Electives in Anglophone Settings > Community Health
Community Health
A Word on the Importance of Community Health ElectivesCommunity Health Electives are an important way to gain a better understanding of the people within the community that is being served. They can provide students with invaluable experience in interacting with people from many different backgrounds, and can also increase awareness about the other professionals involved in maintaining the health of a community. Such exposure is vital for students to become aware of the social conditions within the society which serve as extremely important determinants of health.
A community health elective can be almost anything the student wants. Following is a list of contact persons, and their areas of expertise. These people can be contacted, and an appropriate elective can be developed which relates to the student's learning objectives and the amount of time they would like to commit. Be creative, as there are many very interesting possibilities, and the contact people are eager to share their knowledge and experience.
Living with Disabilities:
Marg Stephenson Rehabilitation Services
Marg Stephenson,
Case Manager
5929L Jeanne D'Arc Blvd, Suite 305
Ottawa, Ontario
Description: Case Management and Life Care Planning Services for people with Catastrophic Injuries
Peter McGrath, Executive Director
Independent Living Centre
75 Albert Street, Suite 207
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 5E7
Description: The Centre follows a non-medical model. It also has a program for dealing with Violence Against Women with Disabilities
Physiotherapy Services for Home-Care
Kathryn Desai
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Child Abuse in the Community:
Sylvia Armstrong, Director
Rideau High School Employee and Student Child Care Centre
815 St. Laurent Blvd.
Ottawa, Ontario
K1K 3A7
Description: Most of the parents are High School students with multiple social problems.
Ginette Bedard
Child Care Information
700 Industrial Avenue, Suite 600
Ottawa, Ontario
K1G 0Y9
Description: Could provide a 2 hour information session regarding child abuse.
Health Promotions Officer
Somerset West Health Centre
55 Eccles Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1R 5T5
Description: The population served by the health centre tends to be multicultural, made up of the working poor, the marginalized, and many people with addiction problems.
Cathy Whitton
Children's Aid Society of Ottawa-Carleton
1602 Telesat Court
Gloucester, Ontario
K1B 1B1
Description: Topics of discussion could include the responsibilities of the medical profession with regards to reporting, how cases are investigated and prioritized, etc.
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Suicide Prevention:
Jacqueline Clairoux
Coordinator
Tel Aide Outaouais:
Description: French student preferred.
Ms. Jean HuckaboneExecutive Director
Bereaved Families Association of Ottawa-Carleton
2435 Holly Lane, Suite 225
Ottawa, Ontario
K1V 7P2
Canadian Mental Health Association, Ottawa Branch
Renée Ouimet
Director,Capacity Building and Education Division
1355 Bank St., Ste. 301
Ottawa, ON K1H 8K7
Residential Services Coordinator
Robert Smart Centre
1335 Carling Avenue, Suite 500
Ottawa, Ontario
Description: The mission statement of the centre is that it is dedicated to fostering, in both official cultures, the well-being of selected adolescents and their families with exceptional psychosocial needs, through services in the areas of treatment, intervention, young offenders and community support. It is funded 100% by the Ministry of Community and Social Services, and has 50 beds at various locations across the city, including two rural locations.
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Services for Psychiatry Patients:
Nancy Kundson
Sandy Hill Community Health Centre
221 Nelson Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1N 1C7
Louise Rosborough
Mental Health Board - District Health Council
350-955 Green Valley Crescent
Ottawa, Ontario
K2C 3V4
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Homeless:
Sue Garvey
Women's Shelter
Front Desk Supervisor
Union Mission for Men
35 Waller Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1N 7G4
Nancy Knudson
Sandy Hill Community Health Centre
212 Nelson Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1N 1C7
Colin Chalk
Coordinator, Communications and Community Relations
Ottawa Food Bank
7 Bayview Road
Ottawa, Ontario
K1Y 2C5
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Immigrant Health:
Description: This is a settlement agency that helps Middle Eastern immigrants with such concerns as education, health care and housing. Dr. Donna Bower
Somerset West Health and Community Centre
55 Eccles Road, 2nd Floor
Ottawa, Ontario
K1R 6S3
Mr. Adnah Saleh
Lebanese and Arab Social Services
1-117 Mann Avenue
Ottawa, Ontario
K1N 5A4
Catholic Immigration Centre
219 Argyle, 5th Floor
Ottawa, Ontario
K2P 2H4
- We are a settlement agency for immigrants, similar to the Lebanese and Arab Social Services, so in this aspect we assist immigrants with all their needs, including education, health care and housing.
- Catholic Immigration Centre is located on the 5th floor at 219 Argyle Avenue and we no longer have a volunteer coordinator. If someone wishes to volunteer with us in the settlement or host departments, they should speak with the appropriate manager. The receptionist is able to transfer the call appropriately.
