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The Florida Center for Inclusive Communities Partners with the University of Florida and the USF College of Medicine to Train Future Healthcare Providers

The Florida Center for Inclusive Communities (FCIC) is partnering with the University of Florida and the USF College of Medicine on a Center for Disease Control and Prevention funded project that focuses on training medical students about the needs of individuals with disabilities and their families. The FCIC project, Toward Healthcare Parity for Persons with Disabilities: Training Healthcare Providers, is a collaborative effort under the leadership of Susan M. Havercamp, PhD from the Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute's Department of Child and Family Studies and Laurie Woodard, M.D. from USF College of Medicine.

Medical students who have participated in this project have reported having found the training enlightening, having gained respect for persons with disabilities, and experienced diminished anxiety about providing caring for people with disabilities.

As part of the training, students are asked to write a brief summary of their thoughts and experiences after visiting the homes of persons with disabilities. The following was written by a 3rd year medical student after visiting the home of a young man with a developmental disability.

"This visit was truly a valuable experience. If the entire class could do a field trip to this particular home, I think it would be one of the most valuable experiences in the disabilities block."

"This week I visited Sam, a patient with severe cerebral palsy. When he was born he was hypoglycemic and began having seizures. Ultimately, this complex problem at birth led to a more devastating condition that has affected his life permanently. Due to his condition he now suffers from seizures quite regularly, even with the medications he has been prescribed. While he is nonverbal, he communicates, and while it may seem that he is incomprehensible, if you pay close attention, you can quickly pick up on what he is 'saying' through his vocalizations. His disability is severe, but he has an impressive record for health, more than I have seen with many patients without disabilities. He has not been in the hospital since he was 17 years old. He is now 33.

Sam’s mother spends most of her days caring for him. She taught us about how much of his life she was his only caregiver. Through this visit, not only did I see his physical and mental disabilities, but I learned about the amazing amount of strength that a mother has when she is caring for a child. She told us about many programs that are available for patients with disabilities. She has home health care workers who come to her house regularly and assist in the care for Sam. He not only has aids, but he has a personal physical therapist, massage therapist, and he experiences reflexology regularly. His mother spends a lot of time working with these people to make sure that she knows his progress in each area that is being worked on. This summer, Sam and his mother spent many days in the pool where he enjoyed water exercise which helped him with his flexibility to a great amount. Also, his mother was able to spend a lot of time keeping Sam’s team of helpers informed, so as to form an interdisciplinary team involved in his condition of health. When I asked her how he was doing compared to previous years, she said his health has improved. He is more stable now and has had fewer problems recently because of the integration of the team involved in his care.

This visit was truly a valuable experience. If the entire class could do a field trip to this particular home, I think it would be one of the most valuable experiences in the disabilities block. Among the values of this particular family are that Sam’s mom knows all about his condition, and she willingly told his story using appropriate terminology. She expressed a clear understanding of his medical condition. She gave us a tour of the home so we could see all of the changes that must be made for a disabled person. She was feeding him when we arrived, and we were able to see her move him and help him change positions. The amazing amount of information that was gathered in these 2 hours was unbelievable, and the way this family has become closer through their experience was even more remarkable. This has been one of the most valuable experiences of medical school."

Click here to download a document describing more FCIC projects, or visit the website at www.flcic.org.

http://flfcic.fmhi.usf.edu/index.htm

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