First-year Southern Medical Program students tour the Sensisyusten School as part of the Westbank First Nation visit.

As part of the MD curriculum’s Doctor, Patient, and Society (DPAS) course, students are asked to establish an initial relationship with a local Aboriginal community. Students gain a deeper understanding of Aboriginal health perspectives, the resources available within the community and hospitals, and some of the challenges faced in accessing care that reflects their cultural beliefs.

First-year students were recently welcomed by the Westbank First Nation for a presentation and tour of the band’s health and educational facilities. Presenters included Jayne Taylor and Diana Moar, Aboriginal Patient Navigators, Lloyd Main, Manager, Community Integrated Health Services all with Interior Health and Barbara Coble, Senior Research, Intergovernmental Affairs, Westbank First Nation.

We asked Lucy Shen (LS), first-year SMP student and DPAS course representative about her experience.

(L-R) Jayne Taylor, Lloyd Main, and Diana Moar.

Q: What did you learn about Aboriginal health and what were the primary takeaways?

LS: I really enjoyed the content of the presentations as well as the passion the speakers brought. The case studies and stories of the speakers’ own encounters taught us some of the challenges the Aboriginal community may encounter when dealing with the healthcare system.

One of the key messages I took away was to be aware of the historical context from which Aboriginal patients emerge. There are many factors in the patients’ lives we don’t know and may not be able to fully understand. However, these are crucial to the patients’ wellbeing and interactions with the healthcare system. We must take the time to support and work with our patients to ensure they receive the best care that they deserve.

An important related message was to reach out to community resources such as the Aboriginal Patient Navigators (APN). In fact, one should be encouraged to engage in any resources that would make your patients’ experiences more comfortable. The APNs provide an invaluable service to ensure Aboriginal patients are able to navigate the healthcare system in an appropriate and timely manner as well as receive continual support in the community.

Q: How does visiting an Aboriginal community impact your learning?

LS: It was really a privilege to be able to visit the Aboriginal community. We saw an abundance of the community’s heritage and culture. Like the presentations, it helped us gain an appreciation and understand a little more about the individual contexts of the Aboriginal patients.

Q: Did the site visit help build any connections with the Westbank First Nation?

LS: Yes! A group of us are very interested in starting a DPAS project with the Westbank First Nation community. Side note: Thank you so much to the Westbank First Nation staff who welcomed us! They were amazing!! We cannot express enough thanks for talking to us and giving us the tour. This is just a first step but a very much needed step towards building community relations.

Third-year student Lauren Taylor interviews Susan (Tracy Ross, Standardized Patient) via telehealth.

Telehealth is a vital resource in today’s health care delivery. In particular, when serving a large population base spread over a vast geographical area. It can help overcome significant roadblocks, such as severe weather and lengthy travel time, in providing timely access and appropriate levels of care.

More so, the technology is proving to be a competent training platform for health professional students learning to assess and care for patients.

Remote Human Interactions for Tele-Health Mentorship (Rhithm) is a pilot project led by Southern Medical Program preceptors at Kelowna General Hospital. The project seeks to evaluate the usefulness of telehealth technology as a training platform for third year medical students. More specifically, teaching how to conduct psychiatric interviews on standardized patients, also known as patient actors, via telehealth.

The psychiatric interview is one of the most challenging patient histories to take from both the teaching and learning perspectives. The interviewer must be able to establish an effective rapport with the patient to elicit the necessary information while paying special attention to their emotional responses.

“By removing the patient from the room and relying on the help of technology to communicate and observe responses, we are essentially intensifying the whole interview process,” says Dr. Neil Hanon, psychiatrist, rotation leader at KGH, and co-principal investigator.

The standardized patient is given a predetermined story and illness to personify during the telehealth session. Arriving ‘in character,’ the student proceeds to interview the patient paying close attention to their responses and non-verbal cues. The interview concludes with the standardized patient coming ‘out of character’ for a shared discussion with the student and preceptor.

The benefit of using standardized patients provides a safe environment for students to ask questions and a thorough review of how their questions were perceived. Students are then able to refine their interviewing skills and apply to future encounters with real patients.

The six week third-year psychiatry rotation teaches medical students the fundamentals of psychiatry as they learn alongside physicians in both in-patient and clinical settings. Students must obtain a firm grasp on how to diagnose and effectively manage patients with common psychiatric illnesses which can branch into all areas of medicine. The telehealth sessions serve as a complement to the student’s learning at the hospital and in the clinics.

“If we can teach students how to use telehealth as a modality to interact with patients, it will be incredibly useful for them in their future practice,” adds Dr. Hanon.

Rhithm represents a collaboration with Southern Medical Program and eHealth Strategy Office. Dr. Kendal Ho, Director of the eHealth Strategy Office serves as the other co-principal investigator for the project with funding provided by The Colin & Lois Pritchard Foundation.

Thanks to all of the students who entered the first SMP Student Photo Contest. Students were asked to submit entries that capture what it means to be an SMP student. Prizes were awarded in three categories.

Best Overall – Robyn Buna

Caption: Bluebird day at Big White.

