Dates:To be scheduled with School of Medicine

Participation: Open to PT and OT students due to the nature of this activity. This program requires matching SAHS students with medical students, so please sign uyp early. Contact the mentor, Dr. Caroline W. Jansen, physical therapy faculty. Once you have signed up, it is mandatory that you complete both home visits. Exceptions can only granted by the mentor.

Description: The project is organized by the School of Medicine and is sponsored by the Center of Aging. You will team up with medical students to plan home visits with families in the community. On the first visit you will get to know the family as people. Medical students will take a history of the family’s life. You will prepare the family for what you will do in the second visit. On the second visit, you will evaluate the home environment for risk factors, and will teach the family and the medical students how to look at home safety for multi-generational families. You will learn cultural and environmental factors that affect this population. Your role is also to demonstrate and explain your profession to the medical students.

Activities:

1. Attend an introduction to the activity by Dr Jansen.

2. Plan two one-hour home visits with the family that has been given to your team. The medical team will include 2-3 medical students and an OT or PT student. Work as a team with the medical students to decide before the visit what role each of you will perform.
3. Complete one home visit in the fall and one home visit in the spring. The purpose of the fall visit is to conduct an interview with the family. Your goal is to get a better understanding of multi-generational families and the family’s lifestyle, behaviors, and practices that relate to health. The team leader for the first meeting is the medical student. You will complete a one page narrative report of this visit, and turn this in to Dr. Jansen.
4. The purpose of the second visit is to conduct a safety mobility check and wellness check. The team leader for this visit is the OT or PT student. You will complete a survey form composed by Elicia Cruz and Caroline Jansen. You will provide a copy of the survey to the Medical student and will submit a copy to Dr. Caroline Jansen.

   Another goal of this activity is to educate medical students about the role of OT’s and PT’s. You will need to discuss the role of your profession, including the similarities and differences between OT’s and PT’s with the medical students on your team.

5. On these visits, you will not give a summary of the findings and will not provide recommendations directly to the family. You will not engage in any direct professional contact, such as asking the family to demonstrate activities. Students can only perform observations and you should refrain from active physical patient contact and refrain from providing recommendations to the patient in this independent visit. If you observe a situation that requires attention, you can either call the geriatrics hotline at 409/747-2141 between 8:00 am and 5:00 pm, or provide information to Dr. Jansen to follow up.
6. Participate in a post visit discussion of your experiences with Dr. Jansen (to be scheduled following the last home visit). Evaluate the visit in terms of what you learned about the family’s culture, the family’s wellness and safety, and the medical team. What is the role of each medical team member and how do the roles complement each other?
7. Write a one page reflection piece about the teamwork experience. Identify the positive aspects and challenges of working in a medical team. Students will summarize the Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy professions: Where is there overlap and where do they differ in their approach? What can each profession add to patient care?

Activity Objectives: The objectives of the home visits are that PT and OT students will: