Hi there! My name is Shelby and I am a fourth-year co-op student in Health Studies. I am excited to share my experience working with the KW4 Ontario Health Team (OHT) and the useful skills I have gained along the way!
What are your responsibilities in the workplace and what does your work entail?
I am currently conducting research on community engagement (i.e., how to engage community members in the co-design of the healthcare system). I am meeting with leaders of local community organizations and conducting a literature review to find tools and approaches for engaging community members who experience marginalization and vulnerability to health disparities.
The goal of this work is to enable health equity. I will be synthesizing a final report for the OHT and its member organizations to use as they engage with community members as service providers or at a systems level.
What has been the highlight of your current work term?
There have been many highlights working with the OHT! I am fortunate that I have been able to connect with and learn from those in our community. The leaders of community organizations hold a vast amount of knowledge and experience that may not otherwise be found through a literature review and I am grateful to be able to incorporate their insights into this work.
This winter 2022 work term will be my second position with the OHT, returning after my Spring 2021 work term. I have enjoyed building on my previous work with the OHT to have a stronger focus on equity.
Working with the OHT has been a great experience. In my earlier years as a Health Studies student, I remember learning about the gaps in the healthcare system. It has been exciting to watch firsthand how the OHT is creating more integrated care to transform the healthcare system.
How do you think this experience and/or your previous co-ops have helped you develop yourself?
I have been able to develop many transferrable skills throughout my co-op career. All my co-op experiences have had a research component, so I have developed my analysis, synthesis and written communication skills. I have had the opportunity to present my work, allowing me to develop my presentation and oral communication skills. My earlier co-op experiences with the Faculty of Health involved event planning, which allowed me to build on my teamwork, organizational and planning skills.
The co-op application and recruitment process have also allowed me multiple attempts to refine my cover letters, resume and interview skills!
I feel prepared to enter the workforce with the skills and experiences I have gained.
How did you overcome challenges during this work term and/or previous ones?
When I first joined the OHT, I had a project where I was collecting information to inform a Community Engagement Strategy in line with the Ministry of Health’s (MOH) guidelines. I needed to familiarize myself with the subject area and project expectations.
At the same time, I was sorting through information found in the literature review to decipher what information was most relevant to the project. At the beginning of this project, as I found new scholarly and grey literature, I was unsure what information was most relevant and how to organize it into the MOH framework; the information did not always fit neatly into these categories.
I overcame this problem by proactively setting up meetings with my supervisor to clarify project requirements. I came prepared with specific questions, examples of findings and posed multiple possible solutions to seek her advice.
Having a supportive supervisor enabled me to do my best work. I took the initiative to identify what I needed clarification on to ensure my work matched the expectations of the committee I was working for.