Health Sciences Council Annual Report 2011-2012

INTERACTIONSHealth Sciences CouncilAnnual Report 2011-2012

INTERACTIONS: Health Sciences Council Annual Report 2011-2012 - 1

CONTENTS

Message from the chair ................................................................................................. 2

Message from the vice-provost ..................................................................................... 3

Jane Drummond, master quilter at work ...................................................................... 4

Can you save Stan? ........................................................................................................ 8

Uplifting the whole people .......................................................................................... 10

Speaker series ............................................................................................................. 15

Border crossings ......................................................................................................... 16

What does the future of collaboration look like? ....................................................... 18

Just how smart is a Smart CondoTM? .......................................................................... 20

Mastering the art of interprofessional study .............................................................. 24

Statistics ...................................................................................................................... 27

Have you ever faked sick? ........................................................................................... 28

Discover the academy ................................................................................................. 30

Financials .................................................................................................................... 32

Message from the chair, Health Sciences Council

2011-2012 was a year to celebrate. In September 2011, the Edmonton Clinic Health Academy (ECHA) opened its doors to students. In January 2012, with twelve health sciences groups successfully relocated, we hosted the official opening; this marked both the end of an eight-year planning and construction process, and the beginning of a new era of innovation in health research, education and collaboration at the University of Alberta. The Edmonton Clinic Health Academy not only supports interdisciplinary endeavour, it represents a remarkable achievement for the Health Sciences Council (HSC), and exemplifies the kind of benefit the Council brings to the University.

The council has grown to include the deans of Campus St-Jean, Marc Arnal, and Augustana College, Allen Berger, and Bob Haennel, Acting Dean of Rehabilitation Medicine* has also joined the council. In my absence, Lory Laing has agreed to be the interim chair. Thank you and welcome to you all.

Looking ahead, the Health Sciences Council will be focusing on near and long-term strategies that continue its mandate to facilitate interdisciplinary learning, discovery and citizenship through leadership and collaboration across all disciplines. Increasingly, post-secondary institutions, governments, the private sector and the general public are recognizing the importance of collaboration throughout the entire lifecycle of our health system. I am very pleased that Deborah Gordon, Senior Vice President, Chief Nursing and Health Professions Officer has joined the council and, with her colleagues Kathryn Todd, Senior Vice President, Research and Chris Sikora, Medical Officer of Health will join the council’s strategic planning group.

The Health Sciences Council is strong, diverse, and committed. I look forward to another year of challenging old thinking with innovative ideas.

Martin Ferguson-Pell

*Ferguson-Pell, Dean of Rehabilitation Medicine, will be Acting Provost from July 2012 - July 2013.

Anita Molzahn Dean, Nursing

Paul Major Chair, Dentistry

Jim Kehrer Dean, Pharmacy

and Pharmaceutical Sciences

Lory Laing Interim Dean, School

of Public Health

Verna Yiu Interim Dean,

Medicineand Dentistry

2 - INTERACTIONS: Health Sciences Council Annual Report 2011-2012

Message from the vice-provost, Health Sciences Council

The year went by quickly, as years do when there is so much happening. The Council made significant progress towards our teaching and research goals. We have a confirmed five-year strategic plan for the Interdisciplinary Health Research Academy (IHRA), established governance for the Discovery Mall, and identified ID teams who will use the superb space that is the Edmonton Clinic Health Academy (ECHA). The Health Sciences Education Research Commons (HSERC) space in ECHA is up and running and academic leads have been selected for specialty spaces, our partnerships are strong, and we are expanding our role in and contributions to Interprofessional Education.

The Edmonton Clinic Health Academy was finished on time and under budget. Between September 1, 2011 and January 1, 2012, we successfully moved over 800 people into new spaces throughout ECHA and we negotiated shared administration processes that will support the vision for this very special space. We were delighted to welcome Premier Redford, President Samarasekera and many other special guests to our opening ceremonies on January 18, 2012. Outside it was the coldest day of the year; inside it was a warm, joyful celebration of many years of hard work. A proud moment for us all.

This year, we’ve chosen a story-telling format for our annual report. I think that we’ve made progress that goes beyond what we might capture in a pie chart (although we have some of those as well). I am very pleased to invite you to read about the year’s accomplishments through stories told, and hopefully retold. Our mandate at the HSC is to facilitate interdisciplinary learning, discovery and citizenship through leadership and collaboration across all health disciplines. This 2011-2012 report tells the story of how we are doing just that.

I am truly excited about the work the HSC is doing, and the future we are building. Many thanks to the council membership for their ongoing support, and to my team at the secretariat for their tireless commitment. It has not always been clear sailing, but we have, none-the-less, held a firm and true course. I invite you all to join me in ‘reimagining’ health care, focusing on wellness, using our very best efforts to “uplift the whole people.”

Jane Drummond

John Kennelly Dean, Agricultural,

Life and Environmental

Sciences

Allen Berger Dean, Augustana

Campus

Marc Arnal Dean, Campus

St-Jean

Richard Fedorak

Associate Vice-President (Research)

Kerry Mummery Dean, Physical Education and

Recreation


The quilt that is the Health Sciences Council works because of its diversity. “The way I make quilts, I use lots and lots and lots of fabric types,” Jane says. “And that’s what we have in the council. All of these different component parts, that’s what makes a quilt work, and that’s what makes our council work. I am so proud of the strength of each of our disciplines - each faculty does remarkable work in its own right. But when you can find ways to blend those faculties, to find intersections between them, that’s when you have the opportunity to address some of the very big, very complex issues our system faces today.”

And with that complexity, comes a level of uncertainty. “Through quilting, I’ve learned to have a high degree of comfort with ambiguity,” she says. “I’ve learned you need to trust the process, and to be open to change as a project evolves.”

MASTER QUILTERat work

Jane Drummond

Jane Drummond

Vice-Provost of the Health Sciences

Council

A master quilter brings together disparate elements into a cohesive whole. It is challenging, and at times, frustrating work. But it is about finding and creating intersections, relationships, contrasts and complements that make the work deeply satisfying. And the end result is both functional and beautiful.

Jane Drummond, vice-provost of the Health Sciences Council, is a master quilter - as a hobby, yes. But she uses this skill to stitch together this council of disparate equals, to join them together in the pursuit of a common goal: collaborative research and scholarship, leading to patient-centred care.

“There are a number of ways my work with the Health Sciences Council is like quilting,” she laughs. “For one thing, it takes a long time to make a really nice quilt. The Health Sciences Council has been around for nearly twenty years, and it’s taken time to build trust between the faculties so that collaborative work can happen.”


