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Shafik Dharamsi

 

BIOGRAPHY

Research:

1. Health advocacy and social responsibility in medical education;

2. Ethical issue surrounding international engagement and global health;

3. Community service-learning and participatory approaches to curricular development.

 

The concept of Social Accountability is emerging as an explicit element of the mission of medical schools worldwide. The question of how to better prepare future physicians to be responsive to the healthcare needs of vulnerable populations, the broader determinants of health, and to effectively address related inequities is one of the most pressing and challenging issues facing medical educators today. My research and teaching focus on how medical education can best prepare students to make judgments that are not only technically correct but also ethically and socially considerate.

Teaching: I am the UBC Faculty of Medicine CanMEDS Health Advocate Role Train-the-Trainer; and Faculty Mentor for the DPAS Community and International Service Learning Options. From 2004-2007 I served as Course Director of DPAS 410/420 (Doctor, Patient & Society) - an interdisciplinary course for first and second year medical and dental students that examines critical issues in health care dealing with the social determinants of health, ethics, social accountability, global health, and population & public health. I spent a significant part of my early career at UBC researching and developing service learning and community based medical/dental education as a potentially viable pedagogy to support social responsibility, professionalism, and for preparing the next generation of doctors to respond to disparities in healthcare.

Accomplishments:

• Lead Faculty for the CLISS (Community Liaison for Integrating Study and Service) CLISS is a community engagement initiative of the UBC Faculty of Medicine working to promote socially and community responsive learning activities
• Established service-learning as a potentially viable pedagogy in medical and dental education at UBC; and introduced the concept and practice of reflective journaling as an integral component of the Doctor, Patient & Society (DPAS) Course in Medicine and Dentistry.
• Pioneered the research & development of a longitudinal service-learning and community engagement initiative entitled, Professionalism and Community Service (PACS): UBC Faculty of Dentistry. Professionalism and Community Service (PACS) Program http://www.dentistry.ubc.ca/CommunityPrograms/pacs/default.asp  
• Nominated for Killam Teaching Prize, The University of British Columbia, 2007-2008.
• UBC Department of Family Practice designated CanMEDS Trainer in Health Advocacy following participation at the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada CanMEDS Train-the-Trainer Health Advocate Workshop.
• 2008 Early Career Scholar Award: UBC Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies. http://www.pwias.ubc.ca/awards/ecs.php
• 2009 Carnegie Academy for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Institute Scholar

Global Health: I served as the Associate Director (2005-2010) of the UBC Centre for International Health, College of Health Disciplines. The mandate of CIH is to facilitate leadership, research, education and community engagement, and to build capacity for exploring, developing and implementing creative, progressive, rigorous and sustainable solutions to the problems of global health, particularly within the context of the social determinants of health.

I implemented an innovative health promotion and early-childhood development initiative in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda through the Aga Khan Development Network. My work has been featured on a Canadian television documentary series, The Global Villagers, which follows Canadians who work to promote peace and meet the basic needs of developing countries.

Education:

• Ph.D. Interdisciplinary Studies: The University of British Columbia
• M.Sc. The University of British Columbia
• B.Sc. The Medical College of Georgia
• B.Ed. York University

UBC Faculty Affiliations:

• Liu Institute for Global Issues
• School of Population & Public Health
• Human Early Learning Partnerships
• College of Health Disciplines 

RESEARCH AREAS

• Social Responsibility/Accountability
• Role of Physician as Health Advocate
• Community Service Learning
• Ethics/Professionalism
• Social Determinants of Health
• Global Health & Social Development

CURRENT RESEARCH

• Developing ethical approaches to international service learning (TLEF Funded)
• Health Advocacy in Medical Education: Preparing Physicians to be Community and Socially Responsive (RCPSC Funded)
• Educating the next generation of health professionals for social responsibility and global citizenship (TLEF Funded)
• Social responsibility in the health professions: Critical explorations (SSHRC Funded)
• Experiences of Canadian maternity care providers (CIHR Funded)
• A partnership between the UBC Internal Medicine Residency Training Program & The Donald Fraser Hospital, Limpopo Province, South Africa (Cedar Foundation Funded)
• Developing an Agenda for Reducing Oral Healthcare Disparities in BC (CIHR Funded)
• Kuwasha (Kiswahili word meaning 'to ignite'): International Service Learning Initiative