2021 Recipient: Advancing Competency-based Medical Education across the Continuum

SIG 2021

[Top row, left to right] Jaime C. Yu, MD, FRCPC, MEd; Jaspreet K. Khangura, MD, FRCPC, MSc; Carol S. Hodgson, MSc, PhD;

[Bottom row, left to right] James Makokis, MD, BSc, MHSc, CCFP; Wayne Clark, EDd, MA, BAA

Implementation and evaluation of a pilot land-based integrative Indigenous Health experience for Canadian resident physicians

This work is important to medical education because …

Canadian residency programs need to move forward with measures to address major gaps in health outcomes for Indigenous populations in Canada, as highlighted in the 2015 Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Calls to Action report . This project brings together a collaborative team of Indigenous scholars and experts (Dr. Wayne Clark, executive director of the Indigenous Health Initiatives Program, and Dr. James Makokis, Indigenous family physician) and residency education champions (Dr. Jaime Yu, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation; Dr. Jaspreet Khangura, Emergency Medicine; and Dr. Carol Hodgson, Education Research) to pilot and evaluate an immersive land-based Indigenous health curriculum. This unique teaching strategy aims to decolonize the medical curriculum and empower local Indigenous communities, while improving acceptance of Indigenous healing practices, providing cultural competency training and developing skills in anti-racism for participating residents. Lessons learned from evaluating this experience will aid in further development of similar initiatives across Royal College specialties and across different institutions nationally.

Principal Investigator:

Jaime C. Yu, MD, FRCPC, MEd; assistant professor and CBD lead, Division of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, College of Health Sciences, University of Alberta

Project collaborators:

  1. Jaspreet K. Khangura, MD, FRCPC, MSc; research scientist and clinical assistant professor, Department of Emergency Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, College of Health Sciences, University of Alberta.
  2. Carol S. Hodgson, MSc, PhD; J. Alan Gilbert chair in Medical Education Research; director, Innovation, Discovery, Education, And Scholarship (IDEAS) Office; associate professor, Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, College of Health Sciences, University of Alberta
  3. James Makokis, MD, BSc, MHSc, CCFP; family physician, Kinokamasihk Nehiyaw Nation; associate clinical professor, Department of Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, College of Health Sciences, University of Alberta.
  4. Wayne Clark, EdD, MA, BBA; executive director, Indigenous Health Initiatives Program, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, College of Health Sciences, University of Alberta.