The University of Ottawa Faculty of Medicine (FOM) is committed to fostering a professional and respectful environment for all its members, including students, residents, faculty, and staff. The FOM uses an online portal for reporting incidents which may include harassment, discrimination or a professionalism crossing or violation of boundaries involving faculty members or learners. This project aims to have an impact on all students providing tools to demystify the professionalism process, providing clear guidelines on reporting incidents, what happens once a report is submitted, and how it aligns with the Faculty's professionalism policy.

Project Objectives:

1. Clarify the Professionalism Process: Provide a comprehensive understanding of the professionalism process within the Faculty of Medicine.
2. Reporting Mechanism: Explain the steps to report an incident of unprofessional behaviour.
3. Review and Action: Detail the review process and subsequent actions once a report is submitted.
4. Policy Integration: Illustrate how the process aligns with the Faculty's professionalism policy.
5. Target Audience: Ensure the process is clearly explained to all learners and faculty.

Methodology:

1. Research and Analysis: Conduct a thorough review to understand the current professionalism policy and reporting mechanisms. Information would need to include the different pathways of communication in addressing these situations, building on the current updated professionalism policy, based on the Vanderbilt model as well as the originally developed “Be in The Know” campaign. Links with University of Ottawa policies as well as policies and guidelines from key organizations such as CMPA, CPSO, CMA and pharmacy would need to be reviewed and integrated into a model to assist the user in understanding the current procedures for addressing these situations.
2. Interviews and Surveys: Gather insights from students and other stakeholders, to understand their perspectives and experiences.
3. Process Mapping: Create detailed flowcharts and diagrams to represent the reporting and review process visually.
4. Educational Materials: Develop clear and concise educational materials, including guides, FAQs, and video tutorials.

This project aims to create a transparent and effective professionalism process within the Faculty of Medicine and thus foster a professional and respectful environment for all members of the Faculty with this multifaceted innovative approach for presenting the information. This will provide the student with the opportunity to learn about medical professionalism, triangulate investigation data into a proposed action plan with the support of medical educators, and present their findings at a medical education conference, with the potential for publication and dissemination of their work. The student will have an opportunity to learn about medical professionalism, triangulate investigation data into a proposed action plan with the support of medical educators. The student will have an opportunity to present at a medical education conference and possibly publication for dissemination of the information.

Resources required:

The project information would need to be translated to French to serve the bilingual FoM University of Ottawa programs.

Background

The University of Ottawa Faculty of Medicine is recognized as a national and international leader in integrating planetary health into medical education. This success stems from the deliberate use of evidence-based approaches, including a scoping review that informed the longitudinal integration of planetary health into the undergraduate medical curriculum1.

The resulting curriculum plan has been shared with all faculties of medicine across Canada and with major international organizations, including the Planetary Health Alliance, demonstrating the global relevance and impact of our work. Building on this achievement, we now propose conducting a scoping review to guide the integration of planetary health into the Global Health and Social Accountability (GHSA) Concentration. This approach will ensure alignment with best practices, address gaps, and further strengthen our leadership in this critical area of education.

Project Objectives

1. Conduct a scoping review to examine existing concentrations, certificates, and frameworks in planetary health globally.
2. Leverage findings to integrate planetary health into the GHSA Concentration, ensuring alignment with best practices and innovation.
3. Develop an actionable framework to enhance planetary health education within the concentration.
4. Disseminate findings and curriculum enhancements at national and international conferences and through peer-reviewed publications.

Project Design and Methodology

This project centers on a research initiative led by a medical student, supported by faculty mentorship. It will include:

Scoping Review Development:

• Develop a protocol reflecting the rigor and methodology of the previous scoping review.
• Define research questions focused on identifying planetary health concentrations and certificates.
• Establish inclusion criteria to capture a comprehensive range of programs.

Data Collection and Analysis

• Systematically review institutional programs, peer-reviewed literature, and gray literature.
• Identify key components, pedagogical strategies, and evaluation metrics from existing planetary health education models. 

Integration Planning

• Align findings with existing GHSA activities, such as humanitarian simulation exercises, journal clubs, and workshops.
• Propose tailored updates to include planetary health themes and competencies.

Knowledge Dissemination:

• Present findings and updates at national and international conferences, including those organized by the Planetary Health Alliance and similar organizations.
• Publish results in peer-reviewed journals and share with other faculties of medicine in Canada and globally.

