch the first stage land again after takeoff. Give Elon Musk a high five after. Drive away in my Tesla. Getting to do any one of those would be just fine as well.

Our final look at the Southern Medical Program Class of 2020. Check out our new student Q&As with Rebecca, Chase, James, and Leah:

Rebecca Comeau
Hometown: Burns Lake, BC

What attracted you to the field of medicine?
Have you ever heard of a Rube Goldberg machine? If you haven’t, look them up – you’re in for a treat! What motivated me to enter the medical field is a bit like that: complex, complementary, and interconnected with a common goal. Together, a passion for empowerment through communication, understanding, and knowledge, wonder at the human capacity to heal, a love of applied science, and growing up in remote areas struggling to meet healthcare challenges inspired the humble hope that I might be able to help.

What are you most excited about beginning your studies with the Southern Medical Program?
The Southern Medical Program realizes everything I could have hoped for in my medical education and more. Our smaller cohort allows for amazing one-to-one time with passionate, dedicated staff, tutors, laboratory and clinical instructors, and researchers as well as great opportunities for hands-on clinical practice. On top of being a stimulating learning environment, I feel that in the SMP I’m surrounded by a community of people truly invested in my success. We’re like a kind of family, and I think that might be my favourite part!

What do you like to do in your spare time to relax and have fun?
Mostly, I like to spend time with my friends, my family, my dog — and enjoy the fresh air with some low-key distance running. I also like to play around with artistic things, like tinkering in music composition, creative writing, and drawing. Lately, I’ve been enjoying lunchtime yoga and fitness with my friends and classmates.

What’s one thing we might be surprised to learn about you?
When I was growing up, my parents put their belief in renewable energy and environmental stewardship into action. Our family home was powered by solar panels and a wind turbine (and a propane generator — just in case). We lived off-grid until I was seventeen!

Chase Crisfield
Hometown: Rossland, BC

What attracted you to the field of medicine?
I have always been a curious person, and I think that one of the most puzzling and interesting things to study is the human body. I think I was drawn to the idea of learning about the complexities of how we work and what can go wrong. It’s just so interesting! I’m also drawn to the fact that medicine offers so many different and unique career choices and the lifelong learning experience that it entails.

What are you most excited about beginning your studies with the Southern Medical Program?
I am really excited to have a smaller class size and to be able to get to know all of my classmates on a more personal level. I really haven’t spent much time in the Okanagan, so I’m also looking forward to doing some exploring and checking out all of the surrounding lakes rivers and mountains!

What do you like to do in your spare time to relax and have fun?
I like doing pretty much anything outdoors, but I’m particularly interested in whitewater kayaking, mountain biking, climbing and skiing. I also enjoy woodworking, cooking new foods and making beer.

What’s one thing we might be surprised to learn about you?
My life dream is to travel across Mongolia via hot air balloon. I really haven’t looked into the practicalities of it, nor do I know how to fly a hot air balloon, but I believe that where there’s a will there’s a way!

James Matthews
Hometown: Kamloops, BC

What attracted you to the field of medicine?
Medicine is something my educational and professional interests have been building towards for some time now. In school, I always found that I was interested in biology and health sciences. I completed a B.Sc. in Cellular, Molecular, and Microbial Biology and then entered into the Respiratory Therapy Program at Thompson Rivers University. After graduating, I was fortunate enough to work at BC Children’s and Women’s Hospital in the Pediatric and Neonatal Intensive Care Units. I loved working with children and their families, but I quickly felt that I wanted to learn and do more. I was inspired by the amazing physicians I worked with. I saw the extraordinary relationships they had with patients and their families, as well as the care, compassion, and skill they brought to every encounter. I knew that medicine was where I wanted to be and I feel incredibly lucky to be here!

What are you most excited about beginning your studies with the Southern Medical Program?
I am really excited to be a part of a smaller, more cohesive community of students. I think that is really what the SMP represents to me. I see the entire program as being more connected, and the interactions I have with faculty, tutors, preceptors, and my fellow students will always feel more authentic and personal. In the first few weeks of being at the SMP, I have already built better, closer relationships than in all of my time in Vancouver.

What do you like to do in your spare time to relax and have fun?
I have two beautiful dogs that love to walk and I find I spend most of my spare time helping them pursue their interests. Seriously though, it’s an excellent way to get out there, explore, and clear your head. I also love skiing, cooking, hiking, and occasionally a game or two of paintball.

What’s one thing we might be surprised to learn about you?
I think it might come as a surprise that I’ve been to Peru twice in the past 4 years. More surprising, though, is the fact that I’ve still never been anywhere near Machu Picchu. I’m thinking I need to go for a third time at some point so I can finally cross that off my list!

Leah Trippell
Hometown: Parksville, BC

What attracted you to the field of medicine?
For as long as I can remember, my favourite question has always been “why?” A career in medicine allows me to combine my love for question asking and problem solving with my love for people. I have always felt a deep connection to other people and I love the idea that medicine puts me in position where I get to creatively use my brain while enjoying the privilege of being allowed into an individual’s personal and private journey and helping them to create the path forward. I’m also thrilled about the variety of opportunities to explore medicine at home and all over the globe!

What are you most excited about beginning your studies with the Southern Medical Program?
Definitely the amazing people in our little class! Because we’re small, we benefit by having more face time with the wonderful faculty, tutors, and preceptors, and most importantly-with each other! SMP is full of brilliant, accomplished, incredible people and we really have the opportunity to get to know each other, learn from each other, and support each other through this most challenging yet fantastic time in our lives. Also, I’m thrilled to be in beautiful Kelowna – I can’t wait to see what the summer has to offer!

What do you like to do in your spare time to relax and have fun?
I really love reading and getting outdoors! I’m also excited to check out the wine and food scene in town this summer. But probably my favourite thing to do is enjoy some quality time with my friends and my fiancé just laughing and enjoying the precious moments we have together! The fast pace of medicine sure makes you appreciate the chances to live in the moment!

What’s one thing we might be surprised to learn about you?
In my life before medicine, I studied some anthropology and completed an archaeological field school on the beautiful Sunshine Coast! We spent our days digging for artifacts and bones in seaside shell middens and then I spent my evenings camping and enjoying rides along the incredible coastline on the back of my partner’s motorcycle. It was a great summer!