It’s this openness to change that has guided Jane through the eight-year-long design and construction process in the building of the Edmonton Clinic Health Academy. “It has been a long project, but well worth the effort,” she says. “Right from the beginning, we wanted to create a space that is a tool that helps the health science faculties work together. It really isn’t about the building, it’s about what we do in it, but in order to facilitate the vision of collaborative work, we needed the space to be able to work together. And that’s what we have in this building.

“But just like doing a quilt,” Jane says, “we needed to add elements, and then take away or move the ones that didn’t work. I think my experience as a quilter gave me the ability to look at it objectively, to forgive myself for the parts that didn’t work, and to quickly move on to the next idea.”

ECHA is the capstone project of Jane’s work with the HSC, but now that the building is finished, there is a whole new era of work to be done. “Even though the building is wonderful, I don’t want the emphasis for our work to be on the ‘bricks and mortar.’ Now it is time to focus on how we can use this space to work together. Moving forward, we have set three goals. We want to continue to build this culture of collaboration between the faculties, we want to be leaders in research, and we want to come up with innovative solutions to the complex problems our health system faces.”

The HSC is undoubtedly in a strong position to accomplish these goals. With the commitment and trust of the health science deans, solid relationships with community partners, and the flexible, inspiring space to work it, it looks like Jane’s HSC vision has founded a special harmony.

While Jane can take pride in seeing the building open and occupied, in a way the work has just begun. The HSC will continue to evolve and grow, finding new ways to arrange the pieces, new collisions that erupt in those critical ‘aha’ moments, new combinations that deliver truly inspired advances in human health and wellness.

And that’s a thing of beauty.




Kathy Kovacs-Burns Director, Interdisciplinary Health Research Academy, Health Sciences Council

“Jane’s process for building ECHA has been thoroughly commendable. Through it, she has lived the vision of the HSC in a profound way - her process has been collaborative, she has built consensus and brought together so many people and ideas, and the final result is the envy of any other institution.”

Martin Ferguson-Pell Dean of Rehabilitation Medicine, and Chair of the Health Sciences Council

“It all started out with a vision for the University of Alberta to be the leading institution for collaboration in the health sciences. Jane ran with this vision, and while there were many people involved in the process of building ECHA, and they all deserve to be recognized, Jane stands out because she stuck to her guns, stuck to the vision, through all of the challenges inherent in a project of this magnitude. Jane maintained such enthusiasm for this project, and that kept us excited about it. And now that we’re in the building, Jane’s vision has very much come to life. She pulled us all together, and now we’re ready for this new future of working together. It is an exciting time indeed.”

Trish Whelan Associate Director of Administration, Health Sciences Council

“Jane is a pretty incredible person. I’ve worked with her for the last eight years, and through this project, she has really proved her strength and the strength of her vision. It has been a big job to take the lead on a project like this, and she has proven her leadership every day. She has been an inspiration, and I’ve learned so much working alongside her. This building is a testament to her work and her vision.”

Richard Fedorak Professor of Medicine (Gastroenterology) and Associate Vice-President (Research)

“The Edmonton Clinic Health Academy is Jane Drummond’s building. Jane had the vision, the fortitude, and the ability to bring together the health science faculties and make them see the advantage of working together in the same space. This building will be here for a hundred years, and hopefully Jane’s vision will last as long, and that it will become the gold standard for how the health sciences are taught, and how the problems we face in our health system are solved - by bringing the best of each discipline together in research and scholarship.”

You’re in the middle of an ER, and the order of the day is “chaos.” On one side of you, a patient with multiple gunshots is being wheeled in, on the other, a car accident victim is screaming from the pain of a crushed limb. Overwrought family members are demanding your attention. One mistake could cost someone their life, and a homeless man with schizophrenia is raving at the top of his lungs and coming straight at you.

How can a new student possibly prepare for this?

Ask Stan.

Stan is a mannequin. But instead of modeling the latest fashions, he’s modeling the latest technologies. He breathes. He blinks. He has a pulse that can race or become thready. He complains about painful sensations or discomfort. He can be a woman. And he’s invaluable.

“Stan is a tool for teaching teamwork in a clinical and community context,” says Sharla King, director of the Health Sciences Education and Research Commons (HSERC). Stan, Sven and several other mannequins are being used at HSERC to allow students to face the challenges of medical procedures in a safe environment. The name is short for “standardized man;” Stan is not anyone really, but he can be everyone. With Stan, students can practice their skills, over and over. They can make the mistakes that are a part of learning without fatal consequences.

That doesn’t mean that it’s without stress.

Shu Juan Zhou is a physical therapy student who has just finished her first year. Early on, Shu Juan and 200 other students from several institutions attended the ‘Save Stan’ event. Students from nursing, respiratory therapy, medicine, occupational health and other disciplines experienced multiple situations, from a trauma bay to palliative care. “It was a great eye-opener,” Shu Juan says. “It was nice to see that other people are struggling with things that I struggle with, and that we’re all learning together.”

This is at the core of what makes the Save Stan event so important: not the technology, but the interprofessional nature of the simulations. From a high risk delivery to home care, all are team situations. “We had interprofessional classes but this was my first real experience of working with other disciplines. To see first-hand what the roles of the other disciplines are, and to get a chance to work with them in a safe place.”

Working with a mannequin provides a safe opportunity to fail - and learn.

Sharla KingDirector of HSERC

Can you

SAVE STANSAVE STAN?


Many of the students are at different levels in their education. And yet they work together and learn from each other, Sharla says. And by putting everyone in the same simulation, the hierarchy is removed, the playing field is leveled. It changes all the rules, for the better.

“More and more is going into the curriculum,” Sharla says, “and at the same time, our patient care is becoming more and more complex. We need to teach students differently.” And the collaborative nature of the event is working. “We had students from respiratory therapy at NAIT teach the U of A students intubation.”

The unique nature of the Save Stan event is working for everyone. “We are providing experiences for students that probably wouldn’t happen otherwise,” Sharla says. “We link in with health providers, and when they teach, they learn as well.” Everybody is learning from everybody else.

The new building is an essential part of the equation. “Space is a catalyst,” Sharla says. “We wouldn’t be having this conversation if we were still in three little rooms in another building.” And the Save Stan event is a perfect example of the mission of the HSC. “The HSC is about facilitating and providing opportunities for students and for instructors that focus on interprofessional education, collaborative practice, teams. Something that faculties couldn’t do on their own easily.”

The beauty is that the partnerships go beyond the different disciplines. As Sharla says, “Save Stan is an event in collaboration with the University of Alberta, NAIT, MacEwan, NorQuest and Alberta Health Services. We’re nothing without our partners.”

Stan is teaching students more than diagnosis. He is teaching them teamwork, he is showing them the roles of other disciplines, and he is giving everyone a chance to get along and provide the best care possible.

