Olympic-style event inspires health students

By Laurie Wang
Posted Oct. 4, 2007

Launching water balloons to improve health care?Twenty students on a high school soccer field playing dodge ball and launching water balloons into a hoola-hoop: what does all this have to do with the future of health care?

A lot.

Better together

The Calgary Healthcare Interprofessional Students club (CHIPS) hosted CHIPlympics in late September, a series of six events including interprofessional dodge ball and catapults of collaboration (water balloon launch), with the goal of team building and cooperation.

CHIPS is a group of health-care students from various disciplines:

• Medicine
• Nursing
• Social work

They get together for a variety of social and health-related activities in order to learn how to collaborate. These students know interprofessional collaboration is vital in providing effective health care.  

"The best type of health care is provided in teams. Studying medicine right now, it's important to learn to collaborate with other health-care professionals earlier rather than later," says Richard Lee-Ying, founder of CHIPS. He adds, "We need to fill our knowledge gaps about working with other health professionals now, to prevent stereotypes and inaccurate assumptions from developing in the future." The 22-year-old is a second-year medical student at the University of Calgary who aspires to work in palliative care, a field that undoubtedly requires teamwork.

From POGs to headbands

Besides a BBQ and free prizes, students also participated in team-building games at CHIPlymics, including disease POGs, interprofessional dodge ball, MedBandz, fire brigade and catapults of collaboration.

CHIPS' goal is for students in various health professions to start collaborating now, in order to learn how to best work together, and carry these cooperation skills into future practices.

"There will be more activities in the future, including lunch talks with guest speakers who have experience in teamwork in a health professional setting," Lee-Ying says.

CHIPS welcomes you

Currently made up of 45 members from the U of C, SAIT and Mount Royal College, CHIPS wants to continue to recruit more students, including first-year students from medicine and nursing.

"We also want to collaborate with students in kinesiology and psychology," Lee-Ying adds.

CHIPS was created last year and though it's still a young club, many members have already found it valuable.

"For me, I've learned to develop working relationships and friendships. I also understand other disciplines better. For example, I learned when I can refer to social workers and how they're a great resource. I look forward to working with them together even more in the future," says Lee-Ying.

To join CHIPS or find out more about their upcoming events, e-mail CHIPS@ucalgary.ca.

About the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Calgary

The U of C's Faculty of Medicine is a national leader in health research with an international reputation for excellence and innovation in health care research, education and delivery. Through its educational programs, the Faculty of Medicine trains the physicians and scientists who will lead the next generation of health practitioners. Through its clinical work, continuing medical education programs, and close relationship with the Calgary Health Region, the Faculty of Medicine moves new treatments and diagnostic techniques from the laboratory bench to the hospital bedside efficiently and effectively, improving patient care.

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