PCHR Program Plan
This section presents the fundamentals of the Partnering in Community Health Research Training Program (PCHR). It presents the components of the program and communicates expectations related to these components. PCHR is continually adapting to better meet the needs of its learners and their constituencies, be aware that components described here may be modified over time.
Learners in PCHR will work through a pre-determined set of learning opportunities in order to develop the competencies they map out in their Learner Profile. The Program Plan, therefore, focuses attention on the Profile, and the learning opportunities provided by the cluster-based PCHR program.
Program Components
1. Cluster-Based Learning (CBL)
Clusters allow for community-based learning environments. This approach means shared learning across diverse university and community target groups through project-based teamwork on actual community research priorities.
Learning opportunities will vary from cluster to cluster, depending upon the focus and activities decided upon by each cluster. Much of the learning will be project-based. The nature of each learner’s involvement in cluster-based projects will be negotiated between the learner, his or her primary mentor, and the cluster co-conveners in keeping with the learner’s profile and the needs of the cluster. It is expected that each learner will play an integral role in the work of the cluster, and that each learner will document his or her work.
CBL opportunities will stem from each cluster’s work plan. Examples include:
1) Crafting a mission statement or statement of purpose for the cluster.
2) Feasibility studies.
3) Grant proposal writing.
4) Research design, implementation, analysis, and dissemination.
5) Model development.
6) Advocacy work.
7) Course design.
8) General team building, as well as defining the nature of contribution, division of labour, and group dynamics in cluster work.
2. Learner Profiles
The Learner Profile consists of three parts:
1. A brief description of yourself;
2. A list of 3 competencies pertaining to Community Partnership Health Research that you would prioritize as being important for you to develop in the program;
3. A statement of what you see as key success factors for a team conducting Community Partnership Health Research.
Brief Description of Yourself
What would you like people in the program to know about you regarding your background, how you came to be in the PCHR Training Program, and what plans you have for your career? Also include a statement on the topic: When I do my best learning.
Prioritized Competencies
Learners will be provided with the PCHR list of competencies related to community partnership health research (to download a list of competencies, please click here). Based on the literature and our collective experience, each and every one of these competencies is required to a greater or lesser degree in order to be successful.
While each competency is necessary for community partnership health research, they cannot all be acquired within the confines of a one year PCHR training fellowship.
Each PCHR learner enters the program with different competencies and different goals; the purpose of this section of your Learner Profile is to help you and your mentor be clear about how the program can best add value for you. Your prioritized list of competencies should be your guide with respect to what you need to learn to get you from where you are now to where you need to be.
This part of your Learner Profile may well be dynamic rather than static. You can revisit this list of chosen competencies and revise it as you progress through the program. It is a good idea to return to this section of your Learner Profile from time to ask:
"How well have I progressed toward the goal of attaining this competency?" (For example, developing skills in evaluative research.)
"To what extend have the learning opportunities helped me progress toward the goal?" (For example, which aspects of PCHR have provided you with ample opportunities to develop skills in evaluative research?)
"If I am not progressing as well as I had hoped, what steps should I take?" (For example, should you talk to your mentor? Cluster members? Other learners? PCHR staff?)
Key Success Factors for a Community Partnership Health Research Cluster
Your Learner Profile is about you as an individual, but much of the work you will be doing in the PCHR Training Program will be in your cluster. This section is intended for you to reflect on what you perceive as necessary for a cluster to be efficient and effective. For example, in previous years, learners have often told us that the most important things they have learned in the PCHR Training Program relate to working with others in the cluster. In response, we have introduced a cross-cluster workshop on working in teams and building a team vision. Thus, it is very helpful to have learners reflect on what they see as supporting effective teamwork. These can be discussed within clusters as well as during the cross-cluster workshop.
Like your prioritized competencies, your list of key success factors can be revisited and revised as you progress through the program.
Learner Profile Summary
Your Learner Profile is a requirement of participation in the PCHR Training Program, but it is not a graded assignment. It is intended to help you chart your course and assess your development, and to help others know who you are as a learner.