Not bad for a mannequin.

“This is even cooler than I thought it would be. Is there any way to make this a credit course?

Student Post on Facebook

Specialized mannequins can even deliver

mannequin babies.

?


UPLIFTINGthe Whole People

Imagine a city within a city. Imagine a community devoted to the study of caring for others, a society based on the principles of compassion and humanity. Imagine neighborhoods devoted to innovation and research, as well as collaboration and cooperation.

Now imagine sun-drenched halls, vivid colors, excited chatter and spaces of silence. Imagine deep work, common passions, the collision of ideas and friendships, the convergence of expertise, progress and discovery.

Imagine the Edmonton Clinic Health Academy.

Truly unique, this iconic, purpose-built space accommodates the population of a small city - up to 5,000 students and 2,000 faculty and administrative staff, all committed to the study of innovative, patient-centred health care. The first three floors are dedicated to students, with classrooms, lecture halls, leading-edge clinical teaching spaces and common areas all designed to promote social and professional interaction. The top floors house the administration and faculty, the shared space also supporting intersections in teaching and research.

The expansive Discovery Mall is offered to research teams from both inside and outside the university. It is a place of connection between academics from all disciplines, community groups and policy-makers who are dedicated to health care innovation.

Linking all of these dynamic spaces are lengthy indoor avenues, brightly lit with floor-to-ceiling windows, and designed to stretch legs as well as minds. These halls are lined with inviting furniture and inspiring artwork - it is the perfect environment for study, for relationship-building, for connection.

While the architecture is impressive, this building is so much more than brick, steel and glass. The academy is about the infinite possibilities of the people within its walls. It is about building community amongst health care academics and professionals, and stirring leadership within students, administration and faculty.

It is about changing the future of health care education. It truly is about “uplifting the whole people.”

The Edmonton Clinic Health Academy was officially opened on January 18, 2012, by Premier Alison Redford and University President Indira Samarasekera, celebrating the end of an eight-year journey of design and construction, and the beginning of a new era of collaborative health care scholarship.

ECHAstretches the length of

two football fields.



Levels 1, 2 and 3 of the Edmonton Clinic Health Academy.

Discovery Mall - This section is mirrored on floors 4 and 5 as well.

Smart Condo

Student Commons Café and Study Space

HSERC

Student Event Space

Engrained Cafeteria

Designated HSC Areas

Student Study Spaces250 seat “Smart” Lecture Theatre

Shared Spaces

Floors 3, 4 and 5 house

twelve programs

and schools

from six Health

Science faculties.

Student Study Spaces

Neighbourhoods encompassing all three floors and crossing disciplines are created around lightwells and atria on floors 3, 4 and 5.

Richard Fedorak Professor of Medicine (Gastroenterology) and Associate Vice-President (Research)

“This building is fantastic; it’s like a city unto itself. It is made up of streets and avenues where people can stop, meet, interact. It’s designed that way. It is helping to build community amongst all of the health care faculties, bringing students, professors and the community together in a completely new way. We previously worked independently, because we were all in different buildings. But now, here, we’re working together, which is leading to all kinds of new opportunities for research and innovation. And it’s helping to prepare students for the realities of a career in health care. Taking care of patients is never done by a single discipline, and by grouping many health care students together in one space, it’s allowing for new ideas to flourish, and for students to understand the roles of all of the disciplines in patient care.”

There are over 2000 student lockers located in ECHA


University President, Indira V. Samarasekera

Martin Ferguson-Pell

Martin Ferguson-Pell Dean of Rehabilitation Medicine, and Chair of the Health Sciences Council

“This building is a major achievement and there are a number of things about it that I find exciting. First, there are the student study spaces. We know students all have different needs when it comes to studying. Some like solitude, with no interruptions, others like dynamic spaces like coffee shops or the cafeteria. Others like spaces to work as a group. This building is full of different spaces that accommodate all of those different learning needs, which makes it very student-centred.

“Also unique to this building is the Health Science Education and Research Commons (HSERC), where we have special areas that enable us to teach students in interprofessional teams. For example, we have the Smart CondoTM where we can simulate someone’s home, and the simulated patient area, where students can interact with actors as well as advanced technology to provide a realistic patient experience. All of these are unique learning opportunities for students, and this building really supports them as they gain skills and experience.”

ECHA has the capacity for more than 3,500 students and 1,500 staff


Premier Allison Redford

Rebecca Akierman Recent Graduate in Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, and former Co-President of the Health Sciences Students’ Association

“The Edmonton Clinic Health Academy is a really exciting place to be. Here, you can get to know people from other disciplines and learn more about each others’ areas of study. This is something that will help when we’re out in the real world - it’s great for building relationships that will last past school. And having an understanding of where each discipline fits into patient care has helped me gain respect for the other disciplines. This building facilitates that kind of learning and interaction. I think it is a really amazing place.”

ECHA has a 250-seat cafeteria and a Starbucks™

Debra Pozega-Osburn Vice-President (University Relations)

“This building helps the university to live up to its commitment of ‘uplifting the whole people.’ It brings together researchers, students and the community in a unique environment that will help health sciences education and research to flourish, which ultimately will lead to a stronger health system for all Albertans.

“The Edmonton Clinic Health Academy is all about interaction and collaboration. Everywhere you look in this building you see features of openness, areas built for gathering. Those gatherings might be formal or informal, they might happen in a physical sense, but also in a virtual sense as the building is designed to use technology in a new way.

“Lots of times, when you think of buildings, you think of them as construction projects, but this building has a personality, and I think that is due to the vibrant vision of the Health Sciences Council. Every detail has been thought out, with the idea of how this building can advance health care education and student experience. It is a gem on our campus. No one else - in Canada, North America even - has a space like this. I’m very excited about what this means for our students and our researchers, and our province as a whole.”



SpeakerSeriesThe Health Sciences Council launched a speaker series in 2011.

The inaugural event featured André Picard, national health columnist for The Globe and Mail, on “The future of health care in Canada: why we need innovation and patient-centred care.” André is the author of three best-selling books on the Canadian health system, as well as a sought-after speaker and commentator on public health issues. His speech for the HSC discussed some of his “mantras for change” and expressed the importance of collaborative research and learning in health care, clearly reflecting common values with the HSC.

At the ECHA opening, Dr. Brian Goldman of CBC’s White Coat Black Art, delivered two lectures on “Why the future belongs to ECHA.” More than 300 people attended Dr. Goldman’s lectures, where he called ECHA “the right building, in the right place, at the right time...”

