The Building Resources and Accessibility in Neurology (BRAIN) Guide

Project Title	The Building Resources and Accessibility in Neurology (BRAIN) Guide
Principal Investigator	Larry Leung
Co-Applicants	Patient Educator Advisory Committee • Marilyn Werseen-Lenzen, Ambassador, Multiple Sclerosis of Canada, • Erin Arnold, Patient Educator • Ani Khoudian, Patient Educator • Bev Bentley, Patient Educator • Jessica Rimmer, Patient Educator • Neville Tencer, Patient Educator • Charles and Kate La Vertu, Patient Educators BRAIN Student Team • Morgan Grey, 2nd year Entry-to-Practice PharmD Student • Renee Lim, 2nd year Entry-to-Practice PharmD Student • Soeun Chang, 1st year Entry-to-Practice PharmD Student, • Heather Ranger, 1st year Entry-to-Practice PharmD Student
Faculty	Pharmaceutical Sciences
Funding Year	2025
Project Summary	Pharmacy students require ample opportunities to build and apply clinical knowledge to confidently practice at their full scope. However, students often identify the PharmD program’s lengthy, theory-heavy and didactic lectures as inaccessible and insufficient in the preparation for real-world practice. This is particularly true in the 6-week intensive Neurology Module (7 credits), which often features learning in 4-8 hour blocks. In response, the “BRAIN framework” was developed and implemented, which features the following pillars based on modifying Knapp and Zeratsky’s approach to “making time for what matters”: 1) HIGHLIGHT: online asynchronous modules, 2) LASER/ENERGIZE: interactive patient case walkthroughs, and 3) REFLECT: real patient integration into course content and assessments. This framework has been positively received by students and offers a foundation for further innovation and expansion. The purpose of this project is to build an open education resource entitled, “The BRAIN Guide,” that will feature the building of two key pillars: 1) Program Guide for Educators: a written and visual guide for other faculty to access, use, and/or modify the BRAIN Framework for their own classroom settings. 2) Patient Case and Question Bank for Students: an open repository of patient cases with interactive assessment- style questions.
Grant type	OER Affordability Grant
Funded Amount	$ 19,725