Best Student Life – Kurt Hoskin

Caption: Excited to head into the OR for the first time.

Best Scenic – Amelia Stegeman

Caption: First snow camping trip at Needle Peak.

Dr. Trent Smith (left) working alongside third-year student Kulveer Parhar (Credit: CFJC TV)

2014 Canadian Association for Medical Education Award Recipient

Dr. Trent Smith, Pediatrician and Clinical Assistant Professor with the UBC Department of Pediatrics has received the Canadian Association for Medical Education (CAME) Certificate of Merit Award for 2014. The annual award is given to three UBC faculty members who have made a significant contribution to medical education.

For the past nine years, Dr. Smith has been teaching residents as part of UBC pediatrics residency program at Royal Inland Hospital (RIH) in Kamloops. He has also played a key role in the development and implementation of Southern Medical Program’s third year clerkship program based at RIH. He currently serves as the pediatric rotation leader for the clerkship program which hosts six third-year students each year.

“Each student who has passed through pediatrics in Kamloops has provided a new source of insight and inquisitiveness – a novelty that I treasure most as an educator,” says Dr. Smith. “I’m deeply honored to have been recognized with this award for the small contributions I’ve made to the knowledge base of some of tomorrow’s doctors.”

Dr. Smith was acknowledged for his strong leadership, administrative skills, and commitment to faculty development for both himself and his colleagues. He is also recognized by students and residents as an exceptional teacher and mentor.

Caption: Second-year student Julia Hassler gives the flu shot to Dr. Connie Hull, Assistant Dean, Student Affairs at a free flu clinic held at UBCO.

Caption: First-year students pose for their official class photo on the red stairs of the Reichwald Health Sciences Centre.

Caption: Honourable mention entry to our SMP Student Photo Contest by third-year student Laura MacKinnon.

Caption: Honourable mention entry to our SMP Student Photo Contest by second-year student Simon MacDonald.

Caption: The gents of SMP 2016 grow their Mos in support of Movember.

Caption: Dr. Bruce Fleming, Associate Dean, MD Admissions addresses a full house during a MD Undergraduate Program Open House at the Reichwald Health Sciences Centre.

Caption: 2013/14 recipients of the Southern Interior Development Initiative Trust bursaries for SMP students. Thank you SIDIT for supporting our students.

Trail ICC Program Expanding

The Southern Medical Program’s integrated community clerkship (ICC) program in Trail is expanding from two to four students for the 2014/15 academic year. Since the launch of the program in September 2011, the ICC program has served as a remarkable training ground for third-year medical students passionate about rural medicine. A community of over 60 physicians and allied health professionals are involved in teaching with the program. The Trail ICC welcomes its four new students in late August.

Top Poster at Medical Undergraduate Research Forum

First-year student, Kirsten Mossington recently competed in the Faculty of Medicine’s Medical Undergraduate Research Forum. Presenting via videoconference from the Reichwald Health Sciences Centre, she won top prize in the Basic Science judging category for her poster/presentation titled Targeted Knock out of the Putative Non-Ribosomal Peptide Synthetase-Independent Siderophore (NIS) gene in Rhizopus oryzae. The research forum is hosted annually by the UBC Medical Undergraduate Society, UBC Medical Journal, MD/PhD Program, and the Office of the Executive Associate Dean, Research.

Masters in Health Professions Education

Dr. Cheryl Holmes has earned her Masters in Health Professions Education from the University of Illinois, Chicago.  Her thesis entitled Harnessing the Hidden Curriculum in Clinical Clerkship:  A Four-Step Reflective Competency Approach, was informed and inspired by her role at the SMP. Dr. Holmes is an ICU physician, Year 3 Education Site Leader for Kelowna, and Clinical Associate Professor with the UBC Department of Medicine. Dr. Holmes is highly regarded for her teaching skills both at the bedside and for leading a critical care outreach session utilizing patient simulation held during the third-year clerkship retreat.

New SMP Librarian

Welcome to Erin Menzies, our new SMP Learning Services Librarian. Erin is a graduate of University of Toronto (BA) and Robert Gordon University, Scotland (MSc Information & Library Studies). Previously, Erin held roles with the University Health Network in Toronto, Clinical Trials Ontario, the Federation of Ontario Public Libraries, University of Manitoba’s health sciences library and Library of Congress in Washington, DC. Erin’s excited to begin collaborating with students, staff, faculty and colleagues across the province.

Wesbrook Scholarship Award

Third-year student Robyn Buna has been recognized as one of UBC’s prestigious Wesbrook Scholars. The esteemed designation is given to senior students with outstanding academic performance, leadership, and involvement in student and community activities. Robyn has represented her class as Vice President, Social for the past two years, helped pair student mentors, and assisted the SMP Office of Student Affairs with various orientation activities. Robyn has also been active in the community speaking with local high school students and represented the SMP during the MD Admissions Office interview weekends.