Ministry of Community and Social Services
10 Rideau Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1N 9J1
Description: Mr. Ander could arrange for students to become involved with the following experiences: visiting hostels, where residents have psychiatric or substance abuse problems, outreach team which assists homeless people and those at risk of becoming homeless, client assessment for General and Family Benefits, Spousal Abuse Committee.
Pinecrest-Queensway Health and Community Services
Description: The centre serves as a multicultural clientele, and provides employment services, a family practice, INH clinic (for people undergoing treatment for TBF), counselling, parenting classes, crisis intervention, health promotion, etc.
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Domestic Violence:
Dr. Pat Gervaize
Psychologist, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology
Ottawa Civic Hospital
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Developmental Disabilities:
Karen Shipman
Canadian Mental Health Association, Ottawa Branch
1355 Bank Street, Ste. 301
Ottawa, ON K1H 8K7
Description:
The goal of this elective would be for the medical student to gain:
- An awareness and understanding of children and adults with developmental disabilities and an empathy for their needs and those of their families.
- A knowledge of "how to" access the integrated, generic system of community services, including Health and Social Services.
The types of activities involved in this elective would be:
- obtaining a client profile through an interview with a family or primary caregiver;
- observing a medical examination of the client;
- identifying problems which may be encountered by physicians treating patients with developmental disabilities;
- attending a special group meeting of family members of people with a variety of disabilities;
- interviewing a family in order to learn about the difficulties encountered with having a family member with a disability;
- attending an Orientation Fair put on by the Service Coordinator;
- ascertaining, through the client profile, the community services used by the client/family;
- visiting the client in a community program (residential, educational, leisure, vocational);
- exploring some of the services used by the client/family.
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Placement in Clinical Sexology
I am a board certified sex therapist and board certified as a sex therapy supervisor. My practice is quite diverse and encompasses not only the treatment of sexual dysfunctions and disorders but the whole range of individual and couples’ problems related to sexuality. My practice encompasses all the DSM/ICD sexual dysfunctions and disorders in men and women (as well with the transgendered) plus all manner of concerns related to intimacy, sexual orientation, sexual trauma, etc. The most common presenting problems in my practice, (as well as that of most sex therapists in North America), are related to sexual desire. These problems encompass low sexual desire, compulsive sexuality, (often referred to by my patients as "sexual addiction"), sexual/erotic desire discrepancies, and unusual sexual desires (typically classified as the paraphilias).
In addition, my practice is replete other sexual problems, not necessarily listed in the usual nomenclatures, including the impact of affairs, aging, drug and alcohol abuse, the ubiquitous “stress”, communication problems, concerns about pornography and use of the Medical student. Increasingly, I deal with the sexual sequellae of various medical problems and their treatment, including infertility, STIs, and myriad forms of chronic illness and disability including arthritis, heart disease, diabetes, cancer and patients in/after rehab from traumatic injury. Most of my patients are on medications which affect sexuality (e.g., SSRIs, anti-hypertensives). Given the increasing demands on the medical system without corresponding increases in funding in recent years, sex therapists are consulting more frequently with family physicians and with specialists from gynecologists and urologists to psychiatrists, endocrinologists, oncologists, medical students, neurologists, etc. I also work with the impact of the problems above on the couple. In other words, my practice fits into the nexus that is sometimes called clinical sexology and/or sexual medicine.
I do not see patients under the age of sixteen.
In working with medical students, the primary mode of training would be co-therapy. We would see individuals or couples together. The medical student would watch and increasingly, practice clinical sexology alongside me. My daily agenda is set well in advance. With new patients, I would be focusing on teaching the skills required to conceptualize, assess, diagnose and engage in therapy with sexual issues and concerns. With ongoing patients and with prior informed consent, the medical student would review my files, with lab results, for the coming day in advance of meeting the day’s patients. I would also assign readings appropriate to the cases ahead. I would review these with the medical student prior to each session and would provide de-briefing between sessions.
Specifically, knowledge to be acquired would include the origins of sexual problems, i.e., intrapsychic, interpersonal, psychosocial and biomedical factors; how to take a complete sexual history; sexual norms versus problems and concerns; the advantages and disadvantages of seeing the individual alone versus the couple; basic clinical approaches to sexual problems; when, whether and how to reduce felt distress versus “treating” the “problem”; how to teach skills to couples for communicating about sex and resolving their own conflicts; the use of bibliotherapy; when sex therapy is appropriate as well as collaboration with other specialists; evaluation of outcome; and ethical issues.
Supervisor: Dr. Peggy J. Kleinplatz, Ph.D. ( 613-563-0846)
Location: 161 Frank Street, Ottawa (Downtown near Elgin Street)
Duration: Flexible
Students : U of Ottawa 1st and 2nd year students