André PicardNational Health Columnist, Globe

and Mail

Dr. Brian Goldman

Host of CBC’s White Coat,

Black Art

L-R: André Picard, Anita Molzahn, Greg Eberhart, Dr. Tony Fields and The Reverend Canon Travis Enright

One immediately thinks of exotic climes, the adventure of passing from one country to the next, of fantastic destinations and the thrill of exploration and discovery.

For Tara Hatch and Renate Kahlke of the Health Sciences Education and Research Commons (HSERC), border crossings are a way of life. While their journeys are only sometimes geographical in nature, they cross borders of all kinds as a means of connecting students with rich learning opportunities, both in and out of the classroom.

“It is so important to expose our students to interprofessional learning, which is a significant part of what we do at HSERC,” says Tara Hatch, interprofessional practice manager with HSERC. In this role, Tara coordinates IntD 411, Advanced Health Team Practice, an elective course that places students in health care teams in clinical settings, where they analyze real-world team work and reflect on their own contributions.

“A big part of my job is making connections for students for learning beyond the classroom,” Tara says. “I work for collaboration across faculties, in clinical settings, and even with other institutions. That’s crossing a lot of borders right there.”

But the most celebrated border crossing of the year came with an honorable mention for a research poster presented at the Collaborating Across Borders conference in Tucson, Arizona. The conference, now in its third year, is designed to build relationships between health care researchers and educators in Canada, the United States and worldwide. Tara, Renate and their team proved their collaborative skill on a number of different levels – by joining forces with faculty across the health disciplines at the University of Alberta, other local institutions as well as Brown University in Rhode Island.

“For the poster, we looked at the concept of reflection, and how it relates to interprofessional study.” Renate says. “Reflection is a key competency for interprofessional work, as it is the skill that allows students to critically analyze their own work, and the work of others, and to continually strive to make it better. But early learners, especially those who are fresh out of high school or who come from the pure sciences, often have difficulty mastering the skill of critical thinking.”

“The issue is really two-fold,” Tara says, in agreement. “Students need some structure to guide them in how to be reflective, and instructors also need guidance in order to encourage reflection in their students. So, we developed a reflection guide for students, and arranged a number of learning opportunities for our faculty to better apply reflection in their practice and their teaching.”

The pair also scored a coup in recruiting the help of Hedy Wald from Brown University. “Hedy is a leading expert on reflection,” Tara says, “and we were so thrilled that she came to the U of A to give a workshop to several of our faculty members, as well as faculty from MacEwan and NAIT. That was a significant learning experience for all of us, and she really inspired our faculty to apply reflection skills in our courses. She also gave a lecture about the importance of applying

BORDERcrossingscrossings

Renate KahlkeIntegration of

Interprofessional Education

Competencies Project Coordinator

Tara HatchInterprofessional Practice Manager,

HSERC


these skills in learning and in practice, and I know a lot of people came away with the understanding of the need to think deeper and more intentionally about the work we do.”

Tara and Renate teamed up with Barbara Gitzel of the University of Alberta dental hygiene program, and taught a workshop for their faculty on the value of reflection. “That was a wonderful experience because we were able to put the theory into action,” Tara says. “Their instructors came away feeling like they had some direction as to how to apply reflection which made them more confident in requiring that kind of critical thought from their students. Not to mention that it was also an excellent team-building exercise for them – reflecting on critical thinking together made their team even more cohesive.”

The award-winning poster, then, was a culmination of Tara and Renate’s thoughts and experiences working across faculties and institutions – not to mention across the Canadian/American border. “It was such a great opportunity to build relationships with other institutions, both here in Edmonton, and with Brown University in the States. And we really built capacity on reflection within the faculties in our own institution.”

Indeed, Tara and Renate reported on the poster that the reflection guide made students feel more supported in their critical analysis, and instructors noted an increase in reflection skill in their students. Instructors also felt more confident applying reflection in their work, and were able to build in greater consistency in their grading.

“All told, it was a great experience,” Tara says. “The conference was amazing, and it was great to connect the work we’re doing here with what’s being done across North America.”

And a little recognition for work well done is an added bonus. Just the sort to inspire the next adventure.

Moving from awkward to “aha!”: Strategies for building reflective capacity among health science students and faculty.

Tara Hatch1, Renate Kahlke1, Sharla King1, Barbara Gitzel2 and Hedy S. Wald3

1 Health Sciences Education and Research Commons, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB2 Dental Hygiene Program, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB3 Department of Family Medicine, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI

The Health Sciences Education and Research Commons collaborates to develop and deliver interprofessional education (IPE) for students from eight health science faculties. Curriculum is based on four interprofessional (IP) competencies: communication, collaboration, role clarification and reflection.

Students struggled with reflection assignments in IPE courses. • Expectedtobestruckbyanelusive“aha”

moment• Failedtoseethevalueinreflectionasa

process to facilitate their learning

Course facilitators felt ill-prepared to support struggling students. Variation in assignmentexpectationsandgradingwasobserved across course sections.

Facilitators and studentsoftenlackedclearunderstanding of the purpose and/or process of reflection. In response, we developed and implemented• Reflectionguide• Threeapproachestofacultydevelopment

Table excerpted from Reflection GuideComponents of Reflection

Description Questions to consider

Description Describe the “event,issueorsituation”(Williams&Wessel, 2004)

What happened?Who was involved?What was your role in the event?What role or roles did other team members play, including the patient and/or family?

Personal Analysis Analyze the event “inrelationtopriorknowledge,feelingsofattitudes”(Williams&Wessel, 2004)

How do you interpret the event?What was your emotional response to the event?What factors may have affected the event?What are the broader implications of the event?

ContextAnalysis Analyze the event in thecontextofexternalsources of information

What evidence supports or refutes your interpretation?Whatfeedbackdidyoureceivefrompatients,communitymembers,facilitators, team members or other peers? How does your interpretation fit within the literature?How does the event relate to your profession’s standards of practice or code of ethics?How does the event relate to your personal ethics or values?What organizational, historical or sociological implications does the event have?What were your personal or professional strengths and limitations in relation to the event?

Practice Implications

Use your analysis to identify learning needs or changes to practice

Whatknowledgeorexpertisewillyouseektosupportyourpractice?Howwillyouacquirethatknowledgeoraccessexpertise?How will you approach a similar event in the future?What other implications does the event have for your future practice?

Students • Structured guide provides support for early learnersFaculty • Diverse delivery approaches with practical, relevant tools build capacity• Experiential workshops facilitate relationship

building • Walk the talk: presenters from different

disciplines provide robust exploration of reflection

Selected ReferencesMann,K.,Gordon,J.,&MacLeod,A.(2009).Reflectionandreflectivepracticein

health professions education: A systematic review. Advances in Health Sciences Education: A Theory and Practice, 14,595-621.doi:10.1007/s10459-007-9090-2

Reis,S.P.,Wald,H.S.,Monroe,A.D.,Borkan,J.M.(2010).BegintheBEGAN(TheBrownEducationalGuidetotheAnalysisofNarrative)-aframeworkforenhancingeducationalimpactoffacultyfeedbacktostudents’reflectivewriting. Patient Education and Counseling, 80(2):253-9.Epub2010Jan6.

