Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

The File Of Life: A Lifeline For First Responders In Fairfield County, Ct, Brittany Gilmore

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

During a medical emergency, it can be difficult for first responders to obtain crucial medical information about their patients for a variety of reasons. The patient may be unconscious, have an altered mental status, or simply not know their medical history. This project aimed to increase awareness of the File of Life program, which many local Fire and EMS departments are implementing to improve their ability to deliver life-saving care.

Accurate At-Home Blood Pressure Readings, Shivani Mathur, Shivani Mathur

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Blood pressure follow-ups are some of the most common reasons for clinic visits. Patients are told to monitor their blood pressures at home and medication dosages are adjusted in clinic to reflect their blood pressure readings at home. However, many patients are not aware of proper blood pressure measurement techniques, which could lead to inaccurate readings and therefore, inaccurate treatment. This project will provide a simple infographic to increase compliance with accurate blood pressure measurements.

A Mobile App To Improve Patient Education In The Management Of Chronic Lbp, Cole Lutz

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

The purpose of this project is to educate patients about the treatment of CLBP through an interactive mobile app, with the goal of improving transparency regarding the risks and benefits of various interventions. Most patients with CLBP lack the time and knowledge to perform a thorough literature review to determine the rates of efficacy and complications associated with their treatment. A mobile app that summarizes this data and translates it in a way that patients can understand would facilitate clearer communication and expectations between patients and providers. With improved patient education, patients would presumably be more likely to participate in …

Patient Education: Otc Medications For Upper Respiratory Infection, Lauren A. Okamoto

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Upper respiratory infection (URI) is among the top three diagnoses in the outpatient setting. Symptomatic relief is the reason for the most visits related to this diagnosis in the first couple of weeks after the onset of illness. Patient education on OTC medications for this use is often a component of these visits. The goal of this project is to create a standardized tool for patient education and reference to improve efficiency of education as well as patient understanding and future use of resources.

Community Services For Patient Referral Document, Jett Choquette

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Patients have a need for referral to a variety of services that directly relate to their health and wellbeing that are not generally included in the traditional referral system of healthcare networks. These services include (but are not limited to) social work support, pandemic support, elderly services, LQBTQ+ services, intimate partner violence services, functional medicine, and substance use disorder and mental health support and treatment. Because these services are not part of the traditional healthcare referral system, healthcare providers may not have an up-to-date list of organizations and programs in the community that could provide these needed services. This is …

Accessibility And Normalization Of Wearable Pronoun Identification In Healthcare Professionals, Dinukie-Chantal Perera

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Healthcare can be an incredibly intimidating machine to all demographics of patients. One uniquely challenged group are patients who are gender diverse, trans, and/or gender nonconforming. This group of patients experiences systemic discrimination through institutional practices embedded in healthcare.

Gender affirming care can be improved on many levels, but one straightforward and actionable way to support gender diversity and demonstrate enthusiasm and awareness for the community is to encourage the use of pronoun pins/ labels in individuals willing to use them.

Colorectal Cancer Screening Options, Juwairiyyah Fatima

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Colorectal cancer is a leading cause of mortality in the United States. The USPTF recommends screening starting at age 45. Many options exist for colorectal cancer screening. This project explores the use of a handout explaining the various screening tests available to patients as a means of improving screening rate in one primary care clinic population.

Adolescent Anticipatory Guidance, Anna M. Corbalan

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

This project focuses on creating an educational resource specifically for adolescents and young adults regarding the anticipatory guidance for this age group. Although adolescence is generally a healthy time for most, many health or social problems will start or peak during this time. Therefore, it is a crucial time to incorporate preventive guidance and increase health literacy to avoid unhealthy chronic behaviors in adulthood.

Basic At-Home Exercises For Common Areas Of Pain, Willie Dong

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Physical Therapy (PT) is often the first-line management for subacute MSK pain seen in the primary care setting. For various reasons patients may be opposed going to PT. For patients that are interested, there is often a latent period before an appointment can be made. Providing resources, including a pamphlet, with all-inclusive, simple at-home exercises may help to accelerate recovery.

Addressing Maladaptive Coping Mechanisms In Response To External Stressors And Negative Affective States In Primary Care Settings, Matthew C. Hanna

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Individuals respond to negative affective states, including depression and bipolar disorder, and external stressful events with a wide variety of adaptive and maladaptive coping mechanisms or a mixture of both. Maladaptive coping mechanisms include substance use and binge eating, as well as avoidance or withdrawal behaviors. Understanding how patients respond to external stressors and adapt to negative affective states, including depression and hypomania, via questionnaires seeking to elucidate coping mechanisms is of utmost importance to recognize patients at risk of substance use, binge-eating, and other maladaptive behaviors. Only through explicit identification of these mechanisms can providers work with patients to …

Referred By Your Pcp, Lud H. Eyasu

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

A complication of a small or new primary care office is difficulty in providing additional support for patients outside of the office visit. Some referral center do not assist patients referrals for mental health providers and services. This project set out to create a list of in-network psychiatrists that can be distributed to patients at a New Canaan, CT primary care office to facilitate these patients' quest to find a mental health provider.

Accessibility Of Nutritious And Healthy Foods To Older Adults, Kristen Wright

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Food insecurity rates are high among older adults who have chronic conditions and/or are homebound. These patients have functional limitations, comorbidities limiting their mobility, and often are socially isolated or live alone, all of which impact their ability to access or make healthy meals. As food insecurity rises, so do the health care costs related to inaccessibility to healthy food, involving the increased risk or prevalence of chronic conditions like hypertension, diabetes, and cancer. This project aimed to understand the barriers older adults face in accessing and making healthy meals, and to educate health care providers and patients on recognizing …

Resources For Lgbtq+ Patients, Elie Kaadi

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Many LGBTQ+ patients face issues when seeking care from their primary care providers as well as specialists. This could be due to lack of information that is taught during medical education as well as lack of information that is available to the public.

This project aims to provide helpful information for both physicians and patients that is relevant for the care of LGBTQ+ patients.