Alignment with Grant Criteria

• Relevance to UGME: Planetary health intersects with global health and social accountability, addressing a critical area for future physicians.
• Relevance to Curriculum: The project enhances the GHSA Concentration by building on existing activities, ensuring alignment with global best practices.
• Important Area Requiring Improvement: While the GHSA Concentration is robust, it currently lacks explicit planetary health content. This project fills that gap using an evidence-based approach.
• Impact on Students: Students will benefit from enriched learning opportunities, gaining critical competencies to address health impacts of environmental change.
• Generalizability: The findings will inform similar initiatives globally, creating a model that can be replicated across institutions.
• Innovation: Building on the success of the previous scoping review, this project applies the same evidence-based methodology to create innovative educational frameworks.

Outcomes and Benefits

1. Develop a scalable framework for integrating planetary health into concentrations.
2. Equip medical students with skills to address the health impacts of climate change.
3. Enhance the reputation of the GHSA Concentration as a leader in global and planetary health education.
4. Disseminate findings widely through national and international platforms, furthering global collaboration in planetary health education.

Conclusion

This project demonstrates the Faculty’s commitment to continuous improvement and evidence-based education. By replicating the scoping review process that informed our earlier success—and sharing the findings with national and international stakeholders—it ensures planetary health is seamlessly integrated into the GHSA Concentration. This work will further solidify the Faculty’s leadership in medical education innovation while fostering global collaboration in planetary health.

References

1. Selvam R, Séguin N, Zhang L, Lacaille-Ranger A, Sikora L, Raiche I, McIsaac DI, Moloo H. International Planetary Health Education in Undergraduate and Graduate Medical Curricula: A Scoping Review. J Grad Med Educ. 2024 Dec;16(6 Suppl):58-68. doi: 10.4300/JGME-D-24-00027.1. Epub 2024 Dec 13. PMID: 39677906; PMCID: PMC11644581. ** Overall Best Research Award at International Conference on Residency Education (ICRE) for Scoping Review on defining best practice in Planetary Health in Undergraduate and Postgraduate Medical Education in 2023

Proposal

The project would be to create e-learning resources in Brightspace that would be used to update the medical school curriculum and ensure the following objectives are met.

• Describe the roles the pathologist plays to communicate among the laboratory, patients, and members of the health care team.
• Distinguish cytology specimens from core needle biopsies and from excisions, describe the circumstances in which each is appropriate, and discuss the different types of information obtained from each type.
• Describe how a pathologist uses fresh, fixed, and frozen tissue for histochemical and immunohistochemical stains and genetic testing to arrive at a diagnosis, provide prognostic information, and direct specific therapy.
• Describe the information that the pathologist obtains from a resected tissue specimen, how this information is reported, how it is combined with clinical information to stage the tumor, and how staging information is used to guide treatment.
• Explain the use of frozen sections and how the pathologist works with the patient care team to optimize and prioritize diagnosis and patient management.
• Describe the components of a surgical pathology report, emphasizing how reports are structured to ensure clear communication of diagnostic information to the ordering physician. The resource would include images, either photographs or drawings made on a computer, as well as narrative content. If time and capabilities of Brightspace allow, videos with scanned digital images would also be created. A resident interested in education would be recruited to help. 

Background:

The World Health Organization defines the social determinants of health (SDH) as "the non-medical factors that influence health outcomes" [1]. Understanding SDH is vital for addressing health inequities, and the teaching of SDH is a critical component of our medical schools’ social accountability mandates to meet the priority health needs of our communities [2-6].

Pregnancy is both a transient and vulnerable period in the life of both the mother and her baby. Literature indicates that mothers living in poverty are more likely to encounter stressful challenges, such as food and housing insecurity, and engage in unhealthy behaviours, such as smoking, and are at higher risk of experiencing pregnancy complications, such as preterm birth, with fewer resources and supports. Babies born in lower economic positions are at higher risk of delayed cognitive development and school performance. Adolescent pregnancies are associated with higher rates of sexually transmitted infections, violence and substance abuse. Indigenous women are at higher risk of adverse outcomes, such as gestational diabetes and postpartum depression. Research has described patterns of health inequities for multiple maternal and pediatric health outcomes [7].

The impacts of SDH are especially relevant when viewing the health of women and their children through a life course lens, which describes the temporal aspect of social inequity, the social gradient in health, as being established prior to birth and that the effects of inequity accrue over time.