Sandars,J.(2009).Theuseofreflectioninmedicaleducation:AMEEguideno.44.Medical Teacher, 31(8),685-695.doi:10.1080/01421590903050374

Schön,D.A.(1983).The reflective practitioner: How professionals think in action.New

York:BasicBooks.

Wald,H.S.,Borkan,J.M.,Taylor,J.S.,Anthony,D.,Reis,S.P.(2011).FosteringandEvaluatingReflectiveCapacityinMedicalEducation:DevelopingtheREFLECTRubric for Assessing Reflective Writing. Academic Medicine, in press.

Reflection GuideThis tool was made available to students enrolled in two IPE courses and on-linetoallstudentsandfaculty.Itwasdevelopedtoexplaintherationaleforreflectionandsupportdevelopmentofreflectionskills.

Observations: • Improvedqualityofreflection• Fewernegativecommentsfromstudentsincourseevaluations• Instructorsreportedincreasedconfidenceinintegratingreflection

Faculty DevelopmentThreeinteractiveworkshopsfocusedonliteratureonreflection,frameworksforfeedback,andassessment.Eachwastailoredtoauniqueaudience.

Course specifictrainingdeliveredbyfourdisciplinesto63facilitatorsofarequired IPE course and covered:• Purposeofreflection• Practiceapplyingreflectionrubric• Practiceprovidingfeedbackwithstudentteam

Observations:• Moreconsistencyingrading,fewernegativecommentsfromstudents• Facilitatorsreportedincreasedconfidenceinintegratingreflection

Inter-institutional IP approach developed to build instructor capacity in inte-grating reflection across degree, diploma and certificate health science programs. Participants represented 15 disciplines from academic and practice setting.

Visiting scholar and clinical psychologist from Alpert Medical School (AMS) of Brown University delivered:1. Foundational seminar with didactic and interactive learning2. Skillspracticeworkshop• Sharedlocalinitiativesonreflectivelearning• AppliedtoolsdevelopedatAMSofBrownUniversitytoanalyzestudent

reflections

Observations:• Stepforwardinbuildingcommunityofreflectivepractice• Learningintegratedintocoursecurriculumandclinicalpractice

Program specificworkshopforDentalHygieneinstructorsdeliveredby2disciplines:• Focusedonverbalandwrittenreflection• Appliedtoolsforconstructingverbal/writtenfeedback• Appliedadvocacyinquirydebriefingmethod

Observations:• Teambuildingfacilitatedbyinteractivepresentation• Instructorsengagedthroughexamplesrelevanttoteachingcontext• Futureintegrationsupportedbypracticaltools

Next Steps:Move beyond review of process; formally evaluate impact of reflection guide.

The award-winning poster.

”It was such a great opportunity to build relationships with other institutions, both here in Edmonton, and with Brown University in the States.

Tara Hatch


This is the question designers of the Edmonton Clinic Health Academy asked themselves - and each other - nearly every day for about eight years. It is a question that informed every step of the process, from initial planning through construction to management and maintenance of the space, to consultation amongst occupant groups as the space evolved. It is about envisioning the future - not just the next decade, but the next fifty to one hundred years. It is not about planning a building, it is about building the future.

It is this kind of challenge that has kept Trish Whelan, associate director of administration with the Health Sciences Council, excited to come to work every day. Trish has been the point person on coordinating many of the practical aspects of the building - from liaising with the business team and the architects to working with various campus service providers to building, from scratch, a new governance model that will help ensure the building is used to its full potential.

?FUTUREWhat does the

COLLABORATIONof

look like

“One of the biggest challenges of this whole process has been developing a new model for administration,” Trish says. “We’re not re-inventing the wheel, we’re actually inventing a new system from the ground up, because there just isn’t a purpose-built space like ECHA anywhere else. So we had to start at the very beginning and come up with a new system ourselves, which has been simply an amazing challenge and experience.”

Trish and her team drew on the principles of the Health Sciences Council - collaboration, interdisciplinary interaction and consensus-building - to design internal administrative infrastructure to make the dynamic space of ECHA livable and functional to meet the needs of its various occupants, both in the present and in the future.

“I’m pretty proud of the consultative process we used to gather information and feedback from our various occupant groups and service providers all the way through the process of the last eight years,” Trish says. “We did our best to listen very carefully to all of the many stakeholders’ voices, and to build excitement and consensus as we designed our internal processes. We tried hard not to think about what might be easier for us, from an administrative standpoint, but to really gear our thinking toward a customer-service approach. And now, I think we’ve got a solid working model based on the values of consultation and cooperation. It’s what the HSC is all about.”

It’s a model that helped complete ECHA on time and on budget, which, for a project of this size is a remarkable feat.

Trish WhelanAssociate Director of Administration, HSC


?“It has involved a lot of innovative thinking,” Trish says. “From the big picture as to how the building will function to support all of the occupants to create these collisions of ideas between disciplines, but also on a very small, detailed level. Things like setting processes in place as to how the communal kitchens will be used, and how the photocopy rooms will be accessible to everyone all over the building.”

For Trish, it is about connecting every process back to the philosophy of collaboration and sharing. “I’ll be the first to admit that administration isn’t sexy,” she says with a laugh. “But I’m so proud of how all these details are going to support a new style of education, and how that will ultimately impact the province’s health care system.”

It is an impact she is already starting to see. “A few months ago, my dad had a heart attack. It was a really scary time, but what so impressed me was how the teams who took care of him worked so well together - the doctors, the nurses, the respiratory technicians. He was even able to see three specialists all on the same day, all in the same space. They came together for him, rather than making him go to all of their separate offices. I feel like it’s this kind of collaboration that we’re working for here; and I know, from this personal experience, that we’re working toward the right goal.

“I’m proud to know that my work is helping to make this goal a reality.”


Probably smarter than you think.

Ask a smart person what they are capable of and they’ll likely rattle off a diverse list. Ask them what they could learn to do and the list gets even longer. The Smart CondoTM is very similar. A ‘living lab’ with a basic mandate of being an observable, accurate re-creation of a one-bedroom apartment, the Smart Condo is continuing to ‘learn’ new applications for research and learning.

