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Anti-Oppressive
Healthcare

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Program Objective

This program introduces participants to the language and frameworks of anti-oppression and social justice. It explores how the Canadian healthcare system continues to participate in discrimination and oppression. It also begins to explore how health care professionals can engage in praxis, which is theory-informed action in the pursuit of social justice.

Background

Healthcare institutions are increasingly engaging in activities around equity, diversity and inclusion. However, these endeavours are often embarked upon in ahistoric and apolitical ways, which perpetuates harm. Participants will be asked to critically reflect on their own assumptions and behaviours to interrogate organizational practices and policies; and to identify ways to use their social power to disrupt, reshape, and reimagine our workplaces and institutions.

Building the Foundations of Anti-Oppressive Healthcare is offered in partnership between the Centre For Faculty Development and Office Of Inclusion And Diversity, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto (UofT).

A working group of teachers and clinicians at UofT working and teaching within equity, social justice and anti-oppression spaces came together to develop the curriculum: Malika Sharma (Program Lead), Sameena Ahmed (Program Coordinator), Lindsay Baker, Ritika Goel, Ayelet Kuper, Stephanie Nixon, Onye Nnorom,  Nanky Rai, Lisa Richardson, Shazeen Suleman.

Program Description

Two 4-hour modules delivered via Zoom.  Participants will have access to online resources, additional reading and questions that prompt reflection to facilitate their learning and help them develop a common language to facilitate dialogue during the synchronous sessions.

This program is situated within a transformative approach to education. This means that the ‘classroom’ may look different than the more traditional and didactic formats we are accustomed to in healthcare spaces, in terms of physical space, content, pace, and format. Each session may look slightly different, based on the needs, knowledge, and perspectives of those in the room. Facilitators and learners are encouraged to share, teach, and learn from one another. Learning may occur through storytelling, arts-based methods, dialogue, and self-reflection, among other approaches.

Educational Goals

Module 1 will encourage participants to:

  • Understand the ideas of power, privilege and intersectionality and apply these concepts to themselves and to their own institutions;
  • Differentiate between reflection and reflexivity, and develop their skills towards engaging in reflexive practice
  • Differentiate between commonly used “EDI” concepts in healthcare like cultural competency, allyship, diversity, equity, and inclusion, and move towards a broader understanding of anti-oppression, anti-racism and intersectionality.

Module 2 will encourage participants to:

  • Gain a deeper understanding of how power flows through their institutions and how this perpetuates oppression, with an emphasis on anti-Black and anti-Indigenous racism
  • Gain a deeper understanding of how healthcare has been (and continues to be) tied to discrimination and oppression in the in the Canadian context
  • Position themselves within social and institutional power dynamics as well as identify and act on their areas of accountability, influence and control, both within themselves and their institution.

Community of Support Sessions

We want to continue to provide space for these conversations and opportunities to engage with one another. As such, we are inviting members of all past cohorts of the program to participate in our informal Community of Support and Healing (COSH). We are aiming to host these sessions every 4 months. We are hoping that these sessions, like our modules, will be iterative, and change to meet the needs and desires of the participants. To get us started, we propose a loose idea of what these sessions could look like:

  • Check in
  • Guided discussion around a paper, video, or news article
  • Discussion around challenges we may be facing in our workplaces in the pursuit of anti-oppression principles
  • Opportunity to discuss what is working, and successes folks may have had in enacting change

Facilitators

Rania El Mugammar 
Artist & Anti-Oppression Consultant

Malika Sharma
Program Lead

Contact

Alexandria Suliman
Education Coordinator, Participants
alexandria.suliman@unityhealth.to

Malika Sharma
Program Lead
malika.sharma@utoronto.ca

Registration Details

Prerequisites: None

Who should register: Anyone interested in anti-oppressive practice and social justice in healthcare.

