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Physical therapy students and a faculty member who participated in the Aging Interest Group during the group’s annual an annual health fair at New Cassel Retirement Center are, from left: Jessica Turner, Elizabeth Mostek, Sarah Edelstein, Eric Melander, Nicole Dickmeyer, Allyson Malzahn, Sarah Sedlak, Jenny Rother, and Dawn Venema, Ph.D., assistant professor of physical therapy. |
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Pharmacy students Amy Schmidt Arnold, far left, and Kimchi Nguyen, center, and first year nursing student, Jessica Jenkins, participated in the Aging Interest Group during the group’s annual health fair at New Cassel Retirement Center. |
The Aging Interest Group at UNMC — which is composed of medical, nursing, pharmacy, social work and physical therapy students — participates in four to five annual events that expose students to health issues of older adults.
One of the recent activities was an annual health fair at New Cassel Retirement Center, where more than 30 student volunteers and faculty served about 70 residents.
“It’s important early in their training for students to learn the importance of multidisciplinary teams and how they need to work as part of the team providing geriatric care,” said Ed Vandenberg, M.D., faculty adviser for the group and associate professor of geriatrics in the UNMC Department of Internal Medicine. “It’s been proven that interdisciplinary teams do better managing older patients.”
Students provides useful services
The UNMC team provided health screenings such as:
- Fall risk assessments;
- Medication information and advice;
- Osteoporosis screenings; and
- Hearing screenings.
“The residents at New Cassel were pleased with the students,” Dr. Vandenberg said. “The students also had a lot of fun and did much good.”
Other interest group activities during the year included a game called “Geopardy,” which focuses on the health issues of older adults.
Participants see how team care works
Third-year medical student, Marinda Wells, said the AIG gave her a better understanding of how a team approach can create a better plan and consequently improve patients’ quality of life.
The health fair at New Cassel showed her how physical therapy increases patient mobility and stability and ensures proper fitting of walkers and canes, Wells said. It was equally helpful to interact with pharmacy and nursing personnel, she said.
“I am confident I will be a better doctor because I am more comfortable with the elderly and their common health care concerns,” Wells said. “This was a priceless experience.”
AIG highlights specific issues of geriatric care
She appreciated that UNMC geriatricians made students aware of commonly overlooked issues.
“Many physicians and patients seem to put off talking about final plans, but I was taught how to address the sensitive issue with patients in a way that makes them understand the importance of having their wishes made known,” she said.
Jessica Ott, second-year medical student, said through participation in the group she learned how unique geriatric medicine is.
“I learned that it really requires working as a team with other disciplines because one person can’t help with all the potential problems faced with an older patient,” Ott said. “AIG taught me some valuable lessons about the unique and complex problems that can be involved in geriatrics, which I will be able to apply throughout my medical education and practice.”