Operation Remote Immunity: exploring the impact of a service-learning elective in remote Indigenous communities
Abstract Background The novel coronavirus, COVID-19, emerged in December 2019. Shortly after, vaccines against the virus were distributed in Canada for public use, but the remoteness of many northern Indigenous communities in Ontario posed a challenge for vaccine distribution and dissemination. The...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:ae83127902d6482289c5b43cd83c626a 2023-07-23T04:20:18+02:00 Operation Remote Immunity: exploring the impact of a service-learning elective in remote Indigenous communities Hannah Mikhail Brenton Button Joseph LeBlanc Catherine Cervin Erin Cameron 2023-06-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-023-04434-7 https://doaj.org/article/ae83127902d6482289c5b43cd83c626a EN eng BMC https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-023-04434-7 https://doaj.org/toc/1472-6920 doi:10.1186/s12909-023-04434-7 1472-6920 https://doaj.org/article/ae83127902d6482289c5b43cd83c626a BMC Medical Education, Vol 23, Iss 1, Pp 1-9 (2023) Medical education Service-learning Medical learners Indigenous health COVID vaccine Special aspects of education LC8-6691 Medicine R article 2023 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-023-04434-7 2023-07-02T00:40:58Z Abstract Background The novel coronavirus, COVID-19, emerged in December 2019. Shortly after, vaccines against the virus were distributed in Canada for public use, but the remoteness of many northern Indigenous communities in Ontario posed a challenge for vaccine distribution and dissemination. The Ministry of Health partnered with the Northern Ontario School of Medicine University (NOSMU) and the air ambulance service, Ornge, to assist in delivering the vaccination doses to 31 fly-in communities in the Nishnawbe Aski Nation and Moosonee, all within Ontario. These deployments were considered “service-learning electives” for Undergraduate and Postgraduate medical learners from NOSMU who joined the operation in two-week deployments. NOSMU is renowned for its social accountability mandate and gives its medical learners opportunities to participate in service-learning to enhance their medical skills and cultural sensitivity. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between social accountability and medical learners’ experiences during a service-learning elective in northern Indigenous communities in Ontario during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods Data were collected through a planned post-placement activity completed by eighteen Undergraduate and Postgraduate medical learners, who participated in the vaccine deployment. The activity consisted of a 500-word reflective response passage. Thematic analysis was used to identify, analyze, and report the themes within the collected data. Results Two themes were identified by the authors, which formed a concise overview of the collected data: (1) confronting the realities of working in Indigenous communities; and (2) service-learning as a path to social accountability. Conclusions These vaccine deployments were an opportunity for medical learners to engage in service-learning and engage with Indigenous communities in Northern Ontario. Service-learning is an exceptional method which provides an opportunity to expand knowledge on the social determinants of ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Moosonee Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Canada BMC Medical Education 23 1 |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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ftdoajarticles |
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English |
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Medical education Service-learning Medical learners Indigenous health COVID vaccine Special aspects of education LC8-6691 Medicine R |
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Medical education Service-learning Medical learners Indigenous health COVID vaccine Special aspects of education LC8-6691 Medicine R Hannah Mikhail Brenton Button Joseph LeBlanc Catherine Cervin Erin Cameron Operation Remote Immunity: exploring the impact of a service-learning elective in remote Indigenous communities |
topic_facet |
Medical education Service-learning Medical learners Indigenous health COVID vaccine Special aspects of education LC8-6691 Medicine R |
description |
Abstract Background The novel coronavirus, COVID-19, emerged in December 2019. Shortly after, vaccines against the virus were distributed in Canada for public use, but the remoteness of many northern Indigenous communities in Ontario posed a challenge for vaccine distribution and dissemination. The Ministry of Health partnered with the Northern Ontario School of Medicine University (NOSMU) and the air ambulance service, Ornge, to assist in delivering the vaccination doses to 31 fly-in communities in the Nishnawbe Aski Nation and Moosonee, all within Ontario. These deployments were considered “service-learning electives” for Undergraduate and Postgraduate medical learners from NOSMU who joined the operation in two-week deployments. NOSMU is renowned for its social accountability mandate and gives its medical learners opportunities to participate in service-learning to enhance their medical skills and cultural sensitivity. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between social accountability and medical learners’ experiences during a service-learning elective in northern Indigenous communities in Ontario during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods Data were collected through a planned post-placement activity completed by eighteen Undergraduate and Postgraduate medical learners, who participated in the vaccine deployment. The activity consisted of a 500-word reflective response passage. Thematic analysis was used to identify, analyze, and report the themes within the collected data. Results Two themes were identified by the authors, which formed a concise overview of the collected data: (1) confronting the realities of working in Indigenous communities; and (2) service-learning as a path to social accountability. Conclusions These vaccine deployments were an opportunity for medical learners to engage in service-learning and engage with Indigenous communities in Northern Ontario. Service-learning is an exceptional method which provides an opportunity to expand knowledge on the social determinants of ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Hannah Mikhail Brenton Button Joseph LeBlanc Catherine Cervin Erin Cameron |
author_facet |
Hannah Mikhail Brenton Button Joseph LeBlanc Catherine Cervin Erin Cameron |
author_sort |
Hannah Mikhail |
title |
Operation Remote Immunity: exploring the impact of a service-learning elective in remote Indigenous communities |
title_short |
Operation Remote Immunity: exploring the impact of a service-learning elective in remote Indigenous communities |
title_full |
Operation Remote Immunity: exploring the impact of a service-learning elective in remote Indigenous communities |
title_fullStr |
Operation Remote Immunity: exploring the impact of a service-learning elective in remote Indigenous communities |
title_full_unstemmed |
Operation Remote Immunity: exploring the impact of a service-learning elective in remote Indigenous communities |
title_sort |
operation remote immunity: exploring the impact of a service-learning elective in remote indigenous communities |
publisher |
BMC |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-023-04434-7 https://doaj.org/article/ae83127902d6482289c5b43cd83c626a |
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Canada |
geographic_facet |
Canada |
genre |
Moosonee |
genre_facet |
Moosonee |
op_source |
BMC Medical Education, Vol 23, Iss 1, Pp 1-9 (2023) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-023-04434-7 https://doaj.org/toc/1472-6920 doi:10.1186/s12909-023-04434-7 1472-6920 https://doaj.org/article/ae83127902d6482289c5b43cd83c626a |
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https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-023-04434-7 |
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BMC Medical Education |
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23 |
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1 |
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