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Each summer, post-secondary students from across Ontario join forces with Osler physician and staff supervisors to undertake research projects that help advance patient care. In August 2023, 21 students and their research supervisors presented their work at the Summer Student Research Program (SSRP) poster presentation.
Our SSRP gives students the opportunity to learn new research methods, gain experience and work alongside hospital researchers in clinical and non-clinical areas. We spoke to a few of them to learn more about their research projects.
Garima Sharma, McMaster University: A retrospective review of treatment and outcomes in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (Principal Investigator: Dr. Philip Kuruvilla)
Tell us about your research.
I worked on two studies within Osler’s Oncology Department. One focused on Osler’s lung cancer screening program that was implemented back in 2021. The outcomes of this program can hopefully help other hospitals to use the same approaches to lung cancer screening.
The other study focused on the treatment and outcomes in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia. We looked at the different treatment outcomes of patients diagnosed from 2005 to 2023 based on the medications they were prescribed.
What are some key findings from your studies?
For the first study, we found that as technology has advanced, so has the efficacy of our lung cancer screening resulting in a decrease in the number of lung cancer staging inconsistencies.
In the second study, we found that over 90% of myeloid leukemia Osler patients achieved a significant treatment response to their current medication.
What are your future plans with this subject area?
For the first study, we can take the findings to look further into the reports and further develop effective lung cancer screening tools. For the second study, I would love to research further in the study to identify better treatment options for chronic myeloid leukemia patients.
I love doing research and I’ve dabbled with conducting research in my undergrad, but this was the first time I was able to delve into the area of oncology. For myself, I would love to continue research to improve the lives of the people receiving care.
Daniel D’Souza, McMaster University: The iHuddle board and huddle process – impact on continuous quality improvement, patient safety, patient experience, staff satisfaction and engagement (Principal Investigators: Amrutha Kumar and Ahmed Ali)
Tell us about your research.
This study focused on quality improvement of a management tool Osler hospitals use called the iHuddle board. Launched three years ago, iHuddle boards support Osler’s senior leaders in sharing key metrics with clinical units in real-time to streamline decision-making.
What are some key findings from your study?
Through the study, we identified iHuddle boards increased overall team engagement across several units. In a survey sent out to managers, we found many trusted the iHuddle board to improve patient safety and staff satisfaction.
What are your future plans with this subject area?
I aim to continue volunteering with Osler and would love to extend the iHuddle board study to all users, beyond just managers. Expanding the research pool would be great since we’ve gotten so much positive feedback. Moving ahead in my career, I’ll continue to look for ways to improve processes related to patient experience and patient care.
Gurleen Badwal, Western University: Evaluating the effectiveness of the Butterfly Model of Care for elderly patients with dementia (Principal Investigators: Dr. Neil Dattani, Dr. Sudip Saha and Dr. Shailesh Nadkarni)
Tell us about your research.
The study evaluated the effectiveness of The Butterfly Approach, which is an emotion-based, patient-centred, model of care for patients living with dementia. We looked at the positive changes in patients in relation to things like frequency of falls and patient agitation. Osler is the first acute care health system worldwide to implement The Butterfly Approach in a hospital setting.
What are some key findings from your study?
After The Butterfly Approach was implemented on the unit, we identified a decrease in the frequency of falls of patients. This success can be attributed to the physical aspects of the care model, like increased lighting and colour contrast, that help patients better navigate the spaces in the unit. We also found a decrease in the use of antipsychotic medication on the unit, which represents the reduction of behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia.
What are your future plans with this subject area?
As a future health care provider and as someone who will age, this research is essential to ensure that our loved ones are supported and cared for as seniors. Going forward, I hope to not only produce and create knowledge, but also apply that knowledge in clinical practice.
Learn more about our Summer Student Research Program.
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