Health screenings educate older adults, college students

HELEN KWETKOWSKI discusses her daily medication regimen with pharmacy student Nada Elgabrouny during the Senior Health and Wellness Program held at URI last month. / COURTESY NORA LEWIS
HELEN KWETKOWSKI discusses her daily medication regimen with pharmacy student Nada Elgabrouny during the Senior Health and Wellness Program held at URI last month. / COURTESY NORA LEWIS

SOUTH KINGSTOWN – Students assess the gait of a senior citizen who carefully navigates a straight pathway marked on a carpet. Nearby, a woman demonstrates her new prosthesis as she rises from her wheelchair, and yet another woman receives advice on medication use.

Nearly 30 older adults volunteered last month in the University of Rhode Island’s Senior Health and Wellness Program in an annual event organized by URI’s Academic Health Collaborative (comprised of the colleges of health sciences, nursing and pharmacy) and the physician assistant program at Johnson & Wales University, according to a press statement from URI. Approximately 120 graduate and undergraduate students broke into teams to provide health screenings and recommendations for each community volunteer.

The program started nearly a decade ago with about 14 volunteers and physical therapy students, Janice Hulme, associate clinical professor of physical therapy and an event organizer, said in the statement. In recent years, it has expanded to include pharmacy, nursing and nutrition students, and plans are underway to add students majoring in social work and related disciplines.

Teams include students from physical therapy, nutrition, pharmacy, nursing and physician assistance. “Initially, [the students are] very nervous,” said Hulme, yet they acquire tangible clinical expertise and improve their communication and teamwork skills. “Afterward, they tell us it is one of the greatest experiences they have.”

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At an initial meeting in September, teams assess each person’s health, including diet, vital signs, sleep habits, medications, mobility, strength and balance. Then, they review findings and write recommendations for each person, before the volunteers return a month later for reassessments and recommendations.

“This is an excellent example of inter-professional education, and it’s a service to the community,” Geoffrey Greene, professor of nutrition at URI, said in the statement. He said that the program allows students to experience the multidisciplinary approach to health care, which is becoming the norm.

The program is feeding research, as well. Faculty have begun collecting data from student participants to gauge learning through inter-professional education and teamwork, Hulme said.

Narragansett resident Helen Kwetkowski was relieved to know that she would not have to remember the team’s advice because it would be provided in writing. “I want to take the paper to the doctor,” she said, of the material, which is reviewed by faculty before being mailed to the volunteer.

It’s a learning curve for students’ inter-generational social skills, as well. “One year, students didn’t ask before referring to seniors by their first names, and a woman called them on it,” Hulme said. “It opens their eyes about older people.”

The morning ends with volunteers providing constructive feedback on the students’ clinical expertise, communication and professionalism.

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