UBCO Health Challenge Winners           

SMP staff Michelle Bandalo, Janet Halbasch, Christine Hamilton, Diane Oorebeek, Jacqui Oshaski, and Doreen Welsh took top honours in the team category for UBC Okanagan’s Fall into Motion Challenge. The six-week challenge is designed to bring colleagues together to promote physical activity and a supportive workplace environment. The group won top spot among 11 teams by participating in a weekly yoga class as well as daily group plank and lunge exercises in the office. Individually, they earned points for skiing, running, and walking. The team was awarded a plaque and $150 gift certificate.

Our newest class of SMP students was formally welcomed by the program and the medical community at the second annual SMP Welcome Reception on February 28, 2014. For the second year in a row, the reception was held at the picturesque Volcanic Hills Estate Winery in West Kelowna.

Over 140 students, faculty, staff, alumni, and program partners helped celebrate our new cohort of students including Dr. Gavin Stuart, Dean, Faculty of Medicine and Vice Provost Health, UBC.

Thanks to our event partners Scotiabank, Kelowna Medical Society, Doctors of BC, BC Medical Association, Canadian Medical Association, MD Management, Faculty of Medicine Alumni Association, and Drs. Allan and Charlotte Jones. Net proceeds from this year’s event helped created a bursary award for the SMP Class of 2017.

In celebration of National Volunteer Week, the Southern Medical Program would like to express our sincere appreciation for our dedicated group of Volunteer Patients. Our students are incredibly grateful for you giving up your time to assist in their medical education.

Over the past academic year, our students have had over 300 encounters with Volunteer Patients. We are fortunate to have more than 100 Volunteer Patients from Peachland, Kelowna, West Kelowna, Vernon, Lumby, Salmon Arm, and Kamloops participating in clinical skills training.

Thank you for taking the time to share your stories and experiences, and for generously allowing our students to practice and enhance their clinical skills.  Each of you plays a vital role in helping to educate and train our future physicians.

If you would like to find out more or to get involved, please contact Diane Oorebeek, Volunteer Patient Recruiter and Trainer at smp.volunteer@ubc.ca.

Info Session at UBC Okanagan: April 1, 2014

The UBC Faculty of Medicine Southern Medical Program (SMP) is hosting an evening info 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 1st from 6:30 to 8:00 pm in the Reichwald Health Sciences Centre at UBC Okanagan.

Presenters to include Dr. Bruce Fleming, Associate Dean, MD Admissions, current Southern Medical Program students, and the UBC Okanagan Recruitment and Advising Office.

To register for the event, click on the following link and create an account – https://account.you.ubc.ca/ubc/myEvents.do.

For more information, contact Warren Brock, SMP Admissions Coordinator at warren.brock@ubc.ca or 250.807.8601.

Dr. John Falconer demonstrates the Littman electronic stethoscope to second-year medical students Kurt Hoskin and Matt Mittelstadt. Using Bluetooth technology, students at UBC’s Okanagan campus can ‘hear’ the heartbeat of a patient in places like Trail.

Technology aids Southern Medical Program students to learn and study
By Patty Wellborn

John Falconer still confesses a certain excitement when he holds a brand new, electronic tele-stethoscope in his hand.

Falconer, a neurologist for more than 20 years, is the Foundations of Medicine director at UBC’s Southern Medical Program (SMP). As the leading force behind the school’s e-Health Research Office, he says new technology has changed the telehealth game considerably.

“Just about every one of our students has an electronic device in their hands all the time,” he says. “We’re now learning how to use those devices to connect with patients and doctors who simply can’t get to large communities for diagnostic care.”

Technology advances in e-health directly benefit patients in remote communities, extending the reach of physician specialists and health-care practitioners in timely fashion. Savings are measured in less time spent waiting for diagnosis, driving to large urban centres and fewer overnight stays for patients who travel long distances.

UBC admits 288 medical students each year for study in Vancouver, Kelowna, Victoria, and Prince George. While some of their learning is done via videoconferencing, Falconer says today’s medical students — tomorrow’s doctors — will eventually see and treat patients by videoconferencing. And the e-Health Research Office provides an opportunity for UBC’s students to participate in advanced technology research.

“Our mandate is to develop and deploy leading-edge electronic innovations in health care to improve service delivery in BC and to extend this benefit world-wide,” Falconer explains. “At the same time, we’re going to involve and train students from different faculties such as Medicine, Science, and Engineering.”

Partnered with UBC Vancouver’s e-Health Strategy Office and the Interior Health Authority, the e-Health office focuses on three key research themes: education, telehealth, and electronic medical records interfaces.

Falconer runs a teleneurology clinic with physicians in Trail, Creston, and Grand Forks from his UBC Okanagan office, and has students shadowing him to learn how it is done.

The Southern Medical Program’s e-Health Research Office is also conducting an e-Health research project with telehealth patients — 50 people in a remote community will be seen in person by a doctor, while 50 others will participate in telehealth conferences, where they will contact the doctor via technology.

Using Bluetooth technology, Falconer demonstrates how the Littman electronic Tele-Stethoscope connects wirelessly to a computer and shows how a medical practitioner in Kelowna, can ‘hear’ the heart and lungs of a patient in Trail. This one device will save countless hours and dollars, while eliminating the stress of travel for patients.

“We know how it works,” says Falconer, explaining the cloud-based technology, “but it still feels a bit like magic.”