Author/Authors :
Embrett, Mark Health Program - Faculty of Arts and Science - St. Francis Xavier University, Antigonish, NS, Canada , Meaghan Sim, S Healthy Populations Institute - Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada , Aubrecht, Katie Department of Sociology - St. Francis Xavier University, Antigonish, NS, Canada , Cheng, Ivy Division of Emergency Medicine (DOM) - University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada , Lai, Jonathan Canadian Autism Spectrum Disorders Alliance (CASDA), Toronto, ON, Canada , Liu, Rebecca Women’s College Hospital Institute for Health Systems and Virtual Care, Toronto, ON, Canada , Ouedraogo, Samiratou Department of Epidemiology - Biostatistics and Occupational Health - McGill University, Montréal, QC, Canada , Saari, Margaret SE Health, Markham, ON, Canada
Abstract :
In our original article,1 we portrayed the perspectives of a group of trainees from the early months of the inaugural cohort of Canadian Institutes of Health Research’s (CIHR’s) Health System Impact (HSI) Fellowship, and in doing so we provided a framework for ‘Understanding the HSI Fellow as an Embedded Researcher’ and the various factors that may influence the HSI Fellowship experience. We are pleased that the article received perspectives from an international audience. Commentators compared the HSI Fellowship to similar programs in Australia2 and the United Kingdom3; others highlighted the historical challenges of these programs to make an impact4,5; another positioned integrated knowledge translation (iKT) at the centre of the fellowship experience.6 In response to these articles, we wish to: (1) address interpretations that were made regarding the role of the fellow; (2) emphasize two overlooked objectives of the fellowship (learning about and addressing health system challenges and professional development), thereby establishing that the fellowship and its impact is not ‘all about’ any one component; and (3) reflect on the commentators’ perspectives regarding tensions that exist between academic success and research impact. Our hope is that these responses will further illuminate the critical ways the HSI Fellowship is ‘driving change’ in the pursuit of a learning health system culture.
Keywords :
Learning Health Systems , Embedded Research , Postdoctoral Training , Training Modernization
