Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

The Importance Of Continued Compliance With Completing Advance Directives In An Outpatient Setting, Maegan R. Neilson

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Despite continued efforts with conversation, guidelines, and even law, studies still show that the compliance with completing advance directives amongst a global patient population remains around 3 in 100. Those in compliance are more often chronically ill, over 65, or in an acute or terminal care setting. The COVID-19 pandemic is evidence that anything can happen and that helping patients adhere to medical wishes should be a top priority for primary care providers and their patients of all ages and health. Because previous studies have proven to be effective in increasing AD compliance when highlighted, this project aims to reignite …

Transgender Healthcare Resources For Clinicians In Vermont, Jeanie Lin

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Transgender individuals face disproportionate levels of discrimination in healthcare settings and have worse health than their cisgender peers. One major barrier to healthcare reported by transgender individuals is a lack of providers who are sufficiently knowledgeable on the topic. The 2011 National Transgender Discrimination Survey found that half of respondents reported having to teach their providers about their own healthcare. To address this problem in Vermont, transgender healthcare resources were compiled into a single document to be distributed to primary care practices around Vermont.

Follow-Up With New Sga Prescriptions In Burlington, Vt, Obhijit D. Hazarika

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

No abstract provided.

Improving Communication In Patient Visits Requiring Medical Interpreters, Daniel J. Moroney

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Handout for effectively using medical interpreting services.

Motivation For Mat, Jacob Bernknopf

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

The goal of this project was to discover a commonality in why patients begin the MAT program. This will hopefully make it easier for future providers to help future patients articulate why they need to make the change in their life. This can be especially beneficial in patients dealing with concurrent stimulant or alcohol use.

Frequently Asked Questions By Patients About Exercise, Julie Evans

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

A significant portion of patient visits at Milton Family Practice are related to one or multiple aspects of metabolic syndrome. Exercise is a common topic during these visits either brought up by patients or providers. This project focused on creating a handout for patient education with answers to commonly asked questions pertaining to exercise and resources in the community.

Opportunities For Patient Self-Reflection During Acute Phase Of Depression Treatment, Millen Abselab

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

This project for UVMMC Family Medicine at Hinesburg investigates the acute phase of depression treatment for adult patients and introduces opportunities for patient empowerment during this 4-to-6-week window through de-identified automated text surveys for self-reflection about treatment and pattern tracking contributory to mood. Sample text survey built on Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) and deployment of text surveys is based on Mosio. Future interventions can utilize mobile phone apps based on patient response to surveys.

Remaining Active In Vermont Winters, Sarah Kendrick

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

This project explored the challenges of remaining active during Vermont winter for patients with chronic disease. It further complies resources in the community for maintaining activity levels over the winter months.

Community Resources Addressing Peripartum Depression, Tiffany L. Lao

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Peripartum mood disorders affect a large proportion of new mothers as well as their families, partners, and support systems. This project aims to provide patients with information about peripartum mood disorders as part of their initial prenatal packet. Also included are a list of local community resources specifically addressing peripartum mood disorders for patients seeking additional support outside of their primary care office.

Kangaroo Care In The Community: Creating Antenatal Informational Resources For Providers And Expectant Parents, Emma Dunne

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Obstetric care providers at the Community Health Centers of Burlington create, implement, and coordinate resources to help support parents through pregnancy, delivery, and child rearing. The COVID-19 pandemic has altered the accessibility of existing resources, exacerbating the need for creative support of prenatal learning, breastfeeding, and postpartum socialization. Regular skin-to-skin contact between newborn infants and their parents is a low-cost, low-risk intervention with demonstrated benefits to breastfeeding, infant and parent physiology, emotional health, and bonding. This project aimed to establish antenatal informational resources for providers and expectant parents about the potential benefits of skin-to-skin care in the community setting.

Preventative Health Care Shortage, Jenna A. Elkhoury

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

The primary care shortage is major problem that impacts people in rural and often low income communities. Our project seeks to address the primary care workforce shortage affecting the Vermont and Connecticut communities by better understanding current medical school student perspectives on primary care as a career of interest. Attractors and deterrents of primary care were highlighted through a survey distributed to all medical students at the Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont.

