News

Patient engagement, career building and career transitions, the patient-oriented health policy landscape and strategic networking were on the agenda at OSSU’s Early Career Researcher (ECR) Initiative & Community of Practice (CoP) in June 2024, held at the SickKids Research Institute. Co-Led by the OSSU Early Career Researcher team of Drs. Diana Urajnik, Rebecca Ganann and Peter Gill, the event attracted 45 early career researchers from across the province that were interested in career development.

“We were extremely pleased at the number of ECRs that attended the event,” said Dr. Diana Urajnik, Director of the Centre for Rural and Northern Health Research. “This speaks to the keen interest in and need for initiatives aimed at career development in patient-oriented research for ECRs. The event was a resounding success.

The ECR team gives much credit to OSSU and colleagues at OSSU’s member Centres and Initiatives for their support with building capacity in patient-oriented research in Ontario through the ECR event.

“We had an incredible line-up of expert speakers – provincial leaders in patient-oriented research, including those with equity-based expertise in Sex- and Gender-Based Analysis, Indigenous and Francophone health, learning health systems, and policy leadership. Without their involvement and OSSU’s support, this event wouldn’t have achieved such important impact with meeting the needs of this next generation of patient-oriented research scientists”, remarked Dr. Rebecca Ganann, Associate Professor in the School of Nursing at McMaster University.

Involvement and support are key. The CoP event stems from the OSSU ECR Initiative, aimed at supporting career pathways in applied patient-oriented research, cultivating an involved community of ECR researchers, and positioning them as future leaders of innovative patient-oriented research. And the CoP’s event highlights work to achieve these objectives. “I think that this Community of Practice is a strategic capacity-building strategy and an integral part of the Initiative,” said Dr. Urajnik. “Supporting the acquisition of knowledge and skills around applied patient-oriented research, and further growing capacity by involving ECRs in a career-building forum, will serve to enhance career pathways and their ultimate impact on improving the health of Canadians.”

Sessions for the event focused on patient-oriented research case examples that highlighted the integration and optimization of patient engagement and partnership in research; panel discussions on building a career in patient-oriented research; and networking, where ECRs engaged with each other and with OSSU colleagues more established in their careers. A closing plenary delivered by Jillian Paul, Director of the Research, Evaluation and Analysis Branch within the Strategic Policy, Planning and French Language Services Division, Ministry of Health, emphasized the intersection of patient-oriented research and policy.

Established patient-oriented research scientists and engagement experts, as well as ECRs were featured speakers. “We were hoping for – and certainly got – earnest insights and strategic advice from expert colleague panelists around their careers and experiences with patient-oriented research, the benefits and challenges of conducting POR, and from various perspectives and areas of expertise,” said Dr. Peter Gill, pediatrician and clinician-scientist at The Hospital for Sick Children. “As an ECR speaker myself, I think it was critically important to convey the ECR experience, such as where one might start, transitioning from that of trainee into a career, and some reflections that go along with that, around such things as decision-making at key points and experiences in navigating funding opportunities.”

Feedback from attendees was overwhelmingly positive. “From what we heard, it was extremely helpful for ECRs to hear from those in different roles and settings, how they started and navigated POR in their careers, and having the opportunity to network,” said Dr. Ganann.

ECR event attendees also reported that the discussions on mentorship and the opportunity for peer support were engaging and valuable. Challenges included not having enough time to network and not hearing more specifically from patient partners. It was especially illuminating and illustrative that ECRs want to see pretty much “more of everything.”

And more is what they will get – one of the next steps for the Community of Practice is to hold additional events, with a virtual session taking place in Spring 2025.

This takes us that much closer to realizing the vision of an embedded, integrated POR culture for ECRs.