 Laura Kennedy attends first day of NCTP. On November 4-5, I attended the National Cohort Training Program (NCTP), designed for CIHR Health System Impact Fellows in PhD programs, postdoctoral training and early career researchers. The NCTP is a workshop-style training that equips students and fellows with skills to become embedded scientists within health organizations (e.g., hospitals, charities, public health). Over the two days, we heard from an Indigenous elder, a Senator, and academic leaders about engaging, mobilizing and building partnerships.
These concepts aren’t unfamiliar to me. In my experience, these words mean different things to different people. This was one of the key takeaways from the two-day workshop. These words may mean different things, but at the end of the day, engagement is about meeting people where they are. If we include communities in research in integral and meaningful ways, we must engage early and often in helpful ways for those communities. Maybe it’s grabbing coffee, sharing a meal or walking in nature. We need to sit and be with the community to find this out. I remember the first time I got invited to return to a community. I was working as a Health Promoter and gave a community presentation about substance use in Nova Scotia earlier that day. I wasn’t sure about how it came across. One of my strategies was to talk less and listen more. I even shortened my presentation and allowed more time for discussion. To my surprise, the community said they were so grateful they wanted me to come back and join them for the second day of their gathering. That is the goal! Getting invited back. My most significant learning from the NCTP was to stay curious and listen intently before acting. I look forward to using what I have learned at the IWK and onwards. - Laura Kennedy, Postdoctoral Fellow |
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