About SHINE

The SHINE Youth Clinic is a student-run health clinic providing a variety of free services to Edmonton’s underserved youth. The clinic is managed and staffed by University of Alberta Healthcare students representing 8 disciplines; Medicine, Dentistry, Nursing, Pharmacy, Social Work, Nutrition, Counselling Psychology and Physiotherapy.  Currently, we only provide dental services.

Supervised by licensed healthcare professionals, student volunteers play a crucial role in providing care to patients in need while gaining practical experience. The clinic’s dedicated volunteers and interdisciplinary approach ensure each patient receives comprehensive care spanning their physical, emotional, social and economic needs. Volunteers and health practitioners are proud to operate under the principles of harm reduction and preventative medicine.

The SHINE Youth Clinic offers a relaxed and friendly atmosphere to Edmonton’s youth. The dental clinic operates on Saturdays from 9:00AM-12:30PM out of the Boyle McCauley Health Centre.

We welcome youth to use any or all of our services on a drop-in basis at no cost.

Vision

Our vision is to establish an interdisciplinary student-directed health clinic that provides comprehensive health services to the underserved youth population of Edmonton’s inner city by meeting their needs in a compassionate, non-judgemental, and safe environment.

Mission Statement

Our mission is four-fold:

1. To provide healthcare services to the marginalised youth population in Edmonton by:
   • Recognising and understanding their unique and often complex physical, emotional, mental, and social needs.
   • Putting into action the principles of patient education, preventative medicine, and harm reduction.
   • Applying our enthusiasm as students from multiple disciplines to respond to these needs.
   • Promoting an atmosphere of openness, safety, and acceptance.
2. To capitalize on the exceptional learning opportunity for students and healthcare professionals by:
   • Complementing the theoretical curriculum with practical experience.
   • Providing unique training appropriate for serving marginalised populations.
   • Creating opportunities for research.
   • Exposing students to the administrative aspects of running a clinic.
3. To build both interdisciplinary and intradisciplinary relationships by:
   • Peer learning across and within different health faculties.
   • Gaining a better appreciation of the roles and responsibilities of the other health professions within a real life setting.
   • Treating the patient holistically by incorporating all health disciplines into a working team.
4. To ensure the long-term sustainability of SHINE thereby maintaining the confidence of the community being served by:
   • Incorporating service into the curricula of various health faculties.
   • Working hard to establish rapport with the community.
   • Establishing an organization structure that allows for the administration and yearly transition of students.

Governing Principles

SHINE's goal is to provide a high level of healthcare for Edmonton's marginalized youth population. The holistic care of these individuals is imperative to achieve the goals outlined in SHINE's mission and vision statements. In particular, an emphasis is placed on interdisciplinary care with a focus on preventative medicine and harm reduction.

Interdisciplinary Healthcare

As a large academic centre, the University of Alberta has a wealth of healthcare professions to draw from and incorporate into the interdisciplinary team framework. Currently, SHINE includes representation from the following faculties:

• Medicine
• Nursing
• Dentistry
• Pharmacy
• Nutrition
• Dietitians
• Social Work
• Counselling Psychology
• Physiotherapy

By integrating each of these disciplines, SHINE will be able to provide a broad spectrum of services, and enhance the primary care we provide to the patients.

A marginalised youth population often lacks access to resources and services. SHINE hopes to evolve into a conduit which connects disenfranchised youth with the services and support networks required to improve their individual situations. SHINE recognises that it is not enough to provide a variety of services, but that one must integrate the delivery of these services into an easy-to-access package. Consequently, SHINE's success should not only be determined by the breadth of services we are providing, but also by its ability to make the patients feel cared for in holistic manner that fully addresses their physical, emotional, social, and economic concerns.

An interdisciplinary approach is necessary for SHINE to respond efficiently and comprehensively to individuals and their needs. SHINE will work to enhance primary care, and incorporate preventative healthcare and harm reduction in its practices.

Preventative Medicine

SHINE anticipates that preventative care may not be an immediate priority to the average young patient. When a young person does not have the basic necessities of life, their primary concerns may be more acute in nature. However, as health professionals, we recognise that preventative services are the key to improving and promoting long-term quality of life, thus prevention is a significant part of SHINE's agenda.

The SHINE clinic may initially rely on its multiplicity of acute-care services to attract patrons. In addition to the provision of primary care, the SHINE team is able to access this vulnerable population and provide education, consultation, and potential follow-up. The members of SHINE hope to establish a rapport with the youth of Boyle McCauley that will create confidence in health-care providers at an early age. By creating a relationship early on, SHINE hopes to be in a position to provide our patients with the information that they require to make informed decisions regarding their health and well-being.

Harm Reduction

'Harm reduction' as a policy or program refers to co-ordinated efforts to reduce drug-related harm. In Canada, programs endorsed by Canada's Drug Strategy include needle-exchange programs, methadone maintenance, and abstinence-oriented treatments. SHINE recognises that drug-abuse itself is a major problem, particularly in youth populations. We also recognise that there are additional secondary consequences that have their own social, economic, and personal impacts that perpetuate the vicious cycle of drug-abuse. SHINE hopes to prevent these devastating consequences and intervene in this cycle by incorporating these nationally endorsed programs into its operation. SHINE recognises that decreasing and preventing drug use is an ambitious and challenging goal. Yet the hope is to reduce the negative consequences of substance abuse by targeting the individuals while they are young and giving them the information and tools they require to make responsible decisions.

An important recommendation from comparisons of international harm reduction strategies is that 'efforts are made to ensure that needle exchanges and methadone are offered in the context of a range of other support services such as crisis intervention, medical and social care, shelter, housing, outreach, and counselling'¹. SHINE's interdisciplinary healthcare services and extensive network of local organizations will satisfy the criteria for such a context, in an attempt to implement effective harm reduction.

Needs Assessment

Beginning in January 2004, a needs assessment survey was conducted by a committee of University of Alberta medical students. The goal was to determine what communities or populations in Edmonton were currently under-served in terms of health care. Secondly, the committee identified organizations or health care facilities that are currently attempting to provide health care for these identified communities, and assessed their current adequacy.

The needs assessment compiled overwhelming evidence of inadequate health care provision to a number of Edmonton populations including: low income citizens, the homeless, substance abusers, aboriginals, immigrants, women, youth and seniors.

The assessment of currently available services for these populations revealed several organizations that are providing care. These include The Northeast Community Health Centre, Multicultural Health Brokers Cooperative Ltd., Boyle McCauley Health Centre and the Women's Centre for Health. All four of these organizations indicated that their client demand for health care services far exceeds the current available provision of such.