Knowledge gap:

Having an overview of current SDH teaching is a necessary first step to augment and improve the teaching of SDH in undergraduate medical education (UGME) curricular content and educational experiences. Existing reviews have synthesized evidence on SDH teaching in undergraduate and postgraduate medical education, drawing on examples of implementation and evaluation across various educational settings [8-10].

However, no study has conducted a comprehensive nationwide analysis of the teaching of SDH within curricula related to obstetrics and gynecology (O&G), women’s health, and sexual and reproductive health in UGME in Canada, despite its critical role in addressing reproductive health inequities.

Proposed study:

We propose to fill this gap by conducting primary research to evaluate the state of SDH teaching in O&G education across Canadian medical schools. By analyzing curriculum documents, we hope to identify national trends, gaps, and opportunities to improve SDH education and advance socially accountability in UGME teaching and training. Our study is one step towards improving UGME curricular content and educational experiences so that graduating physicians will have a better understanding of the importance of SDH on the health of their patients and communities, and consequently, will be able to work collaboratively to provide more responsive and patient-centred care.

Overall Design:

This study will use a qualitative content analysis to systematically assess how SDH are integrated into medical school curricula across Canada. Focusing on the teaching of O&G, women’s health, and sexual and reproductive health, the research will analyze curricula documents from all 17 Canadian medical schools to provide a comprehensive overview of the current state of SDH education.

Data Collection:

Curricular documents will be requested from administrative staff at all 17 Canadian medical schools. A standardized protocol will ensure uniformity in the scope of collected materials. Where gaps exist, follow-up clarification will be requested to ensure completeness.

Sample:

The sample will include curricula documents such as:

• Learning objectives and syllabi for Pre-Clerkship course content relating to Obstetrics and Gynecology, Women’s Health, and Reproductive and Sexual Medicine
• Core objectives for Clerkship OB/GYN rotations.
• Organized Pre-Clerkship and Clerkship elective experiences in Obstetrics and Gynecology, Women’s Health, and Reproductive and Sexual Medicine

Data Analysis:

A qualitative content analysis will be conducted to assess:

• The presence or absence and extent (measured in learning hours) of SDH-related content.
• Themes such as health inequities, cultural competence, and systemic barriers.
• Educational methods, including didactic teaching, case-based learning, and experiential activities.

Documents will be coded for recurring themes and categorized to highlight patterns and gaps by both the Principal Investigator and student Co-Investigator. Differences of opinion will be navigated through discussion and participation of a third investigator, who has significant medical education research experience.

Timeline and Plan for Dissemination of Results:

The study will take place over three months in the summer of 2025. Document collection will occur in June, followed by qualitative analysis in July. Results will be synthesized and will be presented to the UGME Curriculum Committee, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, and the results will be shared with the networks of the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada. 

An abstract and poster will also be prepared in August 2025 to be submitted to medical education conferences, including the International Congress on Academic Medicine (ICAM), the International Association for Health Professions Education (AMEE) Conference, and the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada (SOGC) Annual Clinical and Scientific Conference (ACSC).

A manuscript is planned for submission to a peer-reviewed medical education journal by the end of 2025.

References

1. World Health Organization. Social determinants of health [Internet]. Geneva: World Health Organization; [cited 2024 Dec 17]. Available from: https://www.who.int/health-topics/social-determinants-of-health
2. Boelen C, Woollard R. Social accountability and accreditation: A new frontier for educational institutions. Med Educ. 2009;43(9):887-94. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2923.2009.03413.x
3. Marmot M, Friel S, Bell R, Houweling TA, Taylor S, Commission on Social Determinants of Health. Closing the gap in a generation: health equity through action on the social determinants of health. Lancet. 2008;372(9650):1661-9.
4. Frenk J, Chen L, Bhutta ZA, Cohen J, Crisp N, Evans T, et al. Health professionals for a new century: transforming education to strengthen health systems in an interdependent world. Lancet. 2010;376(9756):1923-58. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(10)61854-5
5. Sherbino J, Bonnycastle D, Côté B, Flynn L, Hunter A, Ince- Cushman D, Konkin J, Oandasan I, Regehr G, Richardson D, Zigby J. Health Advocate. In: Frank JR, Snell L, Sherbino J, editors. CanMEDS 2015 Physician Competency Framework. Ottawa: Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada; 2015. Available from: file:///Users/ellamiklaucic/Downloads/canmeds-full-framework-e%20(1).pdf
6. Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada. Vision for Canadian Medical Schools. Ottawa: AFMC; [date unknown]. Available from: https://www.afmc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/sa_vision_canadian_medical_schools_en.pdf
7. Daoud N, O’Campo P, Minh A, et al. Patterns of social inequalities across pregnancy and birth outcomes: a comparison of individual and neighborhood socioeconomic measures. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2014; 14, 393. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12884-014-0393-z
8. Evans J, Mazmanian PE, Cohen J, et al. Teaching the social determinants of health in undergraduate medical education: a scoping review. J Gen Intern Med. 2020;35(2):482-9. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-019-05453-w
9. Nguyen P, Smith C, Thompson K, et al. Integrating the social determinants of health into graduate medical education training: a scoping review. BMC Med Educ. 2024;24: [forthcoming]. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-024-04867-0
10. Jones T, Greenberg S, Jones R, et al. A scoping review of social determinants of health curricula in post-graduate medical education. PubMed Central; 2019. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC

