Queen’s Health Sciences Announces 2022 EDIIA Studentships

News & Announcements | 13 May 2022

The 2022 EDIIA Studentship Projects aim to transform Queen’s Health Sciences (QHS) into a more diverse and inclusive community – with a slate of initiatives that reexamine and reimagine the way we learn, teach, research, collaborate, recruit and mentor.

The 2022 Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, Indigeneity, and Accessibility (EDIIA) Studentships support students from across QHS in undertaking projects that support and/or complement the work of the Dean’s Action Table on Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, Indigeneity and Accessibility (DAT-EDIIA).

This year’s studentships are generously supported by Dr. Elizabeth Eisenhauer, former Head of the Department of Oncology in the School of Medicine, Queen’s alumni (Meds ‘76), and current Innovation Lead at Kingston Health Sciences Centre, as well as funds from the Departments of Surgery and Anesthesiology & Perioperative Medicine, and the Bachelor of Health Sciences program.

QHS is pleased to announce the 2022 EDIIA Studentship Projects:

2SLGBTQ+ representation in Queen's MD pre-clerkship Curriculum

(Queer Med Committee)

To prepare medical learners to competently care for diverse populations, appropriate representation of 2SLGBTQ+ experiences must be integrated into their education. This team’s goal is to provide recommendations based on evidence and lived experiences of 2SLGBTQ+ students that will meaningfully improve the curriculum. This project is led by the QueerMed committee – a student group composed of eight 2SLGBTQ+ individuals and allies.

An Examination of Equity-related Experiences of Surgical Residents and Fellows at Academic Centres across Ontario

(Ishita Aggarwal and Laryssa Kemp)

This groundbreaking study will be the first to explore the equity-related experiences of surgical trainees across Ontario, evaluate program-offered supports for equity-deserving groups, and identify gaps and opportunities for further improvements.

QHS Teaching Assistant EDIIA Module

(Niroshini Mather)

This project strives to create an EDIIA Teaching Assistant (TA) training program specific to the Health Sciences program. Unlike in other programs, Health Sciences TAs play an increasingly front-facing role, as the primary point of contact in online courses and by facilitating interactive in-class activities. EDIIA training can help foster an inclusive learning environment for marginalized students, while simultaneously ensuring TAs feel comfortable and capable of recognizing and addressing equity-related concerns and questions.

Enhancing Indigenous Recruitment and Enrollment to the Bachelor of Health Sciences Program

(Kyran Sachdeva with mentorship by Cortney Clark)

This project seeks to understand why Indigenous students are underrepresented at QHS, and will provide actionable suggestions for increasing Indigenous enrolment, creating equitable opportunities to study health sciences.

Intersectionality and Training Experiences of Canadian Anesthesiology Residents

(Jessica Nguyen and Sean Leung)

This project aims to determine the demographic distribution of learners in Canadian anesthesiology residency programs. The group will investigate the association between training experience, wellness, gender, and visible minority status, and provide a qualitative summary of how learners believe residency programs can improve the overall wellness and mental health of their learners. Their goal is to identify areas of change that can best support learner wellness, improve patient care, and ensure that our future generations of anesthesiologists accurately represent the Canadian population.

DAT-EDIIA Professional Development Systemic Review

(Ciara Morrison)

What are the key factors influencing the efficacy, relevance, and impact of EDIIA-focused professional development? What influences behaviour change? This project will investigate how EDIIA-focused professional development can be implemented more effectively at QHS.

Queen's Medicine's Aesculapian Society Accessibility Policy

(Queen’s Medicine Disability & Accessibility Subcommittee)

Led by a subcommittee composed of medical students with disabilities and allies, this ongoing project works to implement, review, and revise the School of Medicine’s new Aesculapian Society Accessibility Policy – including related work running events, training, and collaborating with student groups to increase accessibility.

Racial Considerations in Epidemiological and Public Health Research (RaCE) Task Force Module

(RaCE Task Force, Department of Public Health Sciences)

This project will build upon a 2020-21 literature review of race-based research to inform considerations in the use and interpretation of race as a variable in health sciences – and guide future QHS course and curriculum development. The team consists of five Public Health Sciences students from the Master of Public Health and Master of Science in Epidemiology programs. They will develop a comprehensive manuscript to help guide QHS on this crucial issue.

DAT-EDIIA Culture and Community Champion Program

(Israa Abou El Nour and Nancy Fynn-Sackey)

This project team has been heavily involved in the development of a QHS Champion program. The goal of this program is to identify individuals (students, staff, or faculty) who are passionate about EDIIA and dedicated to transforming their environments into more equitable, inclusive, and safe spaces. This project aims to engage students, staff, and faculty to identify appropriate supports and compensation for participation in the Champion program. 

DAT-EDI Admissions Working Group: Implementing EDIIA-Focused Admissions Interventions Across QHS

(Jiale Xie, Nicole Hajjar, and Nicole Shipton)

The DAT-EDIIA admissions working group is composed of a diverse group of students, staff, and faculty from across QHS programs and was established to make admissions processes at QHS more equitable and inclusive. This project aims to translate the group’s work into recommendations and actions on EDIIA-focused admissions interventions for each QHS program.

Queen's Nursing CHARM Group Conference Stipend

(Queen's Nursing CHARM Group)

To prepare nursing students to respond to racial microaggressions they may encounter in clinical or classroom setting, the Cultural Humility Addressing Racism and Microaggressions (CHARM) project is developing and testing an online educational module in collaboration with BIPOC nursing students and faculty. The modules aim to support BIPOC nursing students to understand their options and respond to racial microaggressions they may encounter, support non-BIPOC students and faculty to examine their biases and privilege, and support non-BIPOC students and faculty to address microaggressions witnessed in classroom and clinical settings.

Impatient Toward Progress: Data-Driven Recommendations and Research for Recruitment, Retention, Mentorship Practices at QHS

(Students from the DAT-EDIIA Recruitment, Retention and Mentorship Working Group)

Recruitment, retention, and mentorship are fundamental components that shape experiences for learners, staff, and faculty in workplaces and academic environments. This group will produce a set of recommendations for the DAT-EDIIA.

QHSOSP Mentorship Initiative

(Students from the DAT-EDI Outreach and Summer Program)

An extension of the QHS Outreach and Summer program (QHSOSP) pilot, this team aims to enhance health sciences knowledge by building upon the initiative, which pairs equity-deserving high school students grades 9 to 11 with undergraduate learners. Through a newly devised one-week summer program, QHSOP will utilize studentship funding to aid students in fostering meaningful mentor-mentee relationships while promoting further exploration of the field of health sciences.

Community Consultation on QHS Inclusive Curriculum Model

(Benjamin Carroll and Pauline Gaprielian)

This studentship team consists of graduate students from the Schools of Medicine and Nursing. Their project will further develop an inclusive curriculum model prototype informed by EDIIA principles and competencies. The group aims to conduct community engagement with Indigenous community members regarding the inclusion of Indigenous frameworks and imagery, including the Pedagogy of Peace and the Tree of Peace and Medicine Wheel.

Queen’s Health Sciences Announces 2022 EDIIA Studentships

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