CVAHEC Student Project Reports

Lisa Emrick
Summer Docs Program

So much has changed in one year. Last year I reconnected with my reason for becoming a physician in the Summer Doc program. I began to become more comfortable in my role and in my starchy white coat.

Now it is one year later and the green on my white coat’s badges are beginning to turn olive color because of the bleach that I have used to wash my well worn coat. I continued to be energized by the Summer Doc program in many ways this year. I was energized by the UVM COM participants and the AHEC coordinators with their enthusiasm, interests and energy.I was once again struck by the willingness of people in the community volunteering their time to the students. I was particularly inspired by the discussions at the regional symposia.

I will share some of these thoughts and at times my ruminations that I had after each symposium.

The theme of the Rutland Symposium was Prevention. The list of participants included a local public health official, a physician, a dietician, advocates from several local volunteer groups and the Summer Doc and AHEC participants to name a few.

I was struck by the physician who was initially a family practice doctor. However, through the years he has seen how obesity has affected the health of so many of his patients. He therefore became licensed in sports medicine and has subsequently switched his practice to focusing on meeting the need to address obesity within his community.

Once again I have seen how a physician has identified a need for their community and has come up with a possible solution for that need. I wonder what other healthcare workers have become innovators in primary care in order to meet their community’s needs. I wondered if there were forums where people within primary care could come together and share how they have met theses needs. I also wanted to know how I could attend these meetings.

The theme for the Champlain Valley Symposium was Women’s Health Issues. There were two physicians and two nurse practitioners, a social worker involved with an innovative program Whatever It Takes, someone from public health and once again the proud members of the Summer Doc program in attendance.

The common theme for the night was centered on innovative programs, finding continued funding for these programs and how to be an effective advocate for patients. I found myself once again asking myself, what is the role of a physician in their community? What are the factors that play into defining the physician’s role? Is it the size of the community? Is it the geographical and/or demographical makeup of the community? What type of person is the physician? Are they proactive in identifying problems within the community and willing to assist in trying to find a solution? Is this their role? Do the same people always get involved in taking on these roles?

I wondered how much does the act of positive feedback or feeling like you made an impact contribute to students becoming and remaining active members within their communities. I then thought how I have been observing this year’s Summer Docs, who will be the physicians of the future, take active roles within these communities.

Finally, the theme for the Northeast Kingdom symposium was Geriatric medicine. There was once again an impressive list of participants in attendance including multiple leaders who focus on providing services for seniors in the NEK. There was also the unique perspective of a woman who utilizes many of these services.

The discussion during this symposium was focused on identifying some of the obstacles facing access to the healthcare needs of the seniors and then addressing what needs to change to overcome some of these obstacles. I found the discussion amongst all these people to be helpful to this community but thought how it would be even more helpful if we included someone from the policy side of the issue.

I felt after participating in three thought provoking symposia that next year we should involve law-makers into the symposiums and see how they can assist with the discussion for change.

The biggest change that I have seen in me is in my participation and observation in these symposia. I attended three of the four symposia and found myself actively thinking of ways to promote change, volunteerism, and defining my role as a physician.

I feel that now I have become a part of the community instead of a trepid medical student hesitant to find her place one year ago.