Autism Resources For Primary Care Patients And Families, Keara M. Lynn

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

At this time in Vermont, there are not enough resources to care for children with autism spectrum disorder. This problem has been exacerbated by the COVID19 pandemic and children are waiting months to years to access needed services. The goal of this project was to create a brochure for patients and families that has information about autism resources in the Northern Vermont community.

Skin Cancer, Skin Biopsies And Mohs Surgery: Patient Education, Negar Esfandiari

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the United States. There are three main types of skin cancer: Basal Cell Carcinoma, Squamous Cell Carcinoma, and Melanoma. While Melanoma is less common than Basal Cell and Squamous Cell Carcinoma, it has a higher mortality rate. If diagnosed in earlier stages, Melanoma has a significantly better prognosis and lower patient costs. Most skin cancers are diagnosed through skin biopsies. Vermont has one of the highest rates of skin cancer. The goal of this project was to develop a patient handout to bring patient awareness to skin cancer and describe the different …

Walk And Talk, Carly H. Watson

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Implementing outdoor walks into the daily routine of residents at long-term care facilities.

Devoloping A Primary Care Screening Protocol For Post-Miscarriage Depression, Sean Muniz

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Spontaneous abortions occur in 20-33% of pregnancies, and 10-30% of these women have clinically significant depression. These women are often unscreened by either PCPs or OBs for depressive symptoms. We developed a screening protocol using the PHQ-2 to assess for depression in patients who have had a spontaneous abortion. The protocol utilizes a nursing care manager to follow up with patients who either were seen in the ED or self report spontaneous abortions to the PCP office. Follow up phone calls should be made within 2 weeks and at 6 weeks post spontaneous abortion, with offers for in-person follow-up given …

Nutritional Barriers For Patients With Diabetes: A Quality Improvement Project, Emma C. Levine, Taylor D. Marquis

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

The goal of this study was to look at health care providers perspectives on what the nutritional barriers patients with diabetes faced and compare that with the patient's perspectives. We also assessed patients knowledge on certain foods and if they have carbohydrates. We used this information to create a Notecard that could be given to patients.

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.

Improving Access To Meditation And Mindfulness For The Management Of Anxiety, Stress, And Other Chronic Diseases, Alex Cohen, Jesse Naumann

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Chronic diseases can have an enormous burden on not only an individual’s quality of life, but their economic output as well. The challenge is that many patients with a chronic disease are not fully treated despite many different medications and doctor’s appointments. Mindfulness is an extremely beneficial tool that can be used as an adjunctive treatment for different chronic health diseases including anxiety, depression, insomnia, chronic pain, and many others. An enormous barrier is that many patients are unsure about what mindfulness truly is, and where one can go about accessing mindfulness resources. Our goal was to create a quick …

Combating Seasonal Affective Disorder In Vermont, Prasanna Kumar

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a cyclical pattern of depression-like symptoms that occur during the winter months. In Vermont, SAD is estimated to affect up to 10% of individuals. An informational flyer was developed that explained the symptoms of SAD, what the treatment options are, and then linked individuals with local resources for wellness activities in Chittenden County using QR codes in order to prevent SAD. The flyer was distributed at the Community Health Care Centers of Burlington South End office. The flyer was met with enthusiasm and will be given out to patients at the end of this season …

Implementation Of The Primary Care Mental Health Integration (Pcmhi) Model: Information For Patients, Amy Stedman

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

UVMMC Primary Care is transitioning to the Primary Care Mental Health Integration (PCMHI) model of care, in which behavioral health and/or psychiatric treatment is provided within a primary care setting via in-house consulting clinicians. There are currently no standardized informational materials to educate patients on the details of the PCMHI program, which is a new treatment model for most patients and clinicians involved. Development of educational materials, as well as broader public health implications of the PCMHI model of care, are addressed.

