Brain Project Kicks Off Next Phase

On June 25, participants in the Building Resources and Accessibility in Neurology (BRAIN) for Practical Learning project came together at UBC for an in-person kickoff event, marking an exciting next phase in this collaborative educational initiative. The multi-component project is funded through an OER Affordability Grant and UBC Teaching and Learning Enhancement Fund. It aims to re-design a 6-week neurology module by integrating patient voices into both online and in-class pharmacy education.

The BRAIN Project involves the design, implementation, and evaluation of a new framework for learning, where patient educators are scaffolded to ensure patient voices are heard and seen throughout the module and across 8 neurology topics (insomnia, epilepsy, chronic pain, headaches and migraines, ischemic stroke and intracerebral hemorrhage, Parkinson Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, and dementia).

The project has four parts:

1. Spotlight: Online modules that highlight key aspects of pathophysiology, pharmacology, and therapeutics of each topic to prime students for in-depth, complex learning during didactic teaching periods. Students are introduced to a patient educator at this time, who describes their diagnosis journey. Two examples:

• Parkinson Disease: https://media.pharmacy.ubc.ca/articulate/brain-pd/#/
• Multiple Sclerosis: https://media.pharmacy.ubc.ca/articulate/brain-ms/#/