Dr. Fiona MacDonald

Dr. Fiona MacDonald (PhD UBC) is an Assistant Professor specializing in Gender Politics. Dr. MacDonald co-edited the Finding Feminisms special issue of the Canadian Journal of Political Science (June 2017) which includes her article, “Knocking Down Walls in Political Science: In Defense of an Expansionist Feminist Agenda.” Her other publications can be found in the journals Hypatia, Citizenship Studies, Constellations, and Canadian Public Administration. Her article “Indigenous Peoples and Neoliberal ‘Privatization’ in Canada: Opportunities, Cautions and Constraints” won the 2012 John McMenemy Prize for the best article published in volume 44 of the Canadian Journal of Political Science. Her co-edited book, Turbulent Times, Transformational Opportunities? Gender and Politics Today and Tomorrow, was published with University of Toronto Press, Spring 2020. She is currently working on research related to the impact(s) of apology following medical error or mistreatment and a co-edited book titled, Feministing in Political Science: A Manifesta for Change.

“Equity is for Everyone: How Allyship Can Transform the Workplace”

Employment Equity and Diversity Learning Symposium, Corrections Canada

Abbotsford, BC

Reach Award

Details:

More Than Words? Patient Insights on the Impact of Medical Apology

Increasingly, jurisdictions are adopting “apology legislation” that allows clinicians to apologize to patients when an adverse event occurs while disallowing the introduction of the apology in a liability case as evidence of fault or liability.

Apology legislation exists in Canada, Australia, the USA and the UK. In Canada, nine provinces and two territories have adopted apology legislation (BC first adopted in 2006). An apology is defined in Canadian legislation as “Encompassing an expression of sympathy and regret and a statement that one is sorry, or any other words or actions indicating contrition or commiseration, whether or not the words or actions admit or imply an admission of fault” (CMPA website). While apology legislation is established in Canada, little is known about the impact of apologies on various stakeholders, or the impact the legislation has on health care more generally. The existing literature on medical apologies is largely focused on the American context and is often limited to the potential impacts rather than the actual impacts as they are experienced by stakeholders. It is unknown whether impacts are differentiated for specific patient groups, such as Indigenous populations whom, research consistently shows, often experience highly differentiated processes and outcomes in health care.

Data was collected in two provinces (BC and MB) from qualitative interviews with patients who experienced a medical error and who did or did not receive an apology. Data was also collected via interviews with patient safety experts, clinicians, health care administrators, and medical school administrators. There is rich data providing original insight into how and whether giving/receiving an apology improves learning, accountability, patient safety, and healing (for both the patient and clinician). With this data, YouTube videos, op-eds and blog posts will be developed to share the findings with patients, clinicians, and administrators. The dissemination products will emphasize these themes: 1) Various traumas associated with medical errors/mistreatment; 2) The components of a meaningful medical apology for clinicians and administrators; 3) Impacts of apology on both patient and clinician; 4) Indigenous perspectives on medical apologies.

More information: https://www.msfhr.org/2018-reach-award-recipients