BY TAYLOR PERRY

Understand that most of the work done by nursing students is completed and reviewed once, never to see the light of day again. But this past week, I had the opportunity to participate in a more lasting presentation of work undertaken during my time at the UBC school of nursing. The biennial C2U Expo – held at SFU Harbour Centre – allowed me the chance to both disseminate a personal project to a larger audience, and reconnect with friends I had made during my synthesis project.

Right – the synthesis project. I call it my synthesis project when it would be more accurate to call it a team effort. When I saw a listing for a therapeutic writing project at Turning Point recovery, I jumped at the opportunity. It was my first choice, as it was the first choice of two other nursing students. The three of us joined forces with the team at Turning Point who had been running – informally, mind you – the writing program for some time.  They had high hopes for the program, but unfortunately lacked the resources to achieve them.

Enter the nursing students. Turning Point wished to build a standardized Therapeutic Writing program that it could distribute to each of its sites, complete with lesson plans, learning objectives, and thematic elements. While this was the overarching project, as students we were able to experience the program and participate alongside the house residents during the weekly sessions. For me, this was the most memorable part of the project. We had the opportunity to form relationships with people on the recovery journey and catch a glimpse of the house’s operations. And through it all, we developed the program in consultation with the Turning Point team. Once we had completed it, I assumed our relationship with Turning Point had reached its natural conclusion.

But then came C2U. Held every two years, the C2U Expo “showcases the best practices in community-campus partnerships worldwide.” It explores spaces for collaboration and helps to foster connections between academic institutions and the communities they serve. When I was asked if I could contribute a student perspective to the Turning Point presentation, I eagerly confirmed my interest. Ross Laird from Turning Point led the discussion, Ranjit Dhari described UBC’s efforts, and I provided a student voice. Together, we introduced the Therapeutic Writing program (and two other Turning Point projects) to a room full of conference attendees. We explained its rationale, development, and the partnership forged by UBC and Turning Point. Yet it also brought some closure to the project for me, and a last chance to connect with people with whom I had worked so closely. Because in addition to building a robust writing curriculum, we had built strong friendships, too. The program is now alive and well across multiple Turning Point sites. Our hope is that we also inspired others at the C2U Expo to do something similar.

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BY NARISSA MAWJI

Are you interested in healthcare, innovation, technology, sustainability, interprofessional collaboration, or quality improvement? Do you want to make positive change to our healthcare system? The Canadian Chapter Leaders of the Institute of Healthcare Improvement are pleased to invite you to our first national conference: Health Innovation for All. The event is open to all students and professionals in various health disciplines, and seeks to encourage future healthcare leaders to learn more about how to improve our system to benefit everyone. The day will include professional and patient keynote speeches, a panel discussion with Quality Improvement experts, interactive workshops that highlight innovations in technology, sustainability, and interprofessional collaboration, and will conclude with a storyboard reception.

When? Saturday June 10, 2017

Where? UBC Nest

Our keynote speakers include Dr. Granger Avery (President of the Canadian Medical Association), Dr. Kedar Mate (Chief Innovation and Education Officer for the Institute for Healthcare Improvement) and Dr. John Pawlovich (Telehealth Medicine Provider for rural First Nations communities in BC). For more information: http://iccnconference.ca/ Please register at: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/ihi-open-school-canadian-chapter-network-conference-vancouver-site-tickets-32018796081

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BY KRISTIN STOVALL AND MIKE FOK

A fellow student and I had the opportunity to teach parents about sexual development for their adolescent children living with disabilities. We used an interactive setting where parents were able to communicate their questions and concerns through both verbal and non-verbal means. We tried to create a safe space where parents could voice their concerns without the fear of judgement. This style of information sharing allowed parents to contribute their experiences and knowledge, so they could learn from one another. Synthesizing their ideas helped highlight important reoccurring topics, which we could use as a guide for further meetings.

Although we were meant to do the teaching, I believe the most important development from this presentation was helping create a community, where parents could learn from one another and support each other through a process that many of them mentioned could feel quite confusing and isolating. As students, this was one of the most challenging and rewarding opportunities of nursing school. We used the knowledge we had gained in courses, such as Ethics and Relational Practice as a guide when answering questions and also integrated the theory and skills of capacity building and health promotion learned and developed in the N336 Nursing Practice with Communities and Populations course. Overall, I will never forget this experience as it has taught me that in the end the most important thing is to start the conversation.

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