Patient Speaker, Northern Health Regional Dietitians Annual Gathering

Surgery can drastically impact the way you eat or think about food and nutrition. Help Registered Dietitians better understand the patient journey and improve the care they provide by sharing your story from hospital to home.

Open to: Patient partners from Prince George and the immediate area

Lead Organization or Department

University Hospital of Northern BC (UHNBC) Clinical Nutrition Department.

Aim

The annual gathering of Northern Health Dietitians allows for collaboration and learning amongst all professionals providing nutrition care. As part of this conference, the surgical unit dietitian at UHNBC is seeking to incorporate the patient’s perspective and experience into a session on services provided to patients undergoing surgeries that have a major impact on digestion and nutritional needs. The patient partner will work with the Clinical Dietitian to co-develop and deliver a presentation that effectively blends her professional knowledge with what you experienced throughout your surgical journey with respect to your relationship with food, eating, nutrition, weight loss, how things changed once you got home and any surprises you had.

Level of Engagement

This opportunity is at the level of consult on the spectrum of engagement. The promise to you is that the health care partner will listen to and acknowledge your ideas and concerns, and provide feedback on how your input affected the decision.

Eligibility

• Undergone surgery that greatly impacts the Gastrointestinal system (e.g. ileostomy, whipple procedure, gastrectomy, etc.)
• Is comfortable sharing their story and answering questions for a group of ~30 Dietitians.
• Open to Volunteers from Prince George and the immediate area.
• Patient Partners should have completed a PVN Orientation session and signed a volunteer agreement. If you are interested in this opportunity but have not yet done so, please contact Cathy Almost to make arrangements.

Logistics

Vacancy: One Location: Parkhill Center (556 North Nechako Rd), Prince George The Dietitian will connect with the selected patient partner to co-develop the presentation. There will be limited but sufficient time for this work to happen starting August 27. The presentation is scheduled for September 12 2018 from 2-3 though the schedule may shift slightly. This is a one-time event.

Reimbursement

Expenses related to travel will be reimbursed in accordance with NH policies and procedures.

Background

Each year, regional dietitians come together for three days of face-to-face meetings in Prince George. This year, a surgical dietitian has been asked to present on the topic of surgery and nutrition. To accomplish this, she would like to weave a patient’s journey and experience of care into this presentation. Regional dietitians have suggested that they would like to know what happens to patients after they have returned home post-surgery. Clinical inpatient dietitians provide care while patients are the hospital, but are not connected to patients post-discharge. Including a patient partner in this presentation will allow these dietitians to hear what patients experience throughout their journey.

Health Care Partner Contact Information

Cathy Almost
Engagement Leader, Patient and Public Engagement | Northern BC
250.615.9932
calmost@bcpsqc.ca