Photo credit: Ernie Turner
The Faculty of Medicine lent a hand this month at a forum about dementia for Vancouver’s Chinese community.
The Alzheimer Society of B.C. and S.U.C.C.E.S.S. kicked off Alzheimer Awareness Month with the Jan. 4 event at Choi Hall, which featured Roger Wong, Associate Dean of Postgraduate Medical Education and a Clinical Professor in the Division of Geriatric Medicine, as the guest speaker.
UBC medical residents also ran an on-site blood pressure clinic for the 200 people attending the forum.
“Events like this are a wonderful way to increase awareness and advocacy within communities,” Dr. Wong said. “As health care practitioners, we also greatly benefit by attending.”
“I’ve always enjoyed these advocacy events because it allows me to connect with the community and reminds me why I worked so hard over the last few years,” said Marisa Wan, a third-year Internal Medicine resident who attended the event.
“For me it was a great opportunity to practice medicine cross culturally and to do outreach work on a community basis,” said Wendy Wong, also a third-year Internal Medicine resident. “It’s different from the acute medicine we are taught and trained in and allows us to see the other end of the spectrum.”
“I can say this was a great learning opportunity for both the residents and members of the community,” said Pierre Camateros, a second-year Internal Medicine resdient. “It was an excellent forum to actively engage patients, from an often underserved population, to become aware of, and take action on, an important aspect of preventative health care.”
“I think we can accomplish quite a bit by going to the patients in the community instead of waiting for them to go to the doctor’s office/ clinic,” said Terence Yung, a second-year Internal Medicine resident. “Many don’t regularly visit a family doctor or even have one. Many have questions about their medical conditions that weren’t/ couldn’t be answered in a short 5 min visit to the doctor. Therefore many have misconceptions about their conditions and lead to medication non-compliance or unrealistic reliance on alternative therapies.”
“Events like this empower the underserved ones with information that will guide them to make healthier decisions,” said Kun Huang, a first-year Internal Medicine resident. “It is inspiring for me to experience how important a health advocate I can be for my community.”