Quality Forum 2012 showcases efforts to improve the quality of health care in BC.

We are looking for abstracts on topics such as, but not limited to, Leading and Innovative Practice, Cost and Quality, Implementation of Evidence-Based Best Practice, and Engaging and Motivating for Improvement.

For more information: http://www.bcpsqc.ca/events/list/qualityforum.html
Call for Abstracts: http://www.bcpsqc.ca/events/list/qf-call-for-abstracts.html

The total required credits to graduate from the MSc OEH program is now 42 (changed from 45).

This means that students who started the program in September 2010 and earlier have the option of graduating with 42 OR 45 total credits, as the rules were changed partway through your program.

Please see the UBC Calendar page for more information on the updated requirements: Click here

A more detailed breakdown of program requirements can be found on the MSc OEH website:
Project: http://msc-oeh.spph.ubc.ca/project
Thesis: http://msc-oeh.spph.ubc.ca/thesis-option

Please contact Jennifer Suratos (jennifer.suratos@ubc.ca) for more information

Movember is in the final stretch!

This is the time when the SPPH Movembers need your support the most. The itchiness of a partially grown 'stache may have passed, but the thrill is also starting to pale. Morning shaves have been replaced with the need to remove dried in food, and that light at the end of the tunnel just seems to flicker lightly.

Yes, this is the time when SPPH Movember team leads Mike Marin and Alden Blair, and faculty members such as Gary Poole need your compliments, more than ever. So next time you see them, tell them how wonderful their moustaches. Use words like 'debonaire' 'dapper' or 'manly' (not 'sketchy', 'ridiculous' or 'porn-stache.)

After all, these heroic men have already raised over $1,000 for prostate cancer research this month! They also came in 2nd at the Boundary Bay Moustache Marathon! You go, men!

Further supporting the SPPH Movember Team:
We mentioned the Team's need for constant compliments and reassurance... Offerings of moustache wax and 'stache grooming products would also be nice.

Spotting them a pint or a java would not go unappreciated...

But the BEST way to support them is to make a donation to either the team as a whole, or to individual members through the Team's site at Movember Canada.

About Movember:
Starting Movember 1st men commit to growing the most amazing moustache possible, be it the 'sheriff,' 'handlebar,'Dali,' or one of many other types. At the start of the month men shave their facial hair and agree not to shave their moustache again for the next 30 days.

During this time they seek sponsors to help encourage them along and fund prostate cancer research. They also use any and all inquiries into their moustaches to help spur discussion about often less talked about issues in men's health. Last year over $22.3 million dollars was raised in Canada alone during Movember!

For more details, please talk to a member of the SPPH team about sponsoring them, email Alden, or visit the Movember Canada site.

ANNUAL UBC UW SFU SYMPOSIUM ON ENVIRONMENTAL, OCCUPATIONAL AND POPULATION HEALTH:

CHANGING ENVIRONMENTS AND POPULATION HEALTH (US AND CANADA)

Blaine, WA

The focus of January 5 and 6 will be Environmental Health and will feature Dr. Kirk Smith from the University of California at Berkeley. The Public Health portion will take place on January 6 and 7 and will feature health economist Dr. Bob Evans. Attendees can register for the full conference or for part of the conference (the environmental health [January 5-6] or public health portion [January 6-7]).

Information and registration materials available at http://sph.washington.edu/phc/

Call for student speakers/posters for Public Health portion of conference (January 6-7)

• STUDENT PRESENTATIONS: Three students are selected each year (one from each School) to present their research work in a 15-20 minute presentation on Saturday.
  
  If you are interested in presenting, please contact Karen Hanson, indicating your name, university you attend, and a 250 word maximum abstract about your research by December 9.
  
  Students selected to present their research will have their lodging (Friday night classic room), meals (lunch and dinner on Friday) and conference fees (Friday and Saturday) paid for by the conference.


• STUDENT POSTERS: If you are interested in presenting/displaying a poster of your research, please contact Karen Hanson, with the title of the poster and a brief description of it by December 9.
  
