F.1 Symposium:
Patients are a Heart Felt Resource Beyond Their Illness
Connie Evans, Carol Anderson, Bruce Raber, BC Institute of Technology, Canada
Abstract: The panel will discuss people-centred care and why and how patient partners are included at BCIT School of Health Sciences. Hear three storytellers with distinct perspectives. Witness a paradigm shift from diagnostic directives to appreciating highly individual needs for whole-person care. Find out what matters to them, why they are grateful, and their guidance for improving healthcare. Learn how diverse patient voices can nurture wisdom in healthcare education. Explore power imbalances and the meaning of language. Discover why there are always at least two patients. This will be an opportunity for conversation to address organizational and individual challenges in patient partner involvement.
F.2 Symposium:
Building a Pan-Canadian Community of Practice on Patient Engagement in Health Professional Education
Annie Descoteaux, Marie-Pierre Codsi, Benoit-Pierre Stock, Université de Montreal, Canada & Angela Towle, Cathy Kline, University of British Columbia, Canada
Abstract: We propose a roundtable session exploring the creation and impact of a pan-Canadian Community of Practice (CoP) dedicated to patient engagement in the education of future health professionals. This initiative brings together academic institutions and patient partners to co-develop strategies that support meaningful, sustainable involvement of patients in health education across Canada.
The roundtable will feature four speakers: a representative from the University of British Columbia (UBC)Patient & Community Partnership for Education (PCPE), a pioneer in embedding patient partnership in curriculum and faculty development; a member from University de Montréal, home to the largest patient-partner network within a single health faculty in Canada; and a core member of the national CoP itself, a representative from the Centre of Excellence on Partnership with Patients and the Public (CEPPP), which leads innovation in partnership science;
Discussion will focus on critical questions such as: What strategies foster long-term, institutional patient engagement? What initiatives sustain the motivation and contributions of patient partners over time? How does the “Patients’ Voice” conference influence collective momentum? And what is the unique value of a national CoP in this field ?
Participants will leave with practical insights on partnership models, challenges and enablers of system-wide change, and lessons learned from connecting diverse institutions and patient communities across the country.
F.3 Performance Arts: Theatre
Lost in Translation: A Theatrical Exploration of Health Literacy Gaps
Farrah Schwartz & Laura Williams, Toronto, Canada
Abstract: Health literacy is the silent force that determines whether patients understand their diagnoses, follow medical advice, and engage in their own care. This theatrical performance will take an experiential approach to education about health literacy. The session will blend storytelling, role-playing, and audience participation to explore the real-world consequences of health literacy gaps. Through dramatic reenactments of patient-provider interactions, we illuminate the barriers that miscommunication creates and the life-altering impact of getting it right.
Thriller! The horror show of patient involvement gone wrong
Charlotte Eijkelboom, Utrecht University, The Netherlands
Abstract:
You try to scream
But terror takes the sound before you make it
You start to freeze
As horror looks you right between the eyes
You’re paralyzed
‘Cause this is thriller….
Welcome to the horror show of patient involvement gone wrong.
People said that we should involve patients in education, that it would be beneficial to students, healthcare professionals, educators and even patients themselves. So that’s what we did. We involved patients. Big mistake.
This show will be scary and consists of pure nightmares. Look out for the ‘Teacher zombie’, who only asks patients about the clinical stuff! Beware of the ‘Angry patient monster’, who wants to take it out on students! And hide for the ‘Curriculum planner vampire’, who wants to overload each patient contact possibility with bureaucratic demands!
This is a performance about the don’ts. In this show all your nightmares about patient involvement come true. It is all our mistakes put together and made into a satirical performance.
After this show you just know: Patient involvement is a bad idea. It can only go wrong. But as said by jazz artist Quincy Jones: “we make our mistakes to learn how to get to the good stuff”. So, let’s enjoy this thriller show, in order to get closer to the good stuff.
F.4 Oral Presentation and Visual Arts: Patient Voice
Finding our voice
Janie Leopold, Canada
In 2003, I was diagnosed with two concerent mental health challenges. It seemed like over night I went from being a Personnal Support Worker to patient. Since that time I have either been included in my journey or not at all. I have found that especially with mental health, your voice is missing. Stigma of being mentally unwell or side effects of the medications tend to silence us, or we are looked at as too unwell to make decisions for ourselves.