The premise is simple enough: build a one-bedroom condo, fill it with cameras, and use it to watch students who are being tested on their in-home visit skills. Students can interview patients, whether they are real clients or actors (standardized patients) and the instructors can either observe or test students interacting with those patients. They can be graded on their performance, their verbal and non-verbal behaviour, their actions and interactions within the space, and more. Students can even watch the footage and see their own performance.

But the Smart CondoTM is even smarter than that. In fact, it’s almost pre-cognitive.

“When a patient is released, we can see how they will manage when they get home,” says Lili Liu, chair and professor of occupational therapy. “Will they take their medications? Will they discover a mobility problem which leads to an accident, which leads to re-admission and long-term care? We can predict this more accurately. We can establish monitoring and medication assistance strategies to allow the patient to return home with a sense of independence. To do this effectively, we need team collaboration in a real-world environment. The Smart CondoTM allows us to collaborate, with arts, sciences and medicine to find the best ways to re-integrate discharged patients safely into their own homes.” This involves pharmacy, physical therapy and industrial design. All disciplines can see how their decisions affect the patient, and how they mesh with each other’s work.

1012 sq ftof usable living space.

But the Smart CondoTM is smarter than that.

First of all, it is a home for true interdisciplinary collaboration. Students from many disciplines can be tested simultaneously in the same simulation. They can then see how they interact with other disciplines in the context of a home visit.

Secondly, many disciplines, even those outside of the health sciences, are working together to do more diverse research in the Smart CondoTM. When computing science students or industrial designers want to develop solutions for the home, they need to be able to see how the end user might interact with their designs. The Smart CondoTM allows them an unprecedented amount of data about those interactions, and can demonstrate the impact of their work on other disciplines.

Just how

SMARTCONDO?SMARTSMART

is a


And it’s smarter still.

The condo isn’t set up for only one kind of test. In fact, the true potential of the types of testing and research has only been scratched. The condo can be adjusted to meet the needs of almost any exercise.

It can also be completely unobtrusive. Thanks to a partnership with the computer sciences department, the Smart CondoTM is filled with a diverse range of monitoring devices. In fact, with the number of sensors embedded in the condo, an entire monitoring experiment can be conducted without the cameras. This cracks open another entire realm of analysis. With the data from the sensors, and a bit of digital re-creation using avatars, the behaviours of the occupant can be reconstructed without prying. This data has led to some interesting extrapolations.

“In an earlier incarnation of the Smart CondoTM, the sensors showed us that a patient was getting up frequently in the middle of the night to use the washroom. Although we weren’t specifically looking for this information, it proved to be very valuable to the clinician,” Lili says.

The amount of data that can be gleaned from the sensors is astounding. Of course, the condo isn’t quite smart enough to interpret all that data yet. Consistency of behaviours can be measured, and therefore deviations. This is where an interdisciplinary approach becomes so important. Consider a patient who is spending longer periods every day standing

in the kitchen. If the inhabitant is recovering from hip or knee surgery, this is a good sign. If the patient has been showing signs of dementia, this can be a bad sign. Thus the same data can have very different meanings for different disciplines.

Smart CondosTM make smart friends.

The condo has attracted some very interested parties. IBM, Phillips and Telus are already partners, and others are knocking on the door, eager to test their products in an easily monitored, real-world situation. A GPS company that makes ankle-bracelets for prisoners is working with the condo designers to see if ankle-bracelet technology has health applications.

And getting smarter.

The possibilities keep opening up. Monitoring-based assistance systems. Imagine sensors that know when you’ve left a room, and turn off the light that you forgot. Or turn low-level lights on for you when you wake to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. Medication assist systems can be developed and tested in the Smart CondoTM. More ways to place sensors and gather data are being explored. The entire flooring is wired for more sensors. Different types of ambient lighting and colours are about to be explored to measure the effects on the occupants. (...continued on p. 22)

?Lili Liu

Chair & Professor Department of Occupational

Therapy

Eleni StrouliaProfessor of

Computing Science


One dilemma that is encountered with monitoring situations is the fact that the subject knows they are being watched. With eight video cameras tracking your every move, it is unlikely that individuals in the Smart CondoTM will forget they are being observed, and will act accordingly. How do you know if they are going to remember to take their medication regularly when they are on their best behaviour? Thanks to Eleni Stroulia, professor of computing science, that problem has been solved.Sensors can be placed everywhere: the furniture, the appliances, even the floor. “We embed technology in the space to be able to recognize the activities of the people living in that space, in an unobtrusive manner,” Eleni says. “By having sensors in the environment tell us how they move, pressure sensors in the furniture let us know when they sit and stand. Sensors in the cupboards let us know when they are using the cupboards. Detecting ambient noise and lighting let us know if they are watching television. Electrical monitors show us the consumption of electricity (and thus usage) through appliances. We’re also

Watching without Watching

able to tie into medical monitoring devices. Blood pressure cuffs, glucometers, et cetera.“Instead of video, which is intrusive, we can reconstruct the person’s activity using the sensors.”Using the data from the multiple sensors throughout the condo, an avatar can be programmed with the data, which can then portray the essential activities of the client, without resorting to more intrusive processes.

”Instead of video, which is intrusive, we can reconstruct the person’s

activity using the sensors.Eleni Stroulia

Other disciplines are welcome to explore how the possibilities of the Smart Condo™ can help their research.

The Door is Open



Non-Slip Bathroom Floor:This is an affordable, aesthetically

pleasing surface that looks ‘at home’ in the condo and is perfectly

safe when wet.

Moveable Island:This island can be relocated until the optimum space is left in the kitchen for any mobility assistance devices.

Multiple Grab-Bars:Various bars that are

reconfigurable to discover the optimum

balance between mobility assistance and aesthetics.

Adjustable Height Kitchen Surfaces:All counters and cupboards in the

kitchen can be adjusted to different heights to determine the optimal setting

for any particular occupant.

Smart CondoTM means Smart DesignThe installation of the Smart CondoTM in the Edmonton Clinic Health Academy was an opportunity to take the design up a notch. The principles of universal design, accessible design and intergenerational design were applied to the construction, creating a truly ‘brilliant’ space. A significant step from a foam-core mock-up in a small room in another building.

No-Curb Design:Every floor surface

is on the same level. No lips, steps or curbs to impede

mobility assistance devices such as

wheelchairs and walkers.

Wider Doorways and Hallways:Significantly wide enough to accommodate walkers, wheelchairs and motorized devices.

Sliding Doors:Eliminating the need

to get out of the way of a swinging door, these

doors take up less living space, allowing more

area for mobility.

High Flexibility :Almost everything can be moved and adjusted in order to best suit the occupant.

VIDEO SENSORAUDIOMonitoring:The Smart CondoTM is outfitted with eight video cameras, six microphones, and can be equipped with dozens of sensors.

