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AHHA-N

Launched 2021 March

Overview

The AHHA-N Affinity Community was created to provide a home for all individuals who have an interest in the intersections of healthcare (medicine, nursing, social work, kinesiology) and the arts, humanities or social sciences.  Though geographically based in Calgary and led by alumni of the University, it is open to all who want to work together in this interdisciplinary field.

Mission

Our Affinity Community is committed to intertwine the ideas and goals of health, healthcare, and healthcare professionals with those of the arts, humanities and social sciences.  Sharing and exploring world views within this broad community should enhance our mutual understanding of the human condition, our sense of purpose, our evolution as professionals, citizens and people.

Objectives

  1. Create and maintain a community of individuals committed to excellence in understanding and/or delivering healthcare.
  2. Create a natural home for graduates of U Calgary or those currently associated with U Calgary who want to use the lens of the arts and humanities to enhance our personal career satisfaction and the quality of care or education if we are providers.
  3. To deepen the appreciation and understanding of the humanistic view of healthcare.

Value we see of being associated with the Alumni Association

  1. To network across several faculties in which there is a shared interest in aspects of healthcare.
  2. To support arts and humanities faculties in using the lens of healthcare to understand the world.
  3. To take advantage of the value of Health Humanities across the educational continuum from undergraduate through graduate to professional and even post-practice life.
  4. To Create links between experts and novices.

Proposed initial events and activities

  1. Integrate AHHAM activities into the existing interdisciplinary Calgary Biannual Health Humanities Symposium scheduled for September 2021 (as a virtual conference due to pandemic constraints).
  2. Promote the gathering, curating and accessibility of narratives of healthcare education and practice at the Cumming School of Medicine (The Story Box Project).
  3. Increase presence of arts and humanities at Cumming School of Medicine events.
  4. As the Network enters its first months of existence, it will rely on the members from respective faculties to explore further opportunities for further projects and activities.

To join or for more information, please contact Tom Rosenal  rosenal@ucalgary.ca

Background: Existing organizations and past activities that formed the basis to form AHHA-N  

The interdisciplinary Health Humanities group at U Calgary has been active since 2012.  It initiated many activities and events as shown on our website www.ucalgary.ca/healthhumanities/.  We are connected to a relatively young national body, the Canadian Association for Health Humanities/L’Association Canadienne des Sciences Humaines en Santé (CAHH) www.cahh.ca/ - in fact, the CAHH inaugural President is a Cumming School alumnus and one member of the CAHH Advisory Council is a U Calgary professor in the Faculty of Arts and another is a Cumming School graduate student.