Overview:

The Summer Studentship offers a unique opportunity for students to contribute to the ongoing efforts of enhancing the curriculum within the Undergraduate Medical Education (UGME) program. This position focuses on reviewing and analyzing teaching and learning activities to ensure they are tagged and are aligned with key educational objectives and accreditation standards. The primary responsibility will involve tagging these activities with relevant key terms and mapping them against accreditation criteria. The student will report directly to the Assistant Dean of Curriculum.

Responsibilities:

Review Teaching and Learning Activities:

• Analyze a broad range of pre-clerkship teaching and learning materials, including lectures, PSD, small group tutorials, case-based learning (CBL), and practical sessions.
• Assess the content, format, and educational strategies used in each activity.

Tagging with Key Terms:

• Identify and apply relevant key terms that describe the content and objectives of each individual activity (established tag sets to be validated by Assistant Deans).
• Ensure that terms are accurately and consistently applied across various activities, enhancing the clarity and accessibility of the curriculum.

Mapping to Accreditation Standards:

• Cross-reference each activity with the appropriate accreditation standards,
• Tag each individual activity with relevant accreditation terms and tags.

Collaboration and Reporting:

• Collaborate closely with the Senior Manager, Accreditation and Program Evaluation, and the supervisor of the curriculum team and AEC office
• Document findings clearly, providing actionable insights to the curriculum development team.
• Regularly report progress and findings to the Assistant Dean of Curriculum.
• Provide framework used for project completion and overall rationale for tag sets applied.

Skills and Qualifications:

• Analytical skills to assess T&L activities.
• Attention to detail and ability to work independently.
• Follow-through to ensure project completion
• Excellent communication skills for documentation and collaboration.

Benefits:

• Gain hands-on experience in medical curriculum review and development.
• Contribute to the continuous improvement of the UGME program.
• Exposure to accreditation processes and the application of standards in medical education.
• Opportunity to collaborate with faculty members and leaders in the field of medical education. 

Aim: 

The objective of this summer studentship project is to perform a comprehensive curriculum needs assessment on restraint use in Canadian medical undergraduate programs.  This project will examine current curriculum content, educational gaps and teaching methods related to restraint use, with the goal of developing evidence-based recommendations for publication to enhance the teaching of this important topic.

Background:

Restraint use is a complex and ethically sensitive topic in clinical practice.  It involves limiting patient’s behaviors or freedoms to ensure their safety and the safety of those around them, particularly when patients are agitated or confused. These intentional limitations including physical restraint, chemical restraint (such as sedatives) and environmental manipulations are referred to as “restraint” and often occur in the context of rapidly evolving, high-pressure and understaffed situations with immediate risks of harm.  The use of restraints, particularly the more restrictive forms such as limb-holding restraints, come with significant legal, ethical and practical implications and so effective education on the use of restraints in healthcare is essential to promote patient safety, uphold legal and ethical standards and guide responsible clinical decision making.  Anecdotal evidence suggests limited and inconsistent teaching within Canadian medical school curricula on this important topic with a lack of national coordination and standardization.  This educational gap may be contributing to high prevalence of restraint use within the Canadian healthcare system.  A consistent, evidence-based approach to teaching this subject is crucial to prepare future physicians for patient-centred decision making that prioritizes patient dignity, safety, and autonomy.  

