Discussion of My Experience
It was truly eye opening to see the inadequacies in our health care system for the Dual Diagnosis population. I have faith in the universality of Canada's health care system, so it was heartbreaking to see the undeveloped and stagnant care for these patients. I hope that my team's research can impact this vulnerable population of individuals.
The collaborative skills gained from working with my CEL group are generalizeable to whatever setting my future career takes me to. The simultaneous independent thinking and synergistic mentality encouraged by the CEL project and discussion of current health issues have sharpened my skills in introspection, critical thinking, and collaboration. Additionally, the opportunity to impact an entire population of patients and improve their care will have a lasting impact on my personality, as I will strive to improve the world around me and continue to be a contributing member of society.
The specific skill of independent thinking is the most transferable skill that I've gained from the course. In the academic setting, challenging views and stimulating discussion is not a setting that is often encouraged in scientific post-secondary education. However, when formulating the literature review for the Dual Diagnosis project, discussions about the inadequacies of care sparked debate on best practices and innovative solutions. I acquired skills to improve collaboration and defend my point view with evidence based research. I will carry these skills into my future career.
If I could do this project again, I would reach out to other Dual Diagnosis facilities in the country. The research available on the Dual Diagnosis population is sparse, so more primary literature directly from the source may have been beneficial for compiling recent statistics. From previous statistic courses, I have learned how to compile raw data, so obtaining raw statistics directly from Parkwood may have been beneficial for presenting findings specific to Parkwood Institute. Additionally, a database known as the National Association for Dual Diagnosis (NADD) may have provided more recent updates and grey literature from their conferences. Their membership was paid and the library was unable to grant us access to the database, but if I had more time, I would ask the CEL administration at Western for funding. Overall, my Dual Diagnosis team exhausted all resources we knew of and made meaningful inferences from the research we found, however additional material would strengthen our recommendations even more.
