Introduction to PPV and its Founders

Hi everyone! 

We’re Hanna (Health Sciences, Year 2) and Monique (Biopsychology, Year 2), the co-founders of Queen’s Patient & Provider Voices (PPV),  a new student-led initiative created to build empathy, accountability, and meaningful change in healthcare.

We started PPV because we’ve both seen and heard too many stories of patients feeling unheard, or dismissed and of healthcare professionals struggling in systems that don’t always allow them to provide the compassionate care they want. Our mission is to create a safe and inclusive platform where the voices of both patients and healthcare professionals can be heard, respected, and amplified. By sharing stories of resilience and challenge, we hope to raise awareness of where the system falls short and to inspire the next generation of healthcare leaders to approach care with empathy and equity.

Through PPV, we aim to amplify patient voices by sharing real stories through podcasts, social media, and live events. This will highlight not only the gaps in care but also the strength and humanity behind every experience. We also want to educate aspiring healthcare professionals by hosting guest lectures, TED-style talks, and discussions with patients, professors, and providers who can help us reflect critically on compassion, bias, and inequity in medicine. Alongside these efforts, we’ll be raising awareness and advocating for change through social media campaigns and partnerships with other organizations that share our goal of creating a more equitable healthcare system.

Community engagement is another big part of our work. We plan to host fundraising events to support charities and local Kingston communities that align with our mission. Our hope is to help students build advocacy skills and create a culture of accountability, listening, and inclusion within healthcare training itself.

As for what’s ahead, you can expect fundraising events,  podcasts where we discuss current issues in medicine with patients and providers who share their stories and insights. We're also hoping to host a major panel featuring professors and healthcare professionals, giving students the chance to ask questions, learn directly from advocates, and engage in meaningful dialogue about how to make care more compassionate and effective.

We’re at the beginning of something we hope will grow with your input. If you’ve got a story, an idea, or just an interest in making healthcare better, we’d love to hear from you — every perspective matters, and every voice helps.

— Hanna & Monique

Founders, Queen’s Patient & Provider Voices