重口味SM

Rethinking health care: U of T researcher wants to broaden medicine's foundational knowledge

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(photo by Ola Foto)

Nicole Woods wants to see more expertise from fields beyond the basic sciences incorporated into medical education.

Traditionally, the study of medicine has focused heavily on disciplines like physiology, biochemistry and anatomy, says Woods, an associate professor in the department of family and community medicine in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine at the 重口味SM. Though it鈥檚 a strong foundation, she believes it could be enhanced with a greater emphasis on knowledge from fields like psychology or anthropology.

In her role as the Richard and Elizabeth Currie Chair in Health Professions Education Research at  鈥 an appointment she began on Jan. 1 鈥 Woods works to embrace multiple disciplines and rethink what kinds of knowledge are viewed as foundational to practise medicine.

鈥淚f the role of basic science is to help you understand 鈥榳hy鈥 鈥 which is what my research shows 鈥 any form of knowledge that helps people understand why they do what they do could be considered a 鈥榖asic science鈥 and could be foundational to medicine,鈥 says Woods, who is also the Wilson Centre鈥檚 associate director of operations.

Woods sees opportunity to incorporate understanding from other disciplines into medical education. She鈥檇 like other disciplines to play a greater part in shaping training for future health-care practitioners.

鈥淲hat about integrating the behavioural, cognitive or social sciences? If you have a physician who has a really good understanding of social dynamics, sociology and other areas like these, how would that change what they do with their patients tomorrow? That鈥檚 a big opportunity for us,鈥 she says.

Woods, who is also the director of the Institute for Education Research at University Health Network, holds a PhD in cognitive psychology. Her work focuses on human memory and categorization.

Just as Woods鈥 work broadens the range of subjects that could be considered essential to medical education,  attracts students from a similarly wide range of programs. The lab works to develop new ways of thinking about how to design curriculum and teach future health-care providers.

Graduate students in the lab, which Woods leads with Associate Professor Maria Mylopoulos, come from disciplines that include dentistry, pharmacy and audiology.

Academic diversity is one aspect of work that excites Woods.

鈥淲e鈥檙e all working to develop models of expertise and ways to build experts, so I get to collaborate with people who I wouldn鈥檛 have a chance to interact with in a siloed program where everyone is in a single field,鈥 Woods says.

鈥淭his work speaks to people across many professions. Cognitive psychology is about the everyday human experience and reasoning. And when people enter professional programs and move into the professional realm, their minds don鈥檛 fundamentally change. They just think about different things. So, as long as I鈥檓 studying the process of thinking, I can talk to anybody. And it鈥檚 a lot of fun doing that.鈥

In addition to expanding the scope of health professions education research, Woods is also working to make the field more inclusive.

鈥淚t鈥檚 important for young Black people to see that science is possible for them. I want to create space for them to be here with me,鈥 says Woods. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 part of my idea for the chair. I hope down the line there will be young Black men and women who know this is an option for them as a career 鈥 that they can be an education scientist or an institute director. We can be leaders in science and medicine.鈥

The inspiration for a career in education scholarship was sparked by one of Woods鈥 PhD supervisors 鈥 and current colleagues 鈥 Geoff Norman, a professor of clinical epidemiology and biostatistics at McMaster University and affiliated scientist at the Wilson Centre.

The two met when Woods was a third-year undergraduate student in one of Norman鈥檚 classes at McMaster. He quickly noticed Woods鈥檚 talent and asked her to do an independent study in his lab.

Norman says he was not surprised to learn of Woods鈥 appointment to the Currie Chair.

鈥淚n graduate work, students often follow the lead of their supervisor and create studies that are an extension of the program. Dr. Woods really opened up a new line of research that she has continued to the present day,鈥 Norman says.

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