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Full-Text Articles in Family Medicine

Promoting Spine Health For Adolescent Athletes, Taylor R. Walker Jan 2024

Promoting Spine Health For Adolescent Athletes, Taylor R. Walker

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Based on interviews with local stakeholders in public health and literature review, developed an informational brochure for high school athletes containing prevention and management strategies and resources for low back pain. The aim of this project is to help young athletes stay healthy and live well as they age by promoting spine health.


Increasing Patient Awareness And Education Surrounding Prescription Weight Loss Medications, Anirudh A. Hirve Jan 2024

Increasing Patient Awareness And Education Surrounding Prescription Weight Loss Medications, Anirudh A. Hirve

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Obesity is a growing problem in the United States. While it remains important for clinicians to emphasize health supportive behaviors including dietary modification and exercise when counseling patients, the advent of new weight loss medications has created a need for patient education materials regarding these interventions for a growing number of patients who request them at primary care visits. This project created a smart phrase in the electronic medical record summarizing weight loss medications currently available on the market to transform patient counseling and enable better shared decision making between patients and providers.


Peri-Operative Optimization: Social Determinants Of Health, Adam F. Kohutnicki Jan 2022

Peri-Operative Optimization: Social Determinants Of Health, Adam F. Kohutnicki

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

This project investigated how clinicians at a rural Vermont family medicine practice observed various social determinants of health (SDOH) of their patient population affected patients' preparedness for surgery. Two clinicians involved in the community, a practicing family medicine physician and a practicing social worker, were interviewed to collect qualitative data on how various SDOH they have observed through their clinical practice have influenced patients' preparedness for surgery. This information was then utilized to create a "dot-phrase" that clinicians can use as part of a patient's pre-operative visit in the outpatient setting to assess SDOH and plan subsequent targeted interventions to …


Trust Your Gut: Promoting Gut Health Through Updated Nutrition Education, Christina Cobb Jan 2022

Trust Your Gut: Promoting Gut Health Through Updated Nutrition Education, Christina Cobb

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Physician time and nutrition education are limited, yet lifestyle changes, including healthy eating, are often the primary intervention for both preventing & managing chronic conditions, such as cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and type 2 diabetes. There is growing evidence of the importance of gut health & the microbiome’s link to several aspects of health, including the immune system, mental health, and metabolic syndrome. Through collaboration with two dietitians, a "promoting gut health" patient handout was created and existing nutrition handouts were updated to reflect current dietary recommendations.


Helping People Overcome Barriers To Exercise Through In-Office Pt Exercise Evaluation Referrals, Matthew Charles Hill Brandt Jan 2021

Helping People Overcome Barriers To Exercise Through In-Office Pt Exercise Evaluation Referrals, Matthew Charles Hill Brandt

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Utilization of a poster in a primary care exam room advertising Physical Therapy Exercise Evaluations in an effort to help patients overcome barriers to exercising. The goal of the project is to capture people in the contemplative/preparatory stage of behavior change and help them reach the action and maintenance phases to improve health.


The Preventative Healthcare Shortage: A Look At The Vt And Ct Community Perspectives And Medical Student Interest, Michael J. Lawler Jan 2021

The Preventative Healthcare Shortage: A Look At The Vt And Ct Community Perspectives And Medical Student Interest, Michael J. Lawler

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

We adapted and modified a previously generated survey to better understand the motivations and barriers of medical students to enter primary care. The survey was dispersed to all medical students at LCOM as well as third and fourth year medical students at Ross University and American University of the Caribbean (AUC). We analyzed preliminary data from 100 respondents. Notable barriers identified included cost of medical school, stigma associated with primary care, and inadequate time spent with patients. Recommendations for possible intervention were discussed.


The State Of Sleep: What Keeps Vermont Up At Night?, Magalie Carey Jan 2021

The State Of Sleep: What Keeps Vermont Up At Night?, Magalie Carey

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

No abstract provided.


