Practice

UBC Flexible & Enhanced Learning (FLEX)

Overview & Eligibility

The Centre for Gender and Sexual Health Equity (CGSHE) is a UBC Faculty of Medicine research centre, affiliated with Simon Fraser University, that hosts a number of community engaged and clinical research projects to address inequities in sexual health care for communities marginalized due to social, economic and legal inequities, including homeless/precariously housed, sexual and gender minority populations (LGBTQ/2S), Indigenous and other racialized communities, refugee and migrant populations, and criminalized communities (e.g. parents in poverty, sex workers, women and non-binary persons living with HIV).

The CGSHE FLEX projects are open to current medical students enrolled at the University of British Columbia as a part of their Flexible and Enhanced Learning (FLEX) curriculum. They are designed for highly motivated students interested in potentially pursuing a career in gender equity and sexual health research.

The CGSHE FLEX project is open to students at any site and are generally completed in person at one of our CGSHE-UBC offices in Vancouver, either our UBC admin/research office (1190 Hornby St) or our community hub (647 E Hastings St).

CGSHE FLEX Project Opportunities

Students will gain research experience in the field of sexual and reproductive health and rights. FLEX activities include an introduction to ethical research with marginalized communities and sexual health research education.

Students can select one of the following FLEX research projects:

  • Reproductive Health & Reproductive Justice
  • Criminalization of Sexuality
  • Violence & Trauma-informed Care
  • Indigenous Sexual & Reproductive Health & Wellness

For their FLEX project, students will be involved in one of the many innovative clinical and community-based sexual health research projects at CGSHE. Outputs will include academic writing in the form of case reports, policy briefs, commentaries, systematic reviews or original research papers on sexual health and gender equity.

Project Deliverables

Students interested in a FLEX project will meet with a CGSHE research supervisor to discuss a potential research project of interest. To enhance the learning experience, the student will be supported to independently develop a project of interest, carry out a research study and produce a deliverable (eg. a case report, systematic review, manuscript suitable for publication, presentation at a scientific meeting, or other project to be determined together with a research supervisor). The project(s) can be expected to take about 100 hours, depending on scope of the project selected.

The majority of the time (75%) will be dedicated to the research activities. The remainder (25%) may also incorporate exposure to relevant sexual health community and clinical research “encounters” that will allow for the medical student to gain first-hand experience in the field and support their research project. Supported community-based research and clinical activities will include visits to and working from CGSHE community office and ethnographic fieldwork with community research staff including site visits to local sexual health and gender-centred services, meeting with sexual health clinical staff, and participation and presentation at CGSHE research training events such as monthly trainee meetings and the CGSHE Speaker Series.

Supervisors

  • Dr. Brittany Bingham
  • Dr. Kathleen Deering
  • Dr. Andrea Krüsi

Prerequisites

There are no prior requirements for this elective. There are no projected student expenses.

Timeline for Applications

Availability of student placements are limited. Students are encouraged to apply early.

Application Details

Please send applications including CV to Esther Ibu, Research Coordinator – Sexual Health: esther.ibu@cgshe.ubc.ca.