We suggest you review your Learner Profile when you craft your final presentation at the end of the program. Your Learner Profile should provide some criteria that will help you consider the extent to which you were successful in acquiring these core competencies as a participant in the PCHR Training Program.
3. Mentoring
PCHR has both academic and community mentors. Academic mentors are affiliated with a post-secondary institution, and include professors, instructors, visiting scholars, post-doctoral fellows, and research associates. Community mentors are drawn from community-based institutions (e.g., health regions, health unions), non-governmental organizations, the private sector, and, where appropriate, the lay public. Mentors may assume one or more of the following role: cluster member, cluster co-convener, steering council member, working group member, and/or primary mentor.
The overarching purposes of PCHR mentors are:
- to provide guidance to the learning process,
- to assist in understanding how to navigate the systems of the partnering organizations and universities, and
- to provide networking opportunities to learners and other mentors.
Primary Mentors
In addition to the cluster-based learning and learner profiles, primary mentors are a PCHR cornerstone. Primary mentors are a very valuable source of guidance for the learners. It is important that learners and their primary mentors establish good working relationships, such that the mentor knows the learner’s goals and work well, and the learner is familiar with the mentor’s work and expertise. This relationship depends upon good communication. The primary mentor must be familiar with the learner’s Profile and have discussed it with the learner. It is also recommended that learner and mentor revisit the Learner Profile regularly. Mentors also provide important feedback on the direction and quality of the learner’s work.
For example: Camille is a new PCHR learner; at the first cluster meeting, it was agreed that Jill would be her primary mentor. Jill and Camille agreed that Camille would contact Jill's assistant to schedule a meeting. At their first meeting, they discussed their interests, strengths, and challenges. They agreed that they will meet at least once every second month, and that Camille would be responsible for setting up the appointment. They also realized that one of the competencies that Camille wishes to develop feel outside of Jill's area of expertise and, as such, Jill identified a potential secondary mentor, Jack, who Camille could contact for guidance on developing that particular competency.
For the primary mentor and the learner, the Learner Profile can be used to assess progress. This assessment may be based on:
• the work produced by the learner;
• the mentor’s assessment of the learner’s contributions to cluster-based activities;
• ongoing interactions between the learner and primary mentor.
Because of their central role in PCHR, mentors must be provided with ongoing support. This year, at least two events will be targeted to mentors: a mentor orientation in the Fall and a mentor gathering/workshop in the Spring.
*Your feedback on what works well, and how we can provide better support, is much appreciated; please forward your comments to faye.pedersen@ubc.ca
4. Project Presentation
The academic year will culminate in a Presentation Seminar. At this event, learners, individually or in teams, will present a summary of their project work. The presentations must include what each learner learned, how they learned it, and how this impacts their future work. Program mentors evaluate the presentations, and feedback is provided to the learner shortly after the event.
All presentations will be submitted for a program binder for documentation purposes and to be used for new recruits to get a sense of the program. It is also recommended that, if possible, one or two of the learners be selected to do the presentation again during orientation for the newly recruited cohort members.
To view learner presentations from the 2007-2008 academic year please click on the following:
Engaging Street-Involved Youth in Community-Based Health Promotion Research
J. Dixon, S. Nixon, J. Masuda
SMART: Finding Patterns in the Chaos
J. Dixon, J. Masuda, J. Solorzano, J. Terpstra
L. Kingsbury, S. Scharf, R.K. Fujii, K. Zhao, A. Newton, C. Kidd, A. Yassi, E. Bryce
G. Creighton, J. Matthews
A. Crabtree, J. Masuda, J. Terpstra, J. Fitzpatrick
Note: All learners must participate in this event. Consult this year’s schedule to identify the date of the PCHR Learner Presentation Day.
5. Cross-Cluster Events
In conjunction with the cluster-based learning, cross-cluster events such as learner and mentor orientations, workshops and seminars bring the clusters together to work through common issues within the PCHR mandate and provide a venue to learn from each other. Offerings differ from year to year, depending on instructor availability and learner needs.- Learning events should provide opportunities to learn the competencies that relate to community partnership health research.
- Learning events should be opportunistic to the extent that they can take advantage of the program-relevant knowledge of potential instructors.
- The number of events offered by the program must be kept manageable.
