Accepted Type
Oral
Code
OG2-2-2
Acceptance Declaration
Accept
Additional Information
I declare I have no actual or potential conflict of interest in relation to this program.
Was this work accepted for CCME 2020?
no
Category
General Call (Workshop, Oral Presentation, Poster Presentation)
Type
Oral
Sub Type
Education Innovation
Will the presenter be a:
Other
Presenter Other
Faculty
Affiliation
Considered for Poster
yes
Title
Lessons Learned: Setting Up a Large Educational Event on a Shoestring Budget
Length of Presentation
Background/Purpose
Want to set up a larger educational event on a limited budget? We use a "Mini Med School" (MMS) event as a case study to provide tricks and tips. The MMS was conceived 30 years ago by a professor who wanted to showcase to the general public the teaching and learning happening at his medical school. Since then, other medical schools and government agencies around the world have created similar series of weekly lectures on basic science and biomedical topics. The costs associated with putting on such event is usually handled by large organizing institutions using internal funds.
Summary of the Innovation
Despite a lack of internal funding and the small size of our medical program, our team set up a MMS in our rural community. An age and education level diverse group of 59 community members participated in 2 hours of activities during 6 consecutive weeks. Our MMS spiral curriculum featured a variety of teaching methods and environments, regular assessments, and a graduation ceremony. 100% of participants rated the program as engaging, fun, and worth attending again. We attribute our success to the engagement and in-kind donations from our small local medical community. Additionally, we asked and received different forms of support from both private and public organizations. Lastly, we made judicious use of technology to keep costs in check.
Conclusion
Our experience demonstrates that money is not necessary to put on a large event extravaganza when one uses a bit of creativity, engages the interest of the local medical and public community, utilizes freely available technological resources, and reaches out to local, provincial, and national organizations for support. A low-cost event which feels like, to quote one of our mini-students, "one of the greatest experiences of my life!" is within everyone's reach.
Keyword 1
Medical Education
Keyword 2
Funding
Keyword 3
Community Development
Level of Training
General
Abstract Themes
Other
Additional Theme (First choice)
Additional Theme (Second Choice)
Additional Theme (Third Choice)
Authors
Presenter
Malgorzata Kaminska
Term 1
Yes
Term 2
Yes
Term 3
Yes
Term 4
Yes
Term 5
Yes
