Our Story:
As graduate students and junior primary care researchers, we were compelled to deepen our understanding of current controversies in Canadian healthcare polices. To this end, in Spring 2018, we launched “Pizza & Politics” – a student-led seminar series designed to encourage graduate students and junior researchers to discuss and debate reforms in Canadian healthcare. Our initiative has two objectives: to deepen participants’ knowledge and understanding of contemporary controversies in healthcare, and to refine their rhetorical skills to meaningfully debate changes in healthcare policy in an open and inviting setting.
What We Do:
The “Pizza & Politics” initiative consists of a bi-monthly seminar where participants discuss controversial healthcare policy reforms (e.g. physician remuneration schemes, publicly funded drug coverage). Members voluntarily take turns leading sessions. The session leaders select relevant readings representative of differing perspectives, and distribute them to attendees two weeks prior to each meeting. During the one-hour session, leaders provide key information to contextualize the controversy, and then open the debate to participants.
Why it Matters:
“Pizza & Politics” fosters a diverse, engaged and informed community that benefits from each member’s unique perspective. We aim to create an environment free of judgement, where debate, errors, and changes of mind are encouraged. “Pizza & Politics” seminars provide a valuable space for students and junior researchers to explore topics outside of their specific thesis or expertise, and to gain knowledge regarding important changes in healthcare. To date, this platform has been leveraged to invite influential guest speakers to our department, present a poster at an international conference, and publish opinion articles in peer-reviewed journals.
Our funding support comes from the McGill Department of Family Medicine and the Family Medicine Graduate Student Society (FMGSS).