There are quite a few barriers in trying to find your voice, the biggest one is Stigma. Not only is it internal it is also in all three levels of care. It is not easy seeking treatment when you are facing it but there are ways to overcome it, with help. I have found that if you meet the patient where they are, it will help the patient to open up more.
For some patients trust is hard. Trust in the doctors, themselves and the whole process. I had trouble with this a few times.
Language should always be considered as well, not only the way we comunicate but also the words that are used. Such as, acromyns or short forms.
I joined the University Health Network’s Centre for Advancing Collaborative Healthcare and Education as a patient partner. My job is to help the medical students understand the need for the patient’s voice and how to include it in their care plan.
Co-creating care: reimagining medical education through person-centered filmmaking
Samuel Rosenblatt, Elsie Wang, Cameron Andres, Melody Li, University of British Columbia, Canada & Jamie Mocrazy, Grace Mauzy, MoCrazy Strong Foundation
Abstract: The Patient Experiences Project (PEP) is a UBC medical student-led initiative founded in response to the need for person-centered care, humanism, and narrative medicine (NM) as key priorities within medical education (MedEd) reform. We produce mini-documentaries highlighting lived-experiences of patient-partners which are incorporated directly into the UBC Medicine curriculum.
Core to our filmmaking process is immersing student-producers (SP) in narrative student-patient partnerships. We achieve this through a co-creative process and an open-ended, exploratory approach that is trauma-informed, empowering, and responsive to the priorities and vulnerabilities of our patient-partners and their families.
One of our best received episodes was produced with Jamie MoCrazy, a traumatic brain injury (TBI) survivor and advocate, TBI awareness nonprofit co-founder, and co-director of her own award-winning documentary.
Program:The presentation will include screening of two films: An excerpt or the full length of the “#MoCrazyStrong” documentary by Jamie (18 minutes). The PEP documentary (10 minutes), produced with Jamie and her family. Screening both documentaries will showcase unique perspectives of self-produced and collaborative patient-student films.
After the first screening, the panel – including Jamie, her mother Grace, and the SPs – will discuss Jamie and Grace’s experiences in narrative-medicine and filmmaking as patient advocates, and the importance of person- and family-centered care for patient resiliency.
Following the second screening, the panel will reflect on the production of the student film, on developing strong narrative partnerships, and personal takeaways. They will also discuss the use of non-traditional approaches to amplify patient voices and enhance person-centered MedEd.
F5 Routable Discussion:
Supporting HEI Academics: The Strategic Role of Service User and Carer Involvement in Teaching and Learning
Bimpe Kuti-Matekenya, University of Bolton, UK & Lesley Scott, Elaine Patterson, Val Packer, University of Sunderland, UK
Abstract: Service User and Carer Involvement (SUCI) in Health and Social Care education is increasingly recognised as a core component in health professional education. Numerous UK Professional Statutory Regulatory Bodies (PSRB) mandate that SUCI should be central to health professional education but there is no agreed framework for HEI academics to develop and establish their SUCI strategy to meet local institutional needs. Consequently, embedding meaningful engagement remains challenging for many Higher Education Institutions (HEIs).
A series of ongoing webinars, designed to equip academic staff with the knowledge, confidence and tools to incorporate SUCI voices into their teaching practice is ongoing as a national webinar series. The webinars have proved to be instrumental in promoting an expanding culture of collaboration and engagement across multiple HEIs.
The session aims to address the challenges faced by HEIs in embedding meaningful SUCI in health and social care education. Recognising SUCI as a crucial element. It will explore a collaborative initiative among three HEIs that are sharing and learning from best practices to integrate authentic SUCI involvement into their educational strategies. The goal is to ensure that students have meaningful learning opportunities that incorporate the voices and experiences of service users and carers.
