The University of Manitoba and Choosing Wisely Manitoba have been supporting STARS students since 2015. These students lead local efforts to embed concepts related to Choosing Wisely and resource stewardship into medical education. STARS in Manitoba facilitate a Resource Stewardship Interest Group for undergraduate medical students. If you’re interested in becoming part of this group contact your current STARS representatives below. If you’re interested in getting involved in a resource stewardship research project, check back soon for a list of new projects.
2019 STARS Students
Bitian Meng
"I was introduced to Choosing Wisely by a friend who had previously been part of the organization. I joined Choosing Wisely because I thought it would be great place learn about resource stewardship, I am dedicated to having a responsible practice in the future. This year I got to participate in the Choosing Wisely Student Summit and it was a great opportunity to meet other student representatives from different medical schools and learn how the other programs run all across Canada."
Michael Berry
“I first heard about Choosing Wisely in Dr Danielle Martin’s book “Better Now: six big ideas to improve health care in Canada.” It was presented in the context of avoiding over-testing in Canadian health care as a way to protect patients from the harms of unnecessary procedures. This aspect of resource stewardship in Medicine encourages mindfulness in medical decision making and promotes the seeking of an evidence base wherever possible. Therefore, I believe the incorporation of resource stewardship—and the critical appraisal it entails—leads to better clinicians and enriches the medical curriculum. For these reasons, I am happy to be a part of Choosing Wisely Manitoba.”
Nathan Dlugos
"With regards to resource stewardship, I am particularly interested in the responsible use of antibiotics not only in Canada, but in developing countries as well. I look forward to learning more about how to apply resource stewardship in a clinical setting and I want to encourage my peers to question why particular treatments or tests are used. I am currently interested in pursuing a career in a sub-specialty of internal medicine and look forward to using what I learn from working with Choosing Wisely Manitoba in my future career."
Evaluating the Incorporation of Resource Stewardship into University of Manitoba Pre-clerkship Curriculum
A total of 132 students responded to the pre-survey and 131 students responded to the post-survey (overall response rate 60.0% and 59.5%, respectively). There was a 47.7% increase in awareness of the CWC campaign, 5.9% increase in students feeling comfortable in discussing unnecessary testing with patients, and 18.0% increase in identifying appropriate motivations for ordering tests. This study indicates that enhancement of the resource stewardship training in the pre-clerkship curriculum had a positive effect on students’ attitude and awareness of resource stewardship.
