Health advocacy for health professional students

Health advocacy is an increasingly important component of health professional education in Canada. It encompasses activities related to ensuring access to care, navigating the system, mobilizing resources, addressing health inequities, influencing health policy and creating system change. Despite its importance in national health professional education, all professions struggle with how to teach and assess health advocacy in the curriculum in ways that engage students, develop practical skills and encompass the breadth of advocacy activities. The objective of this project is to adapt a workshop and materials we have previously developed for medical postgraduate trainees to meet the needs of UBC students in health professional programs, beginning with Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, Pharmacy and Medicine. In order to accommodate the needs of students in different professional programs, physically located across the province, and who have different advocacy interests, we will develop a flexible module that has both on-line and face-to-face components.

Angela Towle, Associate Professor / Co-Director, Patient and Community Partnership for Education, UBC Health
Donna Drynan, Course Director OSOT 549, Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy
William Godolphin, Co-Director, Patient and Community Partnership for Education, UBC Health / Professor, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Faculty of Medicine
Maria Hubinette, Team Lead for Health Advocacy and Social Determinants of Health / Undergraduate Director, Family Practice, Faculty of Medicine
Cathy Kline, Research Coordinator, Patient and Community Partnership for Education, UBC Health
Matthew Laing, Medical Student
Janet Lundie, Course Coordinator PHTH566, Physical Therapy, Faculty of Medicine
Sue Murphy, Head, Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Medicine
Kerry Wilbur, Executive Director, Entry-to-Practice Education, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Alec Yu, Medical Student