It will offer practical insights into designing flexible frameworks and standards to promote meaningful engagement, enhancing the educational experience for students and making it more relevant to real-world health and social care scenarios. This development aligns with the priorities in The Vancouver Statement 2015 (Towle et al 2016)
F.6 Roundtable Discussion:
Strategic Patient Involvement in Medical Education: from participation to policy and organizational Impact
Petra van Gurp, Radboud University Medical Centre, The Netherlands
Abstract: Patient involvement in medical education is increasingly recognized as essential. While practical tools and teaching tips exist, hesitancy or resistance persists—often due to concerns about curriculum overload or fear of the unfamiliar. This workshop addresses how patients can contribute not only as educators but also in strategic roles within medical curricula.
We explore central questions through direct engagement with patients who have taken on such roles. Main questions include: What is it like for patients to hold a strategic role in education? What challenges do they face? What support is needed? And how can educators and patients collaborate to embed patient involvement into institutional strategy and vision?
F.7 Roundtable Discussion:
Partnering with patients in continuing professional development: Lessons from “Patients Included” TM conference delivery for the International Congress on Academic Medicine.
Lynn Ashdown & Anna Karwowska, Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada
Abstract: The Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada (AFMC) International Congress on Academic Medicine (ICAM) 2023 was the first academic medicine conference to engage a patient partner in the co-creation of the medical education content and to involve patient partners in the development and presentation of the medical education plenaries. This was recognized by the conference achieving “Patients Included” TM status.
We believe that deliberately partnering with patients in the planning and delivery of this content for ICAM has added incredible value to the quality of continuing professional development (CPD) that’s provided.ICAM also holds a patient partner networking event, attended by clinicians, educators, learners, and patient partners during which there’s a rich exchange of ideas, feedback, and suggestions for enhancing patient partnerships. At the Patient Partner Luncheon at ICAM 2025, attendees were asked to discuss and suggest solutions to some common issues encountered by patient partners and those wishing to engage with them, related to compensation, equity, and barriers.
Our session will be a 90-minute workshop which will be an interactive “Think Tank” where participants will exchange ideas and build on information collected at the Patient Partner Luncheon at ICAM 2025 regarding challenges/ barriers for patient partnership and strategies to address and mitigate them. Issues discussed will be related to compensation/recognition, equity in patient partnering and ethics. This knowledge exchange will also allow AFMC to improve upon ways in which we engage patients at ICAM, thereby continuing to set a standard for other CPD health professions conferences.
F.8 Roundtable Discussion:
From Patients to Co-Educators: Cultivating Pathways from Lived Experience to Leadership
Michelle Francis, Canada
Abstract: Too often, the contributions of patients and carers are seen as episodic rather than evolutionary. This facilitated roundtable invites participants into a co-designed conversation on recognizing and supporting patient educators as professionals in their own right. Anchored by Michelle Leong Francis’ work with patient advocate groups and their lived experience in both policy and grassroots roles, this discussion confronts the structural and systemic limits that prevent patients from being seen as co-creators of educational excellence. How might we move beyond tokenism to train, compensate, and credential patient voices in education? How can health and social care institutions establish career pathways that legitimize lived experience as a source of curriculum authority? Join advocates, family carers and educators to share models, evaluate institutional readiness, and co-imagine a roadmap for sutained, scalable patient participation that evolves into leadership.
F.9 Roundtable Discussion:
“Navigating Patient Involvement in Health Education: Successes, Challenges, and Lessons Learned.”
Lena Hozaima, University of British Columbia, Canada
Abstract: Patient involvement in health and social care education is essential for developing empathetic and competent professionals. This abstract explores the experiences and lessons learned from various initiatives over the past decade, focusing on sharing successes, challenges, and resources. Surveys, interviews, case studies, and literature reviews were conducted to gather data on patient involvement initiatives. Successful programs and CPD training integrate patients to shape or co-design the curriculum to improve clinical practitioners, medical researchers, health care professionals, clinical staff and students empathy and understanding, as well as, strengthen the delivery of quality patient care. Common barriers included resistance from staff, logistical issues, lack of staff training, administrative burdens, language barriers, and lack of funding investments. Continuous feedback and adaptation emerged as crucial elements for successful patient involvement. The discussion highlights the scalability and sustainability of these initiatives, emphasizing the need for strong leadership and adequate resources. Practical tools and resources are provided to aid implementation. Sharing experiences and lessons learned is vital for advancing patient involvement in education. This abstract invites further discussion and collaboration to address ongoing challenges and leverage the potential of patient involvement in education.