Expanding Rural Voices in Health Education Across BC

Over the past two years, in her role as Community Engagement Coordinator, Mandy Young has successfully increased the diversity of voices within UBC Health’s Patient and Community Partnership for Education (PCPE) network to include Patient Partners from across the province. These efforts have helped ensure that students from all 15 health disciplines and five campus sites benefit from a broader range of lived experiences, including people living in rural and remote communities.

This work reflects a broader, systems-level shift in how health professional education is designed and delivered, and is reshaping how students understand rural healthcare. We hear that many students learn about the difficulties of working in rural settings during their training. Hearing directly from Patient Partners offers a more strengths-based approach —one that highlights the innovation, strong community connections, and deeply rewarding nature of providing care in these communities.  Mandy listened to what students where saying and supported the development of a new workshop on Rural Health for the Patient and Community Voices workshop series which ran for the first time in March (see next story).

Recruiting in rural contexts is not without its challenges. Building trust, fostering relationships, and creating meaningful opportunities for engagement takes time. However, Mandy’s strong community connections, combined with her own lived experience, has helped her to build authentic and trusting relationships. This has been instrumental in connecting with individuals who may not traditionally see themselves reflected in academic or health education spaces.

These efforts are already having a tangible impact. This year, the Interprofessional Health Mentors Program has expanded to include in-person cohorts in Victoria, Kelowna, and Prince George—a significant step forward in bringing place-based learning experiences to students and mentors alike. In addition, Mandy will be hosting in-person symposia at these distributed sites over the coming weeks, further strengthening local connections and celebrating the contributions of Patient Partners in each region.

Together, these efforts reflect a broader shift toward ensuring that health professional education includes the full range of experiences of healthcare in BC, including the strengths and opportunities found in rural communities.