CHAPTER 3 | educational institutions
A healthy attitude to education The Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry at the University of Alberta in Canada takes a creative, and memorable, approach to learning www.med.ualberta.ca
Students at the University of Alberta in Canada can expect the
to attend medical school, but at times, I did find it a little bit
unexpected. From professors performing pop songs to theatre and film
boring,’ she admits. ‘I asked myself why the teaching couldn’t
being used as teaching tools by the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, it’s
be as exciting as the practice, so I developed my own lecture
an institution renowned for the quality of its at times unconventional
style, which I call “medutainment”.’
teaching and research.
Sarah’s teaching repertoire includes a beatnik poem set to
Irfan Kherani, former President of the University of Alberta Medical
jazz that describes abdominal infection, and an adapted pop song
Students’ Association, describes the teaching as ‘phenomenal’. ‘There is
with accompanying ukulele that describes the treatment of a throat
a really strong relationship between the faculty and students,’ he says,
infection. ‘The students love it,’ she enthuses. ‘After I performed the
‘and an incredible amount of student engagement.’ It’s a dynamic that
poem, 99 per cent of them got the facts correct in their exams.’
translates into results, with the students of Alberta’s first medical school achieving the top national marks in their medical licensing exams.
Acting Like Doctors
Engaging with students While Sarah’s teaching methods may sound unusual, they have proved highly effective, and she now advises her colleagues on new ways to engage with students. ‘Ultimately, I want to help patients, but it’s
his teaching licence in acting – a move that is fully supported by the
also about how fun medicine can be,’ she says. ‘There is so much
faculty. Indeed, there are strong links between the arts, the humanities
information to retain that I try to provide a memory hook in each
and medicine at the University of Alberta, as Irfan exemplifies. It’s a
lesson to help the students remember everything.’
connection that isn’t limited to simply appreciating music, theatre and
However, it remains the students’ responsibility to illustrate that
film, but that extends to such optional modules as Acting Like Doctors.
they have digested the lesson at the end of each session. To this end,
Developed by one of the university’s medical students, it uses
they are asked to ‘retell’ what they have learnt in their own fashion.
performance theatre to help students better understand the patient
Sarah recounts an example when a student used a classic detective
experience and establish better methods of care.
movie narrative to describe the death of a specific bacterium. As she
Narrative Reflective Practice is another element of the course that
explains: ‘I just want to inspire people.’
makes good use of unusual media, screening films to help students
The University of Alberta is considered one of the world’s leading
consider the impact of treatment on patients. ‘It’s very well received
public research and teaching universities with more than 39,000
by students and gives us a different lens to look at our training and
students from across Canada and more than 5,000 from 144 other
remind us why we are here,’ says Irfan. Students at the Faculty of
countries. Around 400 graduate and undergraduate programmes are
Medicine & Dentistry also have the option to add a highly respected
taught across the university’s 18 faculties. And such is the quality of
research component to their learning, known as STIR or Special
its teaching that the university has been awarded the highest number
Training In Research. It’s a programme that recognises and confirms the
of 3M National Teaching Fellowships (Canada’s top honour for teaching
university’s influential standing and reputation as a research institution.
excellence) in the country. It’s a place where, as Irfan observes,
Sarah Forgie, Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the university,
‘students take ownership of their education’, and where the traditional
isn’t afraid to shake things up in the lecture hall. ‘I felt so privileged
boundaries between the arts and science are refreshingly blurred.
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Irfan is not only studying medicine, but also working towards gaining