MedLINK: Linking medical students in Canada and Rwanda Jacqueline Wolting and Brianna McKelvie, University of Western Ontario

1. The 2008 MedLINK Project: Objectives, Outcomes and Future Goals

11. Project Design: Timeline Oct. 2007 Nov. 2007 Jan. 2008 Feb. 2008 Mar. 2008 Apr. 2008 May. 2008 MedLINK team formed, Students polled for interest Surveys finalized, Ethics submitted Ethics accepted, UWO participants finalized, NUR holiday extended NUR term begins, Participants finalized, Pre-partnership surveys administered All-participant meetings, Partnerships begin, Module 1 Trouble shooting, Module 2, 3 Module 4 Module 5, “Thank-you Lunch” (Canada), Post-partnership surveys administered

14. Outcomes: Quantitative NUR respondents – pre 47 and post 28 UWO respondents – pre 41 and post 26 Level of commitment to project (Post): Logistics 1-not very committed 2 3 4 5-very committed NUR 1 1 18 10 6 UWO 0 2 15 8 0

15. Outcomes: Quantitative Preferred method of contact: email Frequency of contact: Logistics 4+/wk 2-3/wk 1/wk 2-3/mo 1/mo <1/mo NUR 1 3 7 12 7 6 UWO 0 0 0 9 8 9

16. Outcomes: Quantitative Knowledge (UWO Responses) Pre mentorship Post mentorship Healthcare system Mean 1.2 SD 0.55 Mean 1.96 SD 0.99 Medical school Mean 1.05 SD 0.22 Mean 2.15 SD 0.97 Common diseases Mean 1.68 SD 0.75 Mean 2.08 SD 1.16 Challenges faced by students Mean 1.17 SD 0.5 Mean 2.19 SD 1.09 Challenges faced by healthcare Mean 1.17 SD 0.71 Mean 2.08 SD 1.16 Political history Mean 1.78 SD 0.94 Mean 2.23 SD 1.07 Current politics Mean 1.44 SD 0.74 Mean 2.00 SD 1.12

17. Outcomes: Quantitative Knowledge (NUR Responses) Pre mentorship Post mentorship Healthcare system Mean 1.18 SD 0.44 Mean 2.54 SD 1.10 Medical school Mean 1.23 SD 0.60 Mean 2.54 SD 1.26 Common diseases Mean 1.25 SD 0.58 Mean 2.46 SD 1.28 Challenges faced by students Mean 1.23 SD 0.65 Mean 2.48 SD 1.14 Challenges faced by healthcare Mean 1.23 SD 0.41 Mean 2.28 SD 0.96 Political history Mean 1.26 SD 0.54 Mean 1.96 SD 1.12 Current politics Mean 1.37 SD 0.57 Mean 2.32 SD 1.33

18. Outcomes: Quantitative MedLINK team Desired support from MedLINK team: Contact from team member 1x/mo One meeting/ semester Monthly emails w/ discussion questions Email quizzes to pairs to exchange Online forum for discussion NUR 62% 68% 79% 64% 87% UWO 44% 58% 90% 63% 39%

19. 32% of NUR students and 50% UWO students had participated in an international exchange. There was a medical basis to the exchange for 73% of NUR students and 27% of UWO students. Outcomes: Quantitative Prior Experiences

20. Would you now feel more comfortable traveling to your match's home country for a MEDICAL ELECTIVE than you did before this project? Outcomes: Quantitative Future Intentions

21. Do you feel more equipped for future cross-cultural medical experiences when traveling to ANY other country than you did before this project? Outcomes: Quantitative Future Intentions

22. Would you recommend participation in the MedLINK project to students at your school? Outcomes: Quantitative Future Intentions

23. Do you think the MedLINK partnership between the NUR and UWO should continue? Outcomes: Quantitative Future of MedLINK

27. Summary of Results 1) Fewer respondents to the post- mentorship survey than to the pre- mentorship survey 2) Majority of students at both schools were “moderately committed” to the project; most communicated 2-3 times/ month

29. Summary of Results 5) Mean response value increased between the pre and post surveys in every sphere of knowledge tested, for students at both schools 6) 98.1% of all respondents thought the MedLINK project should continue in the future and 94.1% would recommend participation to other students at their school

32. THANK YOU!