Commitment to the Community: Empowering first responders through education
Having served as a volunteer first responder during his undergraduate studies, Jordon Charlesbois, Medicine Class of 2017, had a good sense of the demands of the role and the need to access health-related information while on the job. It’s why he proposed the idea of creating a training workshop in anatomy partnering medical students with volunteer first responders in the community.
With a grant from The Centre for Teaching and Learning at the University of Windsor, Charlesbois along with Dr. Jean-Marc Beausoleil, now a resident, and Anna Farias, anatomy learning specialist II, adjunct lecturer, held a human anatomy workshop in May 2015.
The workshop included anatomy and related clinical anatomy with plastic models and cadaveric prosections. Participants indicated that the session empowered them, enhanced their confidence and understanding. They also viewed the workshop as an opportunity to strengthen ties with the undergraduate medical program in Windsor. The workshop was such a success that similar workshops are now being considered for first responders.
The project is just another example of how Schulich Medicine students are living the School’s value of social responsibility by giving back to the community and using the wealth of knowledge and skills they have learned.