Student Role and Responsibilities: 

The student will undertake the following tasks during the summer studentship with supervision:

Literature Review:

• Conduct a scoping review of existing literature on restraint education in medical training.

Curriculum Analysis:

• Collect and review publicly available curriculum documents from Canadian medical schools
• Identify existing content related to restraint use and compare findings to a parallel study on postgraduate curricula

Stakeholder Consultation:

• Develop and distribute a survey to undergraduate medical educators on current educational practices and perceptions. A similar survey is being designed for postgraduate medical educators

Data Synthesis and Gap Analysis:

• Synthesize findings from the literature review, curriculum analysis, and stakeholder feedback.
• Identify best practice, gaps and inconsistencies in the current restraint education

Final Report and Recommendations:

• Develop a comprehensive report summarizing findings and highlighting areas for curricular improvement
• Provide evidence-based recommendations for enhancing restraint education in Canadian medical programs.
• Prepare the report for publication and broader dissemination

Expected Impact:

This project will contribute to the improvement of medical education  by identifying key areas where restraint use education can be enhanced. The findings will be integrated with a parallel study on postgraduate medical education forming the foundation for a standardized and ethically grounded approach to restraint education.  Dissemination through journal publications and conference presentations will support long-term improvements in patient care and safety across the healthcare system. 

Background:

Social media platforms such as X and Instagram are ever present and social media have become an everyday mode of not only communication, but also of networking and education. With the advent of emerging social media platforms, medical students must learn to navigate these new environments. Students can be utilize social media for learning as well as advocacy purposes, but their engagement should fulfil the requirements for appropriate online discourse that meets the needs of an academic as well as health care environments [1-3]. A recent systematic review reported that, while social media usage by healthcare providers and students had increased, a significant proportion of engagement demonstrated unprofessional behaviours [4].

The recent systematic review also identified a lack of existing guidelines for digital professionalism [4]. The Canadian Federation of Medical Students (CFMS) published recommendations for social media usage in 2013 [5]. Since that time, new social media platforms have been developed and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies have rapidly emerged. Discussions are being held at multiple levels of medical education regarding how to address the use of AI, and other technologies, which intersects with social media usage.

Although current University of Ottawa (UOttawa) Undergraduate Medical Education curriculum includes some teaching on the subject, there are gaps that can be addressed with enhanced and dedicated instruction. Moreover, UOttawa medical students have indicated that clear guidelines or suggestions on social media expectations for themselves, residents, and physicians would be a helpful resource to help them acquire the skills to navigate social media, as they become health professionals.

The aim of this summer studentship project is to develop suggestions for the responsible usage of social media. This will aid UOttawa medical education leadership to develop guidelines for responsible social media engagement by students and faculty and will bolster the wider plan around AI technologies.

Project Objectives and methodology:

1. Conduct a brief literature review of use of social media in medicine including grey literature.
2. Review policies of health organizations on social media, such as CFMS Policy statement, CMPA, CPSO and CMA etc.
3. Review current UGME curriculum around social media
4. Conduct a short survey with medical students and focus groups to understand the current challenges and garner ideas for resources need.
5. Develop a module to supplement current information provided to learners on the topic, to deepen understanding and provide additional resources.

The student will have an opportunity to work with the support of UGME medical educators who are involved. The student will have an opportunity to present at a medical education conference and possibly publication for dissemination of the information.

Resources required:

The project information would need to be translated to French to serve the bilingual FoM University of Ottawa programs.

References:

1. Canadian Medical Protective Association. (2021). Privacy and confidentiality. https://www.cmpa-acpm.ca/en/education-events/good-practices/professionalism-ethics-and-wellness/privacy-and-confidentiality
2. Chen, J., & Wang, Y. (2021). Social media use for health purposes: Systematic review. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 23(5), e17917. https://doi.org/10.2196/17917
3. O’Sullivan, A. J., & Toohey, S. M. (2008). Assessment of professionalism in undergraduate medical students. Medical Teacher, 30(3), 280-286. https://doi.org/10.1080/01421590701758640
4. Guraya, S. S., Guraya, S. Y., & Yusoff, M. S. B. (2021). Preserving professional identities, behaviors, and values in digital professionalism using social networking sites; a systematic review. BMC Medical Education, 21(1), 381. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-021-02802-9
5. Canadian Federation of Medical Students (CFMS). (203). CFMS guide to professionalism: Recommendations for social media.