Family Medicine Community Project, Daniel Castro

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

The goal of this project is to improve diet and nutrition literacy in the community. Though Vermont ranks low in the US in terms of obesity, it is still estimated the 60% of Vermonters are either overweight or obese. This represents an area of need in terms of improving diet and nutrition education to combat obesity, the health issues it produces, and the subsequent strain on the medical system

How To Have The “Vape Talk” With Adolescent Patients, Helen Gandler

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Recent years have shown a dramatic increase in the popularity of electronic vapor products, which include e-cigarettes, vapes, vape pens, e-cigars, e-hookahs, hookah pens, and mods. While emerging data shows that adolescents are becoming more aware of the dangers posed by these products, more than 3.6 million US youth still use e-cigarettes. As of February 18, 2020, a total of 2,807 hospitalized e-cigarette, or vaping, product use-associated lung injury (EVALI) cases or deaths in the United States have been reported to CDC.

This project had two goals: to create a tool to help facilitate discussions between providers and their adolescent …

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.

Addressing Exercise And Physical Therapy In Older Patients In Colchester, Vt, Adam Morehead

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Participation in physical activities remains low among much of the older adult population, particularly during the winter months. Many individuals who are active during warmer times of the year become more sedentary during the winter, and this physical inactivity can contribute to declining health. This project sought to develop a simple brochure outlining several simple exercises that can be performed safely at home without equipment to be distributed to patients at wellness visits to encourage indoor exercise.

Patient Perceptions On The Covid-19 Vaccine, Claudia E. Russell

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

With COVID-19 cases and deaths on the rise in Vermont and nationally, it will be important for as many people who are able to receive the COVID-19 vaccines when available. The WHO considers vaccine hesitancy to be a major threat to public health. This study aims to examine patient attitudes and concerns regarding the COVID-19 vaccine. An informational brochure about the recently approved Pfizer and Moderna vaccines was then distributed to all participants.

Increasing Patient Access To Lgbtq+ Healthcare Through Expanding The Vermont Diversity Health Project, Rachel Harrison

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Numerous studies have documented various disparities in health outcomes and barriers to healthcare access for LGBTQ+ individuals. One major way to combat this is to increase access to healthcare for LGBTQ+ patients and increase provider knowledge of how to best care for them. Through expanding the Vermont Diversity Health Project database of providers and having providers participate in LGBTQ+ Best Practices trainings (both hosted by Pride Center of Vermont), we may reduce LGBTQ+ health disparities in our local community.

Patient Attitudes And Education About The Covid-19 Vaccine, Zeynep Tek, Faith Wilson, Claudia Russell

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

We gave patients a survey about if they were interested in receiving the COVID-19 vaccine and if not why across three different sites in Vermont and Connecticut. We also made and handed out a pamphlet about commonly asked questions about the vaccine and what the state's distribution plan was. A majority of patients were interested in the getting the vaccine, and those who were unsure were worried about the long term side effects.

Covid-19 Vaccine Information And Patient Opinions, Faith E. Wilson, Zeynep Tek, Claudia Russell

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

As the COVID-19 vaccine becomes available in Vermont, many patients have questions about the safety and efficacy, who it will be available for, when they can expect to get the vaccine, if their doctor would recommend it for them. These important questions are taking valuable time during already short patient visits, and as information is constantly evolving it is difficult to give a concise answer to many questions. This project outlined the basics of the vaccine and answered many FAQs.

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

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

No abstract provided.

Evaluating Patient And Provider Knowledge Of Safe Pharmaceutical Disposal Procedures In Vermont Through A Public Health And Environmental Lens, Emily R. Straley

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Patient and provider knowledge of safe pharmaceutical disposal procedures is crucial from both a public health and environmental standpoint. Unfortunately, studies have shown that Vermont residents are largely unaware of safe drug disposal programs in their communities. This project evaluated patient knowledge of drug disposal practices and awareness of safe pharmaceutical disposal procedures at Hinesburg Family Medicine. A short phrase was created to better disseminate information about safe drug disposal in Hinesburg, which can be added to a patient’s after visit summary. Many patients report never discussing medication disposal with their physician. Therefore, increased provider communication regarding leftover and unused …