A program at AV俱乐部 Medical School is creating opportunities for students to partner with not-for-profit groups serving communities that may have limited access and experience with health care.听
罢丑别听听year-end celebration in early May recognized community partners and the second-year medical students who had completed their experiences and projects.
The Community-Engaged听Service Learning Program听is offered during the first two years of medical school and integrates community engagement concepts into classroom-based learning in students鈥� first year with an optional community-engaged experience and small project contribution in their second year.
This year, 42 AV俱乐部 medical students, including 34 from Nova Scotia and eight from New Brunswick, participated in the program. They partnered with 24 community-based not-for-profit organizations, many of whom are under-resourced.
Sarah Peddle, the program's manager, has seen first-hand the value of the program for both students and community partners.
鈥淲hen students have an opportunity to spend time in community-based settings, it鈥檚 the informal conversations that they get to have with people that have the most impact,鈥� she says. 鈥淭o have future medical professionals in these settings and having conversations with people about what they need from the healthcare system, not only does it provide an opportunity for them to be heard but it can also impact how students practice medicine in the future using these relational approaches to wholistic and patient-centered healthcare.鈥�
The program enables students to support the Faculty of Medicine in meeting its commitment to social accountability and contribute to its strategic pillar of Serving and Engaging Society.
Climbing for inclusion
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When second year medical student Nathalee Ewers was considering her project, she knew early on that a partnership with听Imhotep鈥檚 Legacy Academy (ILA)听could make her initiative come to life. She designed the BIPOC Climbing Initiative to increase accessibility of traditionally outdoor sports and activities such as rock climbing for BIPOC youth, and to encourage STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) participation by integrating rock climbing and physics education through an engaging PD Day experience.
Through Peddle, she was connected with ILA,听, and听听(Indigenous Health) who supported her through the development of her project and ensured the initiative was accessible, inclusive, and enjoyable for youth.
鈥淚 was fortunate to have grown up with a Saturday science program specifically for Black youth, and I know first-hand the benefits of seeing representation and experiencing words of encouragement from people who looked like me,鈥� says Nathalee. 鈥淚 started to reflect on what connections I might need to get this going, and a friend suggested that this could make a good Service Learning Project and allow me to develop connections with some great community partners 鈥� so that鈥檚 exactly what I did.鈥�
Nathalee, who is a candidate to graduate from medical school in 2024, says it has been a privilege to witness and be a part of the incredible programming that ILA, PLANS, and IHIM run for youth.
鈥淚 have learned so much about how to thoughtfully create an inclusive space for each individual, and I fully intend to carry that knowledge into my medical training.鈥�
Seeing a new perspective
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For Matthew Kivell and Dominique Salh, the Community-Engaged Service Learning Program provided an opportunity to connect with the community and develop an understanding of a population who face many challenges in their daily life. Partnering with the Canadian Institute for the Blind (CNIB), their project, Halifax e-Scooter Advocacy Initiative for Individuals Living with Blindness, aims to understand the impact of e-scooter operation and regulation on those who are blind or have visual impairment. Through community engagement, the pair sought recommendations for improved e-scooter regulation with the goal of informing future decisions with the needs of visually impaired individuals in mind.听
鈥淭hese individuals face many unique challenges in a world built and planned around those who are able to see,鈥� says Matthew. 鈥淯nfortunately, blind, or visually impaired individuals are not always considered in areas such as access to information, employment, and personal activities/leisure, and are also prone to stigma.鈥�
The idea for their project was borne from the realization that there are serious negative impacts of unregulated e-scooter use for those living with vision loss. Having worked as a certified orthoptist and ophthalmic medical technologist with Nova Scotia Health and the IWK prior to entering medical school, Dominique had been exposed to the unique disadvantages of people living with vision loss and the important advocacy work of the CNIB. She and Matthew connected with them and began conducting interviews and small working-group sessions with the blind and visually impaired community to determine how e-scooter usage and policies affect them. The pair hoped to invoke some real change and recognition of the impact that these regulations have on those living with vision loss, something that Matthew says is not always considered when creating such regulations.
鈥淲e are at an opportune moment in time as the current Motor Vehicle Act does not have much verbiage for e-scooters specifically,鈥� he says. 鈥淎s such, the HRM is in the process of developing the Traffic Safety Act where e-scooter regulation is likely to be laid out, making it an important opportunity to make the voices of those with vision loss heard.鈥�
Matthew and Dominique鈥檚 work through the Community-Engaged Service Learning Program has already had a real impact for those with vision loss. On April 5, 2022, in response to their collaborative health advocacy letter, the province released a statement making听听permitting safe operation of e-scooters.
鈥淪eeing the impact of our advocacy has been so satisfying,鈥� says Dominique. 鈥淲e are humbled to observe the impact we鈥檝e had on the community with the support of the CNIB.鈥