Element | Description |
---|---|
Capacity-building activities and resources | |
STARS Leadership Summit | 1-day meeting bringing together 2 student representatives from each medical school that equipped students with knowledge about resource stewardship as well as leadership, advocacy and communication skills to support implementation of local student-led Choosing Wisely Canada initiatives. |
"Six things medical students and trainees should question" | Choosing Wisely Canada list for medical education endorsed by CFMS and FMÉQ and made available to all STARS students through the Choosing Wisely Canada website. |
Community-building activities and resources | |
Conference calls | Teleconferences every 2 mo to provide STARS students with a forum to share ideas and ask the national student community for advice related to their initiatives. |
Facebook group | Private Facebook group to allow STARS students to stay in contact with each other and share resources related to their initiatives. Students could also post photographs of STARS events at their schools to showcase their initiatives and successes to other STARS students. |
Shared Google document | Shared Google Doc created by 1 of the STARS students to provide students with a summary of ongoing STARS activities at each school across Canada. Students updated this document with their planned and completed initiatives, resources, and tips for success and lessons learned. |
Collaboration through STARS community of practice | Outside of the conference calls, Facebook group and Google Doc, some STARS students worked collaboratively with students from other schools on common initiatives. These included 1-on-1 interactions and group interactions via videoconference (i.e., group Skype calls). |
National medical student organizations (CFMS, FMÉQ) | Integration of Choosing Wisely Canada principles into FMÉQ Charter, approval and publication of a CFMS Choosing Wisely Position Paper, and engagement of CFMS and FMÉQ liaison representatives to provide ongoing endorsement of the STARS program and student initiatives. |
School-based activities and resources | |
Other medical students | Local medical students were recruited by STARS students to help plan and implement local STARS initiatives. |
Faculty mentor/advisor | Faculty mentor/advisor to mentor STARS students locally and support their change efforts. Some students were able to identify a faculty mentor themselves. For students without a faculty mentor, Choosing Wisely Canada reached out to its network of Choosing Wisely Canada clinical leads to identify faculty who could support student efforts locally. |
Medical school leadership | Deans and department chairs at each medical school provided support to STARS students attempting to navigate the process of curricular change. |
Note: CFMS = Canadian Federation of Medical Students, FMÉQ = Fédération médicale étudiante du Québec, STARS = Students and Trainees Advocating for Resource Stewardship.