One might wonder what feather boas, red dresses and drag shows have to do with clinical education. It will all become clear for 6 days this August. CMCC is sending a team of 8 interns and 2 clinicians & one former bike rally intern as clinic manager on the Friends for Life Bike Rally in support of the Toronto People With Aids Foundation.
Interns treat cyclists & crew en route from Toronto to Montreal. The rally takes place early on in the interns’ clinical placement so the learning curve can be steep.
Ultimately, this is more than a clinical outreach. There is such a strong sense of community – from the feather boas and decorations on our vehicles to all of our interns leading warm up and treating in red dresses on Day 3. The bike rally is truly a transformative experience for our interns. They do learn a lot clinically, but they also learn from a community that has had to deal with stigma and prejudice. This outreach affords us the opportunity to educate interns beyond the clinical and theoretical and hopefully these lessons in empathy, humanity, and caring for their fellow humans will last a lifetime. And truth be told, most people look good in red…..
You can help support us by making a secure online donation using your credit card.
This cause is close to our hearts, and I hope you can join us supporting it!