The very fact that multiple disciplines can research the same subjects in an authentic environment simultaneously, and see how their efforts are affecting each other, is perhaps the smartest thing about the condo. All of this research can help to develop technologies to assist any type of in-home care-giver, be it a professional, family member, volunteer, or neighbour.

The Smart CondoTM is making new friends, learning more tricks and continuing to develop ways to make the world a better place. That’s a pretty smart condo indeed.

It started with a love story.

Once upon a time, some twenty years ago, a medical student was dating a pharmacy student. While studying together one night, the medical student asked the pharmacy student a question about a drug interaction. The pharmacy student, delighted to share his new-found knowledge, explained the issue, and the medical student fell in love.

Fell in love with the idea of interdisciplinary study, that is. After campaigning to build support for the idea with fellow students, the medical student approached the dean, and the rest is Health Sciences Council history. The class, IntD 410: Interprofessional Health Team Development, was born.

While the love story may be apocryphal, that the course started out as a grassroots movement by students is anything but, and the impact of students’ desire to learn from each other is still felt today. IntD 410 is now a required course, and approximately 1000 students take it each year.

“It is an HSC success story,” says Sharla King, director of the Health Sciences Education and Research Commons (HSERC). “It absolutely connects to the core of what the HSC stands for. It is an opportunity for students, early in their programs, to work together and to learn from each other. It sets up the understanding that health care professionals work together in teams, and therefore need to respect and understand each other for the sake of the patient. These are the kinds of learning experiences we offer, and I’m so proud of how this course has grown in the nearly twenty years we’ve been offering it.”

In order to accommodate the large numbers of students, each class is broken into interprofessional teams, in several different streams. The streams replicate

practice settings, whether they be primary care, continuing or even complementary and alternative health care. Students self-select their stream based on their interests and future career goals, and focus on learning communication skills, the importance of role clarification and collaboration, and reflection skills to equip them with the ability to critically analyze the effectiveness of their team work and the impact it has on patient care.

“It was a pretty amazing experience,” says Rebecca Akierman, a recent graduate of medical laboratory sciences. “I think, without that kind of understanding of each others’ roles, it’s pretty easy to lay blame or stir up feelings of conflict in a clinical setting. To say, ‘Oh, it’s the lab’s fault,’ or ‘why is the doctor taking so long to get

INTERPROFESSIONALMastering the art of

study


Sharla KingDirector of HSERC

back to me.’ This course taught me the value of each role in patient care, it helped open my eyes and form respect for the different disciplines. I have so much more understanding now of what each role does and how it impacts the patient. That is something that I will take with me for my whole career.”

Because IntD 410 is considered such a foundational course it is also offered to students at the Augustana campus in Camrose in a primarily online, asynchronous format. This course is geared to students interested in rural practice, and offers insights tailored to the specific needs of practitioners outside of urban settings. Not only does the course highlight opportunities for rural practice, it also models the use of technology to connect interprofessional teams.

Interdisciplinary learning is also the focus of IntD 411: Advanced Interprofessional Team Practice. In this course, students are placed into existing interprofessional teams in a clinical setting. They interact with the team, study the team’s processes and act as a catalyst to engage the team in reflection. The course equips the student with real-world team experience and the reflection skills to enhance their own practice.

These learning opportunities are significant for students early in their educational and professional paths. But interdisciplinary study is important for seasoned professionals as well. This is why the HSC, in association with the Faculty of Education, has launched a new graduate program in Health Science Education to further explore the value of interprofessional study in an educational context.

Currently in its first year, this program brings together health care professionals from a variety of clinical settings and promotes interprofessional teamwork in practice, research and education. Designed for busy professionals, the program blends online study with occasional face-to-face opportunities, and exposes students to the technology that can support interdisciplinary teams in practice. While it is primarily course-based, there is a thesis option for students who are interested in furthering their study at the PhD level

(...continued on p. 26) Rebecca

AkiermanRecent Graduate in

Laboratory Medicine and Pathology


Sharla is a great proponent of marrying multi-disciplinary clinical contexts with academic study. On top of her HSERC responsibilities, Sharla is also an assistant professor with the Faculty of Education and the program director for this program. “This masters program is so exciting because it draws on the experiences of a broad spectrum of professional backgrounds, as our students come from just about every clinical setting imaginable,” she says. “The wealth of experience our students bring to the program is simply outstanding. The students learn as much from each other as they do from the course materials, and I think this kind of interprofessional approach for experienced practitioners is so very valuable.”

So what impact do these kinds of learning experience have on the Alberta health care community? “I have no doubt that enhancing interprofessional team work in clinical settings saves lives,” Sharla says. “It truly centres the focus on the patient, and brings a wealth of different ideas to the table when it comes to patient care. I love that we’re able to introduce this kind of thinking to our students early on, but I think that continuing this study with professionals is vital. I’m proud that we have this masters program to continue this learning. Just like everything the HSC stands for, this program is intended to spur innovation and collaboration across disciplines, and I think this is the perfect opportunity to do just that.”

Innovation, collaboration and team work across disciplines. Now that truly is a perfect relationship.

“I have no doubt that enhancing interprofessional team work in clinical settings saves lives.

Sharla King



DentalHygiene 42

Dentistry 32

HumanEcology 6

Medicine 163

MedicalLaboratoryScience 29

PhysicalTherapy 94

Nursing 400

Nutrition 51

OccupationalTherapy 98

Pharmacy 125

PhysicalEducation 15

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University, government and community stakeholders in IHRA.

1372,500

Square metres of space for dry-lab research in the Discovery Mall.

Student seats in ECHA located in 71 classrooms and theatres.

3,400

Papers/reports/presentations created about

interdisciplinary research.

55

Students participated in Save Stan Saturday.

201

Educators trained in health team facilitation, debriefing and simulation

education through HSERC.

2241,055Students from

11 different Health Science

disciplines enrolled in the

Int D 410 winter 2012

course.

3,650

Student health team learning experiences.

FAKED SICKHave you ever ?

Recent statistics say that more than half of Canadians have faked an illness to get out of work or other commitments this year. For some, it’s a psychological disorder - at the extreme end, it’s Munchausen Syndrome - and it can cost the medical system hundreds of thousands of dollars every year.

But for Michelle MacFadyn, faking sick has become a fun and rewarding mini-career.

Michelle (pictured bottom left) is one of 200 standardized patients (SP) with the Health Sciences Education and Research Commons (HSERC) at the University of Alberta. For the last four years, she has been working with health sciences students, playing the role of a patient and acting out numerous scenarios to help students gain clinical experience - before they interact with actual patients.

