Named after the Greek god of healing, the Asclepius Project was born of the desire of one third-year medical student from McGill University who wished to promote the concept of a global approach to medicine based on a patient’s well-being and on compassion. Founded a year ago by Adam Hofmann, this project has since evolved into a great adventure which uses clinical research, interdisciplinary work and specialized information resources to promote the quality of patient care. Drawing inspiration from the practice of palliative medicine, the Asclepius Project focuses its activities on the study and teaching of the capacity of seeing a patient as a complex human being who requires a subjective response adapted to his personal suffering. The project, by inviting doctors and future doctors to discuss different approaches to patient care, has drawn several students into its wake and led to the first edition of the Asclepius Lecture on Whole-Person Medicine event whose honoured guest was the famous palliative care specialist, Dr. David Kuhl.
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It’s not every year that a Québec university gets the chance to host an international event. It is even rarer when the event is organized by and for the students. This was nonetheless the case for the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières which hosted the 23rd international conference of the world convention of chiropractics students in October 2003. Coinciding with the 10th anniversary of the undergraduate doctorate programme in chiropractics at UQTR, the event brought together 33 chiropractic schools from around the world and was a voice for 19,000 students from 12 countries. The convention, which aims at developing the profession through work sessions, which last year led to the discussion and adoption of over 30 proposals, is also the stage for numerous lectures given by leading international experts in the field of health. The first French-language establishment to host the event, the UQTR is also the first Québec university to have received, as guest lecturer, the famous Dr. Patch Adams. Open to the public, this lecture attracted almost 1,200 people.
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Since the month of August 2003, five graduate students in occupational therapy at the Université de Montréal, armed with their diplomas, have invested time and energy at the Ciudad Joven San Juan de Dios psychopedagogical institute located in the city of Sucre, Bolivia. Their goal: to offer health, rehabilitation, social integration and educational services to disadvantaged children between the ages of 0 and 18 from underprivileged environments. The project is called Desarrollo or, if you prefer, Development. For the project’s five participants, this was their first tangible professional experience and they had their work cut out for them in a country where their field of expertise it decidedly underdeveloped, if not nonexistent. During their stay, the new occupational therapists worked in paediatric and child psychiatry units, in homes and in milieus favouring the social integration of young adults. Originally intended to be a personal initiative by two of the five members, Desarrollo can now count on the support of the School of Rehabilitation at the Université de Montréal which hopes to thus establish a long-term collaboration with the psychopedagogical institute in Bolivia. And the 2005 delegation is already getting ready to go.
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