Format: Virtual

Program length: Two 4-hour modules

Cohort size: up to 25 participants

Upcoming Dates: October 12 & October 26

Fees:
The program follows a pay what you can (PWYC) model

Standard Rate – $500.00 incl. Tax

We encourage those with the financial means to support the program to consider paying the suggested tuition of $500.  This will enable us to continue to offer this program to future cohorts.  However, for those who may be experiencing financial barriers, we offer the following PWYC registration codes, which can be applied at checkout:

PWYC Rate – $300.00 incl. Tax (use code PWYC-300 at checkout)
PWYC Rate – $100.00 incl. Tax (use code PWYC-100 at checkout)

Register: Click here. 

Certificate: N/A

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Testimonials

Thought-provoking and a lot of "unlearning". Framed a lot of mainstream ideas in a digestible yet radical way that makes me feel confident in having future discussions. Enjoyed the comfortable environment - everyone was free to share.  Great day!    

The way the material was presented in a form of story telling, as well as dialogue among participants, was really engaging and meaningful.  

Upcoming Events

  • CFD_MembershipMondays_Card.png
    5
    Jun
    This virtual community event is for CFD members to come together to during a lunch and learn to discuss emerging curiosities, questions and tensions within health professions education on the topic of the month.
    • Member Event
    Start 12:00 pm EDT
    End 01:00 pm EDT
    Location Online
  • CFD13-%20CFDLogo_SubBranding__Workshop_Card_Blank.png
    8
    Jun
    This workshop is for education scholars – people who are engaging in any form of research or evaluation in education. It helps explain the differences and relationships between procedural and practical ethics and about reflexivity in education research, evaluation, and scholarship,
    • Stepping Stones
    • Workshop
    Start 09:00 am EDT
    End 12:00 pm EDT
    Location Online
  • EduWeek2023_Logo%20for%20Arlo.jpg
    12
    Jun
    This workshop is part of Education Week at Unity Health. This interactive workshop will guide participants through the application of the “Principles for Anti-Oppressive Program Development in HPE” document. Think through questions around decision points such as budgeting, recruitment, format, accessibility, content choices, and more.
    • Education Week at Unity Health
    • For Unity Health Staff Only
    Start 01:00 pm EDT
    End 03:00 pm EDT
    Location Online

FAQs

Q. How do I create and/or activate my account to log into the site?

A. To create a CFD user account please click here. If you have already created an account, click here to log in. Please note you will be required to set up a new account and password for our new website. We will connect your account with your previous CFD event records.

Q. Is there a cost to attend your programs?

A. There is a cost to participate in some of our programs. The cost of each of our programs varies and in some cases, the cost varies depending on your status with the Temerty Faculty of Medicine at University of Toronto and/or in which hospital you work as well as whether or not you have an annual CFD Membership.

Q.I do not have a faculty appointment in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto. Can I still attend your workshops, programs and/or events? Is there a fee?

A. Anyone whose education activities include teaching, leading, scholarship and advocacy are welcome to attend our workshops, programs and/or events. Specific pre-requisite criteria may apply. Please refer to each workshop, program or event page for details. All fees and discounts (where applicable) can be found in the workshop, program and event pages.

Q.I am interested in having one of your workshops offered at my home site/department. Do you offer this type of service?

A. Please contact us for further information.  The availability of this service is dependent on the resources and capacity of the CFD at the time the request is made.

Q: Is having a CFD Membership the same as having a CFD account?

A: No, a CFD Membership is not the same as a CFD account. However, in order to complete your CFD Membership registration you will be prompted to create a CFD account if you do not already have one. To register for a CFD General Membership and create your account click here.

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Our Programs

The CFD offers a number of exceptional programs to meet current and emerging faculty development needs across the health system. View the full listing of CFD’s programs to determine which may best meet your interests and needs.

Our Programs

The CFD offers a number of exceptional programs to meet current and emerging faculty development needs across the health system. View the full listing of CFD’s programs to determine which may best meet your interests and needs.

Centre for Faculty Development
Li Ka Shing International Healthcare
Education Centre, St. Michael’s Hospital
209 Victoria Street, 4th floor

Mailing Address:
30 Bond Street, Toronto, ON, M5B 1W8

cfd@smh.ca

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