Today@Dal
» Go to news mainHelp Train Medical Students
Join the Volunteer Patient Program
To get really good at what they do, medical students need to practise their interviewing and examination skills on real people. The Volunteer Patient Program (VPP) gives first-year students the opportunity to rehearse these skills.
Volunteer patient recruitment
Within each unit of the curriculum, students learn how to take the appropriate medical history and how to conduct the relevant physical exam(s). Because of that, we aim to recruit volunteers who have a variety of health conditions (e.g., diabetes, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, bowel disease, osteoporosis, epilepsy, thyroid conditions, asthma, etc.).
If you're signing on as a spare volunteer, you can have a health condition, or be 100 per cent healthy.
What to expect
A pair of first-year medical students will practise taking your medical history and perform a non-invasive medical exam under the direction of their tutor, a fully-licensed physician. (Note:ÌýStudent teams do not provide medical care or advice.)
Scheduling
VPP sessions take place on Tuesday and Thursday mornings (9:15 a.m. - 11:45 a.m.), and run throughout the academic year. Volunteer patients can participate once or more than once - whatever schedules allow.
Sign up
Halifax VPP coordinator:Ìývppinfo@dal.ca
Saint John VPP coordinator:Ìýstephanie.rutherford@dal.ca, 506-636-6264​
Recent News
- In Memoriam ‑ Colin Spinney
- Document delivery during Canada Post strike
- New surplus items added in Halifax
- Dal Tigers birthday parties
- Celebrate culture, creativity, and sustainability at the IEW Fashion Show!
- Student Accessibility Closure Friday, November 22
- Job postings
- Where suppliers can meet Dal Procurement