The Queen's Medicine Health Talks team. Back row, from left to right: Nadia
Gabarin, Matthew Haaland. Front row, from left to right: Tyson Savage, Nothando
Swan, Rajini Retnasothie.

By Rosie Hales, Communications Officer

Over the next three months, the Queen’s School of Medicine will open its doors to the Queen’s and greater Kingston community for a series of discussions about contemporary health issues.

Queen’s Medicine Health Talks, recently founded by a group of first-year medical students, has planned three talks between now and April.

The first discussion, “Let’s Talk Heart Health,” takes place Feb. 20. It will focus on basic information about how to keep a healthy heart, and what could happen if you don’t. February is National Heart Health Month.

Queen’s Medicine Health Talks President Nothando Swan started initiative because she wanted to open up the School of Medicine Building to people at Queen’s outside of the medical school community, as well as the Kingston community.

“The idea behind these talks really stemmed from sitting in class and thinking about how amazing this facility is and how valuable it would be to have other people learning in the same space,” says Ms. Swan, Meds’17. “The School of Medicine has been great in allowing this idea to come to fruition and it demonstrates how supportive Queen’s is when it comes to ideas that students bring forward.”

Mental health will be discussed at the March 27 meeting. The topic for the April 17 discussion will be decided based on attendees’ feedback at previous talks. All of the talks will be held in the School of Medicine Building, 15 Arch St., from 6 to 7 pm.

The organizers selected topics in consultation with healthcare professionals.  Medical students will prepare and lead the talks in close consultation with a physician who specializes in the topic. The physician will also attend the talk to answer any questions.

Tony Sanfilippo, a cardiologist and associate dean of undergraduate medicine in the School of Medicine, will participate in the first talk.

“This is a student-conceived, student-driven, student-delivered initiative intended to provide a useful service to our community in appreciation of the many contributions Kingstonians have made and continue to make to the education of our students,” says Dr. Sanfilippo. “It’s a marvelous expression of the personal qualities we hope our students will develop during their time with us, and reflects the mutually beneficial relationship that’s existed between the School of Medicine and Kingston community for over 150 years.”

To register for a health talk, send an email to qmht@qmed.ca and indicate which date(s) you’d like to attend.