2011 2010 2009
2011 Community & Patient Fair
The 2011 Community and Patient Fair was held on November 2, 2011 in the West Atrium of the Life Sciences Centre at UBC Campus.
An estimated 500+ visitors attended, including 311 students who registered and gave their discipline and year of study.
In exit interviews, students reported that they learned:
- about a range of new conditions and community services available
- the importance of advocacy in medicine
- how a condition could affect a patient’s entire life
- about resources that are available to patients
- a new perspective: hearing from patients about living with disability and illness and the barriers to care that they may experience
“It was nice that the many of the students also had workshops and/or presentations to attend that were presented by the community organizations, therefore when they came out of the presentations that were more curious and willing to get information and connect with many of the community organizations in the common booth area.” — Community exhibitor
Patient Panels
Seven 1-hour ‘patient panel’ workshops were offered to students, each featuring three to six different expert panelists (usually patients) and a moderator. Panelists shared stories, discussed their experiences, and answered questions from the audience. Panel themes were:
- Experiences of chronic health concerns (presented twice)
- Living and communicating with aphasia
- Experiences in the health care system
- Barriers to health care communication
- Living a life of recovery with mental illness
- Cultural competence in health care
149 students and faculty attended the panels.
“I learned …it is important to listen to the patient and try to understand them so that health care workers can advocate for them.” — Occupational Therapy student
“I learned how such small things, like taking the time to listen to your patient and ask them how they are feeling about their own body can make such a big difference, even on the time of diagnosis. It just takes that small step about caring, listening and educating your patient to help them live a better life, step by step.” — Dental Hygiene student
“It was great to see medicine from the patient’s point of view. It reinforced the importance of treating patients like people not pathologies.” — Physical Therapy student
“[I learned] some things about specific cultural practices of ethnocultural groups in Vancouver, as well as barriers to providing adequate health care services to these ethnocultural groups.” — School of Audiology & Speech Sciences faculty
A Special “Thank You” to Our 2011 Community Donors:
- Scleroderma Association of BC
- Developmental Disabilities Association
- Salmon’s Rentals Ltd.
- Ethical Bean Coffee
2010 Community & Patient Fair
On Thursday 28 October 2010, UBC hosted Allies in Health Care: 2nd Annual Community and Patient Fair for Health Professional Education as part of the Celebrate Learning Week.
This year the Fair was bigger than ever—doubling in size from the first time we ran it in 2009! There were more community organizations, more patient panels, more prizes, and more visitors. The 2010 Fair included informative booths from 33 community organizations, 5 engaging Patient Panels, and a chance to speak with individuals living with chronic health concerns.
Students and faculty from many of the health disciplines at UBC came out to learn about the range of community health care resources, communicating with patients, and to pick up some tips on healthy living. The open house format made the Fair open to everyone, not just health disciplines students, bringing the total attendance to over 400!
Our 5 themed Patient Panels were a big hit with students. At the panels, patients answered questions and spoke candidly about their “Experiences of Chronic Health Concerns,” their “Experiences of the Health Care System,” and “Barriers to Communication.” Over 100 students attended the panels, many choosing to go to more than one.
The panels were a fantastic opportunity for students to learn from and interact with their future patients in an informal setting, and students from Dental Hygiene and Social Work attended the panels as part of their course.
“Students learned how a single diagnosis can generate a complex nexus of secondary problems that are invisible to those around the person affected…”
—Social Work Faculty
We had wonderful donors, and UBC student and staff volunteers who helped make the day a great success. Ethical Bean Coffee provided delicious coffee for over 400 students. The UBC Bookstore, White Spot/UBC Food Services, Save-on-Foods, Choices Markets, PeerNetBC, Mahoney’s, the Scleroderma Association of BC, and the Developmental Disabilities Association provided prizes and gift cards for our draw.
The Fair brought out the creative bug in our community exhibitors. Many had games, toys, prizes, experiential or interactive exhibits that everyone really enjoyed. It was a great day of learning, sharing, and networking!
This Fair was brought to you by the Division of Health Care Communications in the College of Health Disciplines, the Social Accountability and Community Engagement Initiative in the Department of Family Practice, the Allies in Health Care Planning Committee and our community partner organizations. The Patient and Community Voices project is funded by the UBC Teaching and Learning Enhancement Fund.
2009 Community & Patient Fair
The first annual Community and Patient Fair, entitled Health Care Involves Everybody: A Fair to Bridge Patient, Community and Campus Expertise, was held on 29 October 2009 at the UBC Life Sciences Centre as part of the UBC’s Celebrate Learning Week.
The Fair was a huge success! Students from many different faculties and disciplines attended and expressed positive outcomes and learning experiences from their interactions with community members.
We had 20 community health organizations attend the Fair, bringing approximately 50 patients and representatives with them. Over 200 students from a wide range of departments, not only health disciplines, came out to learn from the community. Approximately 40 health services faculty members also attended and intermingled with community members and students.
We had wonderful donors, student and UBC staff volunteers that made the day a success. Ethical Bean Coffee and Save-on-Foods provided delicious coffee and snacks for over 200 students. Staples and the UBC Bookstore provided prizes and gift cards.
The Fair was brought to you by the community and University of British Columbia partners through support from the Patient and Community Voices project, Community Liaison for Intergrated Service and Study and the UBC Teaching and Learning Enhancement Fund.