Jenae Vancura
Medical Student, Past Mi4 Fellow, CHOC Mi4 Internship Alumnus
This month we are sharing the inspiring journey of our former Mi4 innovation fellow, Jenae Vancura, as she reveals the basis of her innovative mindset and her unwavering passion for change.
You recently won the Abstract competition at Peds2040. How did you come up with your innovative idea?
I started with a brainstorming session, focusing on areas that I was passionate about. That was the first step. The easy answer for me was in the use of narrative medicine, which is storytelling used for patient education. Narrative medicine is extremely beneficial in pediatric care, and is sometimes even used without our realizing it, as it is firmly engrained in the practice of pediatric medicine. We use analogies when communicating with kids all of the time, breaking things down to their level of comprehension.
I then considered the use of large language models, like ChatGPT, to draft narrative medicine-based stories, covering a wide variety of medical conditions. I tried it out, and I was happily surprised by the result. I used the prompt, “How would you explain acute lymphoblastic leukemia to a seven-year-old?” It came up with a really solid draft to work from, and it even included customized, motivational lines, like, “Keep fighting. You’ve got this.”
The next step was to see how I could make the story come to life. I immediately thought of the modules that Mi4 and Eon Reality are creating at CHOC, which are animated, iPad or phone based, and allow for interactivity. I envisioned a clinic or hospital staff member entering in the patient area of interest, their age and diagnosis, and possibly some additional information to create a more personalized story. From there, an animated video would be created, and a downloadable version is provided to the patient.
That’s a very innovative idea. How do you feel your experiences with CHOC and Mi4 helped you learn to think like innovatively?
Before I completed the Mi4 Internship in 2019, I don’t think I could have conceptualized an idea like this. I would have been intimidated, feeling like I couldn’t make a difference. I think that being in the Internship, and then becoming an Innovation Fellow with Mi4 gave me the tools, as well as the confidence, having completed multiple design thinking projects. This gave me a fresh perspective and motivated me to always look for innovative ways to improve things.
What advice would you give to other innovators?
Just because something is the way it is doesn’t mean there isn’t opportunity to expand and improve on it. I also think that realizing that failure is a natural part of the innovation process is really important. Failure leads to improvement.
I would also share that innovation should come from areas you’re passionate about. It’s also important to have role models. Dr. Frediani, a CHOC Oncologist, unknowingly supported my narrative medicine concept. I will never forget shadowing her during the Internship and seeing how she took time with her patients when sharing their diagnosis. That really stuck with me. Her explanation was different from parent to patient, and she was very deliberate in ensuring that she was communicating based on the age and level of comprehension. That was such an impactful experience and a huge motivator for me. It is one of the reasons I am committed to pursuing a career as a physician.
You recently won the Abstract competition atPeds2040. How did you come up with your innovative idea?
I started with a brainstorming session, focusing on areas that I was passionate about. That was the first step. The easy answer for me was in the use of narrative medicine, which is storytelling used for patient education. Narrative medicine is extremely beneficial in pediatric care, and is sometimes even used without our realizing it, as it is firmly engrained in the practice of pediatric medicine. We use analogies when communicating with kids all of the time, breaking things down to their level of comprehension.