  Five students from each school will have their lodging (Friday night classic room), meals (lunch and dinner on Friday) and conference fees (Friday and Saturday) paid for by the conference. Students selected will be on a first come-first served basis.

Dr. Carolyn Gotay has won the President’s Award from the International Society for Quality of Life Research (ISOQOL). Dr. Gotay is the first woman to win this award, which commends exceptional efforts to advance quality of life through health education, promotion, research, or policy initiatives. She received it in recognition of her outstanding contribution and promotion of quality of life through her research in cancer survivorship and cancer prevention.

Dr. Gotay said, upon receiving the award, that, “I am honoured to be recognized by this dedicated group of researchers, clinicians, and decision-makers. As a long-standing member of ISOQOL, it is a privilege to receive this award.”

Glenys Webster successfully defended her PhD on July 12, 2011. Glenys's dissertation was titled "Exposure Sources and Thyroid Effects of Perfluorinated Compounds (PFCs) during Pregnancy: results from the Chemicals, Health and Pregnancy Study (CHirP)". Her supervisors were Kay Teschke and Scott Venners.

Glenys is currently the Director of the Chemicals, Health and Pregnancy study (CHirP) and a Postdoctoral Fellow, Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research, Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University

SPPH offers its 2012 City Wide Course in Evidence Based Medicine.

The course schedule is 8 weekly seminars on Thursdays from 1:00 – 3:00pm, February 16 – April 12, 2012 (no class February 23). It is a non-credit version of SPPH 513 (Clinical Epidemiology) and is open to anyone in the Faculty of Medicine, with priority given to third year residents.

Location: Room 3336-1, 3rd floor Jim Pattison North, VGH

Instructor: Ralph Brands

There is no cost for the course.

To register, contact Winona Kent at Registration form: Click here

The Centre for Clinical Epidemiology & Evaluation (C2E2) is pleased to offer a six month mentored training course on systematic reviews. This course is intended for clinicians, researchers, health care professionals, graduate students, decision makers, and those wishing to undertake a systematic review.

The Program features:

• Mentored training from highly experienced faculty
• 6 days of formal training in systematic review methodology
• Real-time support in conducting your own systematic review
• Facilitated peer-to-peer learning
• Maximum of 10 participants

The program provides a supportive environment for participants to develop and complete their own systematic review

Course information available here

Registration information available available here

Environmental Health Perspectives announces that the Paper of the Year for 2011 is “Global Estimates of Ambient Fine Particulate Matter Concentrations from Satellite-Based Aerosol Optical Depth: Development and Application” by Aaron van Donkelaar, Randall V. Martin, Michael Brauer, Ralph Kahn, Robert Levy, Carolyn Verduzco, and Paul J. Villeneuve.

This paper (van Donkelaar et al. 2010) was published in the June 2010 issue of the Environmental Health Perspectives journal.

The Program on Global Policy and Governance in Geneva prepares tomorrow’s policy leaders to work through the policy and institutional issues at the heart of global governance. Through meaningful summer internships and intensive, one-week courses, participants will have unparalleled access to Geneva-based institutions, opportunities for career advancement, and the ability to focus on the present international system and its potential for future growth and change.

Students interested in global health and/or health policy may be interested in applying for a summer internship at various Geneva-based international institutions through the Duke Program on Global Policy and Governance.

Potential internship placements include WHO, UNAIDS, UNHCR, WTO, MSF, International Organization for Migration, and Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative, amongst many others. In addition to the minimum 8-week internship, there is an opportunity to participate in a one-week “Health Policy in a Globalizing World” course taught by experts from around the world. This internship also includes many professional networking opportunities.

To apply to the program, submit the application form and two reference letters by NOVEMBER 28, 2011.

There are 4 tracks you can choose from:

• health
• environment
• humanitarian assistance and human rights, and
• global economic governance and development.

If accepted, the student will get access to Duke University’s massive network of contacts in Geneva that will assist you in obtaining an internship and accommodation as well.