Harm Reduction In The Emergency Department, Alexa J. Golden Jan 2020

Harm Reduction In The Emergency Department, Alexa J. Golden

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

The number of overdose deaths in Vermont has been trending up over the past several years. A majority of these fatalities involved synthetic opioid fentanyl. The Emergency Department (ED) at Central Vermont Medical Center delivers medication assisted treatment (MAT) through the Rapid Access to MAT (RAM) program. This program has connected many people in the region to treatment for opiate use disorder. However it was identified that we lacked connection to harm reduction services for those not interested in MAT. Harm reduction education was provided for recovery coaches and ED nursing staff. Harm reduction kits containing life-saving supplies such as …


Raising Awareness About The Vermont Donor Milk Center, Rosie Friedman, Emi Eakin Jan 2020

Raising Awareness About The Vermont Donor Milk Center, Rosie Friedman, Emi Eakin

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

The Vermont Donor Milk Center (VDMC) is an emerging community resource that provides donated, pasteurized breast milk to new parents for their infants. Upon questioning, we identified that many providers did not know about the VDMC or how to prescribe milk. In addition, VDMC expressed that they have not been able to complete the community outreach they had initially hoped for. We chose to dedicate our project to disseminating information about VDMC to perinatal care providers in Vermont.


Finding The Silver Linings Of The Cyberattack, Kathleen R. O'Hara, Leah Miller Jan 2020

Finding The Silver Linings Of The Cyberattack, Kathleen R. O'Hara, Leah Miller

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Our project aimed to identify the effects of the UVM Health Network cyberattack and subsequent month-long network downtime on the South Burlington Family Medicine providers and clinic staff. We interviewed staff members about positive adaptations made by the team during the downtime, and inquired whether they planned to keep maintaining any of these changes once the electronic systems returned.


An Exploration Of The Benefits And Challenges Associated With Introducing Point-Of-Care Ultrasound To A Rural Primary Care Setting, Daniel Bak Jan 2019

An Exploration Of The Benefits And Challenges Associated With Introducing Point-Of-Care Ultrasound To A Rural Primary Care Setting, Daniel Bak

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Castleton Family Health Center serves the western portion of Rutland County, which is designated as both rural and medically underserved. The regional Community Health Needs Assessment set goals to increase primary care visits, decrease inappropriate utilization of the emergency department, and work towards seamless care transitions without loss of information or gaps in care. Additionally, the Vermont Department of Health (Rutland region) identified both transportation limitations and a shortage of medical specialists as significant barriers to accessing care in the region. Point-of-care ultrasound may serve to address these community needs by improving the quality and continuity of care provided by …


Fostering Competent Healthcare For Transgender And Non-Binary Patients, Alden York Sacco Jan 2019

Fostering Competent Healthcare For Transgender And Non-Binary Patients, Alden York Sacco

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Many transgender and non-binary individuals are hesitant to seek medical due to past traumatic encounters with physicians and medical staff, having to educate providers about their bodies, perceived bias, and fear of mistreatment. This reluctance to seek medical care, and even to disclose their transgender status, can result in poorer health outcomes due to delays in diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. An in-office training was designed to introduce clinicians and office staff to health care disparities facing transgender and non-binary people, appropriate pronoun-use and key terminology, strategies for creating a welcoming and gender-affirming environment for trans and non-binary patients, and useful …


Preventing Falls In The Elderly, Rebecca Robbins Jan 2017

Preventing Falls In The Elderly, Rebecca Robbins

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Falls are the leading cause of fatal and non-fatal injuries for older Americans, leading to 27,000 deaths every year and almost 3 million emergency room visits. Many view falls as just part of getting older; however fall risk can be significantly diminished through appropriate screening, education and community programs. Through literature review and talking to members of the local community, I learned about how fall risk is assessed along with what education and programs are provided for those at increased risk of falling. This project sought to educate patients about simple steps that can be made to decrease their fall …


Increasing Advance Directive Knowledge Among Healthcare Professionals, Laura K. Donnelly Jan 2017

Increasing Advance Directive Knowledge Among Healthcare Professionals, Laura K. Donnelly

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Advance Directives (ADs) have been shown to be associated with increased patient satisfaction with end-of-life care, decreased in-hospital deaths, and decreased end-of-life costs in high-cost regions. Nationally, prevalence of ADs has increased over the last 20 years, but the majority of patients still have not completed an AD. A significant obstacle to completion is lack of awareness. A presentation to increase knowledge regarding ADs among primary care staff was created to address this.


Abortion Resources Patient Handout Smartphrase, Andre A. Robinson Jan 2016

Abortion Resources Patient Handout Smartphrase, Andre A. Robinson

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Many patients in Vermont need to seek abortion care outside of their regular doctors office. When a patient discovers that she is pregnant there should be a non-biased conversation about options as part of The Patient Centered Medical Home. This resource includes: where to go for an abortion, how to pay for it, who to call for support, and advice on how to avoid biased institutions.