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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
Megan L. Werner and Amy B. Jessop, PhD, MPH. Department of Health Studies, Temple University, 304 Vivacqua Hall, Philadelphia, PA 19122, 215-204-6780, meganwer@astro.temple.edu
The potential value of service learning experiences in medical education, particularly those offered by student-run programs, is well recognized. Since November 1999, the Temple CARES student-run health outreach program has provided experiential learning opportunities for medical students in a community setting, while offering prevention-related care, such as health screenings, health education and health care referrals, to members of the community surrounding the Temple University School of Medicine (TUSM). Until this time, no evaluation had been performed to determine whether the program is considered valuable by those involved. This project was designed to evaluate the activities of the Temple CARES program in order to: 1) identify and quantify the services provided to patients; 2) assess the benefits of participation for the patients, students, faculty and host organization; and, 3) identify ways to improve the delivery of services and the participants’ experiences. The evaluation included two major methodologies: a review of patient files and interviews with key program participants. Information obtained in the record review included patient characteristics, the most common presenting issues, and the types and frequency of services provided by the students. The results include patient demographic information such as the average age of patients (43.3 years), the percent of patients without insurance (39.7%), and the percent of patients without a usual source of care (30.2%). The three most common reasons for visiting the program included blood pressure screening (64.4% of visits); pain, including headache, chest pain, and musculoskeletal pain (22.8%); and blood glucose screening (10.5%). The record review also revealed the most common services provided by the students, including measuring blood pressure (79.8% of visits), providing referrals (39.5%) and providing health education (22.7%). Interviews were conducted with leaders at the host organization, student volunteers, faculty supervisors, patients, and potential patients not yet involved in the program. The interviews revealed the advantages and disadvantages of involvement for each participant group, the subjective benefits provided by the program, and ways to improve the program. The results of these interviews indicated that Temple CARES program provides a valuable service to all participants. The early, hands-on experience of providing prevention-related services within a community setting presents medical students with an opportunity to improve their interviewing and physical examination skills while building a bridge between the Temple University medical establishment and the community that it serves.
Learning Objectives: At the end of this presentation, participants will be able to
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.