The BC-CfE’s Clinical Education and Training Program recently saw a change in leadership from Dr. Silvia Guillemi, who started leading the program when it began back in 2011, to Dr. Val Montessori. Dr. Montessori has multiple roles, as she will be leading the Clinical Education and Training Program while also serving as the Head of the Division of Infectious Diseases at St. Paul’s Hospital and as the Co-chair of the Committee for Drug Evaluation and Therapy. Dr. Montessori also works as a Clinical Associate professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of British Columbia.
The Clinical Education and Training Program was designed to provide learning opportunities on the diagnosis, treatment, management and care of HIV/AIDS and related conditions through personalized learning programs.
Under Dr. Guillemi’s guidance, the program grew to include the work the BC-CfE has taken on under its guiding strategy of Treatment as Prevention (TasP). TasP, formally introduced in 2006, is based on the proven concept that providing access to antiretroviral therapy as early as possible following an HIV diagnosis dramatically reduces the spread of HIV. Following the TasP strategy, the BC-CfE has applied its expertise in other areas including other medical issues, substance use, Hepatitis C testing and care, and chronic disease management.
The many options for learning and certification offered by the Clinical Education and Training Program are available to health care professionals, allied health professionals, community frontline workers, those living with HIV, and students throughout BC, Canada, and the world. During this COVID-19 pandemic, these educational opportunities have not stopped, but have shifted to being online, with webinars and online courses taking the place of in-person educational events.
Among the key courses offered is the BC-CfE Intensive Preceptorship Program. This continuing professional development program is meant for physicians and nurse practitioners in BC, and it supports the professional growth and development of practitioners wishing to expand the scope of their primary care practice and to achieve competence and confidence in providing the best possible care to patients with HIV/AIDS.
The Clinical Education and Training Program also includes the Nurse Practitioner Program. By taking this course, nurse practitioners can expand their roles in HIV care, which, in turn, increases the provincial capacity to prevent new HIV infections and to improve access to treatment for people living with HIV.
To support the expansion of the role of nurse practitioners, the BC-CfE collaborated with the BC College of Nurses & Midwifes to update prescribing standards and to establish education requirements for nurse practitioners for HIV prevention and the treatment of people living with HIV.
The achievements of Dr. Guillemi during her tenure as leader of the Clinical Education and Training Program have not gone unnoticed. In October of 2019, Dr. Guillemi received the UBC Faculty of Medicine Award for Innovation in Continuing Professional Development/Continuing Medical Education. The honour recognized how Dr. Guillemi and her team had implemented “unique and innovative opportunities for training and education in the field of HIV/AIDS in BC”. She also received the Continuing Professional Development Award from the College of Family Physicians of Canada for the development and implementation of the Intensive Preceptorship Training Program in HIV/AIDS in October of 2016.
Having now handed the reins of leadership to Dr. Montessori, and since moving to a role as a Clinical Advisor to the BC-CfE, Dr. Guillemi said, “I am very grateful for the opportunity that I had to lead the BC-CfE Clinical Education Program during all these years. This program provided a unique opportunity for BC-CfE to showcase all the great work that their experts are doing towards the achievement of the 90-90-90 and towards improving the quality of life of PLWH. I want to thank the great team that worked with us all these years, and I have no doubts that Dr. Montessori will continue to provide a very high quality of education and training through this program.”
I’m looking forward to continuing the exciting work Dr. Guillemi and her team have been doing and leveraging my connections with Infectious Diseases, the Urban Health Inpatient Infection Unit and others to further enhance learning in BC.
– Dr. Montessori