Jacquelin Forsey, Rehabilitation Sciences Institute

Student name: Jacquelin Forsey
Supervisors: Stella Ng and Nicole Woods, Associate Professors

PhD Thesis: Understanding the Basic Science of Patient-Provider Communication in Health Professions Education

Jacquelin’s doctoral research explores the conceptual knowledge underpinning patient-provider interactions in a healthcare context, the relationship between this conceptual knowledge and current communication pedagogy, and the potential for this knowledge to improve future health professions education.

Jacquelin is advancing the science and practice of teaching clinician-client communication. Her first study investigated relevant theories from communications, linguistics, psychology and offered a clear and evidence-informed way forward for communications teaching in the health professions. It should be noted that this review paper was accepted into a prestigious venue for our field--she gave a talk at the Association of American Medical Colleges Research in Medical Education conference in 2021 and her paper was featured in the 2021 annual special issue of Academic Medicine, the highest impact journal in our field. Jacqui is now poised to integrate her findings into communications curricula.

Jacqui holds an Ontario Graduate Scholarship

Jacquelin's community outreach experiences are impressive, in their impact and relevance to her research. She has volunteered at Bridgepoint Health and chaired an advisory board for a patient engagement committee, and thus grounded her research focus in a matter of great societal importance. In her graduate program she has consistently demonstrated leadership. For example, she fundraised for and created a lending library at the Wilson Centre to enable access to key readings for her fellow students. She was the fellows representative at the Wilson Centre for 2 years, in this role organizing a bi-weekly seminar covering both research and professional development. She has also demonstrated the type of collaborative spirit that excellent researchers exhibit.

As an educator, Jacqui is developing her repertoire actively. She has taught widely including local sessions for health professions learners at University of Toronto, a local conference for medical students, and guest lectures at the University of South Dakota. 

Jacqui is a rising star who will lead thought and action toward higher quality, more compassionate health care through evidence-informed education.