RIX Clinical Laboratories Ltd.

1. “I think it’s really important for [students] to recognize that they do have a role to play and a responsibility.” - Planning 10 Teacher ‘Talk to your doc’ – A Workshop for Vancouver TeensCollege of Health Disciplines - Division of Health Care Communicationwww.health-disciplines.ubc.ca/DHCCisdm@interchange.ubc.ca “I[I learned] that you can go to them for like advice too, like not just if there’s something wrong with your body, that you can go to them to talk to them and it’s like fun.” - Grade 10 Student “Learning that everything was confidential, that you can go to your doctor for more than just for medical reasons [was useful].” - Grade 10 student “Trust is a really important thing, even more than in the usual doctor/patient situations..” - 2nd Year Medical Student What is ‘Talk to Your Doc’? Talk to Your Doc (TTYD) is a unique outreach program facilitated by BC medical students in High Schools since 1999. Medical students teach teens skills for: communicating with health care professionals; taking an active role in their health care; and establishing an independent relationship with their doctor. The workshops offer medical students an opportunity to learn first hand what it is like to work with adolescents in a health professional role and provides a one of a kind learning experience for teens and medical students alike. Evaluation: A comprehensive evaluation was conducted in Spring 2008. Compared to students who did not participate in the workshop, students who received the workshop expressed: greater confidence in their ability to discuss embarrassing issues; greater confidence that the information they share will remain private; their enthusiasm (as did parents and teachers) about the value of the medical students as role models for them. • Objectives and Future Goals • Objectives: • 1. Sharing thoughts and opinions with your doctor. • 2. Talk about sensitive and embarrassing issues. • 3. Taking an active role in decisions about your health care. • 4. Confidentiality between you and your doctor and how it works. • 5. Establish and maintain an independent relationship with your doctor. • Future Directions: Extending the Reach! • TTYD would like to offer it’s resources to students beyond the limited vicinity of BC medical programs. What will this look like? • Website resources –Accessible to teens, adults, teachers, and health professionals • Chat room – ‘Chat with a Doc’ • Online workshops – Formatted for online Planning 10 component as well as classroom use • YouthInk – High School Magazine RIX Clinical Laboratories Ltd.