Action Grants
Cultural North Star in Action Grants
2024 Class of Change Agents
Communication Skills Training
Department of Medicine
This initiative focuses on delivering evidence-based communication skills training to clinicians and trainees at DGSOM who interact with patients with serious illnesses. Effective communication is essential in handling difficult conversations with patients, colleagues, and trainees. Palliative care clinicians, who are experts in serious illness communication, will lead didactic lectures and small group workshops to help participants practice key skills such as delivering prognosis, breaking bad news, and clarifying care goals.
Even seasoned communicators can benefit from further training. This project promotes a growth-oriented mindset within the DGSOM community by emphasizing the importance of continuous and intentional practice to improve communication skills within a structured and supportive training environment.
Night of Storytelling – Expanded
Gold Humanism Honor Society at DGSOM
The UCLA chapter of the Gold Humanism Honor Society (GHHS) annually hosts the "Night of Storytelling" (NoS), an event where individuals share stories from medicine through various artistic media, emphasizing connection, reflection, and compassion. NoS encourages participants to "do what's right," "make things better," and "be kind." It provides a platform for open and vulnerable storytelling about diverse experiences in medicine, fostering reflection and reinforcing shared values.
The event promotes kindness and compassion by allowing participants to share authentic stories of empathy, understanding, and support. With additional CNS Grant support, the aim is to expand the event to accommodate more participants and increase its overall impact. The entire UCLA Health community will be invited to take part in this larger, more inclusive "Night of Storytelling."
Teaching Structural Racism, Ethics, and Interprofessional Communication through Narrative Medicine
This project aims to integrate the concept of Narrative Medicine into the curriculum by producing a staged reading of a play. The intention is to enhance the narrative medicine component of the David Geffen School of Medicine’s (DGSOM) curriculum through theatre. The staged reading will serve as a springboard for teaching structural racism, ethics, interprofessional communication, and conflict resolution to learners in undergraduate medical education, graduate education, and other medical fields.
The stories and themes presented in the production will highlight biases in patient care, government-sponsored structural racism, and the importance of upstander efforts to mitigate racism and bias in medical practice. The production will also address the power dynamics inherent in interprofessional communication, promoting more equitable interactions in healthcare.
Wellness Lockers
Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine
The project proposal seeks to improve the well-being of healthcare professionals by fostering a supportive workplace environment. This will be achieved through an innovative initiative of providing essential items to healthcare workers. Each wellness locker is designed to serve approximately 50 users, and the plan includes a pilot project using the first locker over an eight-week period.
The initiative is aimed at offering all staff members, regardless of their background or identity, access to items that help alleviate burnout and promote well-being at a low cost. By enhancing staff well-being and encouraging self-care, the project aspires to create a more inclusive and positive work environment that improves the quality of life for healthcare workers and, in turn, enhances patient care. The broader goal is to create a positive impact that extends beyond the workplace.