“I absolutely love it,” she says with a laugh. “I think, deep down, I always wanted to be a movie star, so being a standardized patient is a great outlet for that kind of creativity. And I love that I’m helping new medical professionals gain confidence and the skills they’ll need in their careers. It’s a win-win - for me, it’s great fun, and for them it’s a great learning experience.”

And for HSERC, it’s an excellent fit with the values of the Health Sciences Council. “The standardized patient program is a really authentic learning experience for students in nearly all of the health science programs, from medicine and nursing to pharmacy and nutrition,” says JoAnne Davies, education manager with HSERC. “Simulated learning is a powerful experience for students. It helps them learn empathy as well as clinical skills. As part of IntD 410 [the interprofessional course all health students are required to take] we set up three opportunities for students to interact with standardized patients. In many instances, it will be the first time students interact with each other and with patients in a clinical setting, and it is such an important first step for students to deal with actors in this way before they interact with real patients.”

The standardized patient is given a role to perform, with a detailed outline of the patient’s issues, and it can often be a learning experience for the SP as well as the student. “That’s one of my favorite parts of being an SP,” Michelle says. “I learn a lot about what it takes to be a good clinician, and I think it’s made me more empowered to act as an advocate in my own health care. I understand more about the process from the professional’s standpoint, so I’m better equipped to give them what they need, which benefits us both.”

JoAnne DaviesEducation Manager,

HSERC


?Truly a community endeavor, the standardized patient program also extends beyond the borders of the University of Alberta, and works with other institutions like NAIT, MacEwan University and Norquest College. “We contract a lot of business with the licensing exams,” says Pam Rock, associate director with HSERC. The exams truly put the ‘standardized’ into the standardized patient program, as actors are required to give identical performances to each student, in order for grading to be accurate. “While it can be great fun for the SPs, it really is hard work,” Pam says. “They have to stay in character for long hours, and they have to be very consistent in their performances. It can be emotionally draining.”

Pam RockAssociate Director,

HSERC

But Michelle welcomes the challenge. “I truly enjoy the interaction,” she says. “I think the most challenging part of doing the exams is not being tempted to help the students out a little - sometimes they’re so nervous, I just want to give them a hug and tell them they’re doing well. But obviously I can’t do that. So that’s where the challenge is for me. Yes, it’s tiring, but it fuels me. I feel like I’m contributing to something important, which is just one reason why I love it.”

Not bad for a day’s work.


There’s going to be an epidemic.

And for the Interdisciplinary Health Research Academy (IHRA), that’s a very good thing.

Popular social philosopher, Malcolm Gladwell, lists three things that are vital to creating a social epidemic. In Gladwell’s world, in order for an idea to “go viral,” a salesman needs to create excitement about the idea, a maven needs to share information about it, and a connector needs to reach out to a broad network to let people know about it. These three ideas are what IHRA is all about.

And IHRA has its maven, salesman and connector all in the body of its director, Kathy Kovacs-Burns. “I really feel like IHRA is my baby,” Kathy jokes. “IHRA is so very young – only about two years old – and I’m proud of how it’s grown in such a short time.”

Indeed, what started out as a connection between eight associate deans of research and a few external stakeholders, has now quickly become a robust organization with more than 130 stakeholders consisting of all 18 associate deans of research, funders, researchers, students, community groups, and various levels of government. And they all share the same goals: create partnerships, work together, incubate research and find practical solutions to health care problems.

“The last year has really been all about making connections,” Kathy says. “On one front, we’ve been working hard to develop a governance model to ensure we can provide support to researchers. But we’ve also been reaching out to various groups – research teams, students, community groups, the government – anyone who has a vested interest in health care and education in order to form the relationships we need to promote this kind of collaboration. I’ve been so delighted by the response we’ve gotten.”

In June of 2011, a steering committee was formed to help IHRA focus its resources, a move that Kathy felt was vital in order to serve the community that was quickly gaining shape. “We realized we needed to be a bridge between community and government organizations that have research needs, and the academics who have research skills. It’s such a unique model, and the steering committee has helped to provide focus and create excitement for the work we want to do.”

DISCOVERthe Academy


And a big part of the excitement has been the move to the Edmonton Clinic Health Academy (ECHA). “The space that we have now at ECHA – the Discovery Mall – is so vital to IHRA’s growth,” Kathy says. “I’ve taken so many people on tours, and the minute they see the Discovery Mall, they see the possibilities. It’s becoming prime real estate. I’m so proud we’re able to provide this kind of inspiring space. Many researchers tell me they often find themselves in back hallways of hospitals, so just having our beautiful, bright space to work in makes it very appealing and inspiring.”

So inspiring, in fact, that IHRA’s maiden call for submissions netted 10 research project applications – a response that helped Kathy know that IHRA was on the right track.

“We actually decided to back all 10 of them,” she says, “as they are all high quality ideas. I was very impressed with the quality of the submissions, and for our first time putting the call out there, I couldn’t be happier.”

In terms of the support IHRA offers, it varies with each project, but generally each team is provided with space in the flexible Discovery Mall – for meetings, individual and group work, and to serve as a headquarters for the research team. IHRA also supplies some seed money to assist with grant preparation. “While we can’t provide all funding for the projects, we can help get them started, build capacity and act as a sounding board as the teams look for their money.”

IHRA also acts as a broker, connecting policy-makers, community groups and researchers across a wide swath of disciplines – both in and outside of the health sciences. “We’ve got pediatric researchers, engineers and computing scientists all working alongside community health groups,” Kathy says. “That kind of cross-discipline work is absolutely fascinating.”

And it’s the key to finding answers to the very complex health care problems we face in Alberta today. “It’s the opportunity to break down silos that is so exciting,” Kathy says. “Traditionally, most researchers worked in their discipline because that’s where they felt most comfortable. But in order to address the bigger issues, we have to step outside of those silos and work together. IHRA offers the opportunity to do just that. We are a direct link to the community, it’s an opportunity to break out of the perception of the ivory tower, and it’s a chance to make a very real difference in the lives of Albertans.”

So, IHRA really is all about creating excitement, sharing information and connecting with a wide web of interested innovators. As Kathy says, “IHRA has a very bright future ahead.”

This groundbreaking organization isn’t just going to start an epidemic. It’s going to start a revolution.

Kathy Kovacs BurnsDirector,

Interdisciplinary Health Research

Academy



FINANCIALS

In 2011-12, the Health Sciences Council received most of its operating funding (78%) from Central Administration. The balance of our operating funding was generated through cost-recovery activities including the Standardized Patient Program and the N95 respirator fit-testing program.

Total Budget: $2,046,250.78

Salaries & benefits: $1,587957.71

Operating: $406,374.83

Centres: $51,918.24

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Health Sciences Council Annual Report 2011-2012

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