Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Language Medical Students Use To Comfort Patients Through Difficult Discussions, Zayna H. Qaissi, Emily J. Noonan, Laura A. Weingartner

Undergraduate Arts and Research Showcase

MERA Abstract

Language medical students use to comfort patients through difficult discussions.

AUTHORS

Zayna Qaissi, BA Candidate; Emily J Noonan, PhD, MA; Laura A. Weingartner, PhD, MS

BACKGROUND

Comforting communication supports patient satisfaction. Examining how medical students approach potentially sensitive topics can help educators identify strategies that improve the quality of care. The purpose of this study was to examine verbal approaches that student-physicians use to put patients at ease.

METHODS

Seventy-five medical students were observed in standardized patient encounters. We assessed how students provided comfort by transcribing interview recordings and observing how students addressed the patients’ mental health, sexual …

Examining Neuroanatomical Effects Of Prenatal Valproic Acid And Postnatal Testosterone In A Mouse Model Of Autism Spectrum Disorder, Bishakha Kumari, Elizabeth Ann Gordon, Cynthia Corbitt

Undergraduate Arts and Research Showcase

Sex differences in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are well documented; males are diagnosed 4:1 over females. Testosterone (T) is one factor that differs by sex in humans and mice that could increase vulnerability to developing ASD in males. Valproic acid (VPA) is an anticonvulsant that has been found to increase the risk of autism in male offspring of pregnant women who take it to control seizures and is commonly used in mouse models of ASD. After prenatal VPA or vehicle on embryonic day 13, testosterone (T) or vehicle was administered to the mice on postnatal day 2 to investigate whether …

The Inhibition Of Growth Of S. Cerevisiae, U. Maydis, And M. Lychinidis-Dioicae By Apiaecea Plant Extracts, Jackson M Hoffman, Jared Scott, David Schultz Phd

Undergraduate Arts and Research Showcase

The Apiaceae family of plants contains over 3,500 species, many of which are used as food crops: vegetables (carrot, parsnip, celery, etc.), herbs (cilantro, fennel, dill, etc.), and spices (cumin, anise, caraway, etc.). Many spices have been shown to exhibit antimicrobial properties against both bacteria and fungi. We set out to determine if the Apiaceae spice extracts currently used in our lab for anticancer studies exhibit any antimicrobial properties. Ethanolic extracts were made from several Apiaceae seeds: Apium graveolens (celery), Cuminum cyminum (cumin), Anethum graveolens(dill), Foeniculum vulgare (fennel), Coriandrum satvium (coriander), Pimpinella ansium (anise), Trachyspermum ammi (ajwain), Carum carvi …

Comparing Medical Student Nonverbal Behavior With Cisgender And Transgender Standardized Patients, Meghan M. Schneider, Meghan M. Schneider, Emily J. Noonan, Laura A. Weingartner

Undergraduate Arts and Research Showcase

BACKGROUND

It is essential for medical students to effectively communicate with patients of all gender identities. Nonverbal behaviors such as eye contact and nodding are key communication skills. Evaluating nonverbal behavior is one way to assess the quality of patient care, and examining providers’ behaviors while working with cisgender and transgender patients can identify potential biases linked to patient identity.

METHODS

To evaluate nonverbal behavior, we analyzed video-recorded training sessions with medical students interviewing standardized patients who identified as cisgender or transgender women. All students identified as cisgender men or cisgender women. Ten nonverbal behaviors were rated from 1-7 using …

Hpv Vaccine Discussions Between Medical Students And Standardized Patients, Eric S. Brian, Emily Noonan, Laura A. Weingartner

Undergraduate Arts and Research Showcase

The vaccination against human papillomavirus (HPV) protectsindividuals from cancer by preventing HPV infection. This vaccination is recommended for people who are assigned male or female at birth. However, since these groups are often associated with different risks of HPV infection, there may be gaps in how effectively the vaccination is recommended to patients. We gathered data by viewing recordings of medical students taking histories from standardized patients. We recorded if and which vaccinations were discussed as the patients established primary care. We focused on discussions surrounding HPV vaccines and used discussions around influenza vaccines as a comparison. We recorded if …

Genus Applications For Alzheimer's Disease Pathology, Whitney L Carter

Undergraduate Arts and Research Showcase

Estimates vary, but it is thought that 5.5 million Americans age 60 and up may be living with Alzheimer’s diseases (AD). AD is the most common type of dementia and is characterized by a decline in episodic memories, long-term memory, language, attention, and personality changes. The first symptoms can vary, but for most people memory is the first capacity to become impaired. However, symptoms can also be a decline in non-memory aspects of cognition like work-finding, vision/spatial issues, and impaired reasoning or judgement. AD is identified mainly by two histopathological features: extracellular plague of amyloid-beta protein and intracellular neuronal tangles …

Efficacy Of A Social Determinants Of Health Training Intervention, Stacy A. Henley, Emily J. Noonan, Laura A. Weingartner

Undergraduate Arts and Research Showcase

BACKGROUND

Social determinants of health (SDOH) are circumstances, such as living and work conditions, that affect patient health outcomes and contribute to health inequalities. Understanding patients’ SDOH can help physicians recognize barriers to care. Therefore, it is important that medical students learn to gather information on SDOH from patients.

