不良研究所

Alyshah Kaba wants to make a world of difference in health care.

Winning a Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship is an important trajectory toward that goal, she says. 鈥淚鈥檓 humbled to be recognized for my leadership capacity and my vision to change our health-care system,鈥� says the PhD candidate in the Department of Medical Education and Community Health Sciences at the University of 不良研究所.

The scholarships 鈥� $50,000 a year for up to three years 鈥� are given to 鈥渨orld-class doctoral students鈥� to establish Canada as a global centre of excellence. Eight researchers at the University of 不良研究所 were awarded Vaniers this year.

Kaba takes the global emphasis seriously. Her goal is to improve the way health professionals are educated on an international level.

The 29-year-old, who completed her medical training and Masters in Global Health at McMaster University, got her first glimpse at the impact of education on health-care outcomes while doing medical work in Nairobi, Kenya, in 2009, where she developed a family planning clinic and worked in obstetrics at the Aga Khan University hospital.

Her doctoral research looks at the way doctors and nurses communicate and how that impacts patient safety and care.

鈥淪he has a high level of energy, tremendous enthusiasm for the research, and never-ending perseverance,鈥� says her PhD supervisor, Tanya Beran.

Kaba鈥檚 鈥渕ethodologically tricky鈥� study involving medical and nursing students has generated a lot of interest, as it sheds light on the negative impact of peer pressure on interdisciplinary health-care teams. Peer pressure can interfere with honest, respectful and efficient communication among team members on matters of patient care, Beran says.

鈥淎lyshah鈥檚 research, combined with our previous studies, shows irrefutable evidence that many people would prefer to report inaccurate information rather than stand out as different from the rest of the peer group by reporting contrary, although accurate, information.鈥� 

Kaba says her findings point to a need for interprofessional education early on. 鈥淲e鈥檙e providing the initial, seminal evidence that, if we don鈥檛 teach students how to communicate together in teams, then as future health-care providers they may be unable to speak up in the face of medical errors and patient safety concerns.鈥�

The Vanier scholarship will help accomplish her next goal to take her project 鈥渓arge scale鈥� by sharing the findings at international conferences, networking with leaders in patient safety and quality of care and seeking to have her results widely published.

Building a case for interprofessional education and developing education curriculum on a global scale 鈥渋s where my passion lies,鈥� she says.

鈥淭he project is super exciting because it provides empirical evidence that suggests that team communication and challenging peer pressure don鈥檛 necessarily come naturally for nursing and medical students. They鈥檙e learned skills, and training in these human factors skills must become a priority in our education system.鈥�

Having strong supervisory support and being part of the team at a 鈥渉ub of innovation鈥� like the University of 不良研究所鈥檚 W21C, will help her achieve her global vision, she says. 鈥淚 believe that if you surround yourself with leaders, you will become a leader in your field.鈥�

As for the scholarship:  鈥淎 lot of doctoral students are very bleak about future career opportunities and I think the Vanier doesn鈥檛 allow you to do that. It opens almost too many opportunities, where you really need to cultivate your vision as a leader and keep that at the forefront.鈥