METHODS

Standardized patient (SP) encounters with rising third-year students were analyzed to determine if an educational intervention about SDOH increased the frequency SDOH were discussed with patients. SP encounters were randomly sampled from 2017 (pre-intervention, n₁ = 37) and 2018 (post-intervention, n₂ = 40) video recordings of students eliciting …

Prevalence Of Mental Health History Intake By Medical Trainees, Raymond H. Wen, Laura A. Weingartner, Emily J. Noonan

Undergraduate Arts and Research Showcase

BACKGROUND:

In the US, 1 in 5 adults experiences a mental illness. Over 9.8 million adults and youths have serious suicidal thoughts, and LGBTQ+ communities experience an even greater burden of mental health disparities. Mental illness is often recognized late by providers, which prevents timely and effective treatment.

METHODS:

We estimated the frequency and response of healthcare trainees asking about mental health using video-recorded standardized patient interviews conducted by third-year medical students (M3s). Standardized patients are trained to give out specific health history information only when prompted by the student. Students had 30 minutes to complete new patient interviews in …

Seen In Science: Lgbtq+ Inclusivity In Anatomy & Physiology Texts, Harshini Sirvisetty, Kat Ray King, Linda Catherine Fuselier

Undergraduate Arts and Research Showcase

Biology is unique from other science disciplines in that concepts taught in core classes can inform our student’s understanding of sex and gender. A biology major encounters lessons on sex determination, sexual reproduction, and sex characteristics in their courses. The language used in these units matters. It is imperative that educators consider how the language, examples, and content that we use in classrooms drive (or not) inclusivity for gender- and sexuality-diverse (GSD) (aka LGBTQ+) individuals. We chose to analyze four college-level human anatomy/physiology (AP) textbooks for GSD population inclusivity. We adopted a queer theory framework to critically examine how sex, …

Communicative Function And Diversity In Provider, Deaf And Hard-Of-Hearing Child, And Caregiver Speech During Telepractice, Rebekah G. O'Bryan, Jessica M. Julian, Maria V. Kondaurova

Undergraduate Arts and Research Showcase

How does the use of telepractice during speech language therapy affect the communicative function and communicative diversity of provider, deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) pediatric patient, and caregiver speech? This study examined communicative functions and diversity in the provider, DHH children with cochlear implants (n = 7, mean age = 4.9 years, range = 3.5-6.75 years), and caregiver utterances during one 30-minute in-person and one sequential tele session, order counterbalanced. To measure communicative function, each utterance was classified into 16 mutually exclusive categories for the child and into 15 categories for the adults. Communicative diversity was calculated as the number of …

Frequency And Perceived Authenticity Of Social Determinants Of Health Discussion By Medical Trainees, Priyadarshini Chandrashekhar, Emily J. Noonan, Laura A. Weingartner

Undergraduate Arts and Research Showcase

Introduction

Social determinants of health (SDOH)—the conditions in which people live, learn, and work—play a vital, but often neglected role in shaping a community’s health. SDOH influence risk factors for disease and access to healthcare, consequently promoting health inequities among different populations. Examining how providers discuss SDOH with patients can identify opportunities to better integrate social context into care.

Methods

We analyzed standardized patient (SP) encounters of rising UofL M3 trainees to 1) determine whether SDOH are integrated into healthcare conversations, and 2) investigate what constitutes an authentic conversation to identify how trainees can better express interest in a patient. …

A Qualitative Descriptive Analysis Of Erowid Gabapentinoid Forum Posts, Haylee E Figg Rn Bsn Student, Rachel Vickers-Smith Phd, Mph

Undergraduate Arts and Research Showcase

Purpose/Background: With increased controls on opioid prescribing, the CDC has suggested prescribing gabapentinoids as a first-line alternative to opioids for pain. However, there have been an increasing number of reports of gabapentinoid misuse. Drug use forums are online spaces where individuals can anonymously post about their drug use experiences and may provide insight on gabapentinoid misuse. The purpose of this study was to extract and analyze posts from the drug use forum, Erowid, to examine reports of gabapentinoid misuse.

Methods: Data for the study was drawn from 53 pregabalin forum posts and 89 gabapentin forum posts by unique usernames. In …

Screening For E-Cigarette And Tobacco Use In Standardized Patient Encounters, Michael A. Schmidt, Emily J. Noonan, Laura A. Weingartner

Undergraduate Arts and Research Showcase

E-cigarette usage has grown significantly in recent years, with over 5 million US middle and high school students reporting recent usage. The long-term health consequences of these devices are still being investigated, but it is known that e-cigarette aerosol could contain harmful substances including nicotine, heavy metals, and carcinogens. Therefore, it is important for physicians to ask patients about e-cigarette usage specifically, as this may contribute to future health problems. The goal of this study was to investigate if and how medical students screen for e-cigarette usage. Screening language was reviewed in standardized patient encounters, which are a type of …