Activities by Semester
1st Semester: PSP 1A
This is the first semester of medical school for our students. Their task in this semester is to get to know their patient partner, both as a person and about their medical conditions. The students will schedule a time to meet with their patient partner to speak with them and learn about their life and their chronic illness. The students will also obtain a standard medical history from their patients. This meeting can be at a doctor visit, a location chosen together, or in the era of COVID, over video chat or by phone. The students will have until the beginning of December to complete this task with their patient partner.
2nd Semester: PSP 1B
This is the second semester of medical school for our students. They will have a number of options to choose from for their task in this semester to practice clinical skills they are learning in class. This task can be completed in person, over video chat, or over the phone. The students will choose one of the following options, and will have until late April to complete this task:
The student will help their patient partner to identify a behavior they would like to change in order to achieve a desired health goal. The student will interview their patient partner and complete a behavior change goal table in order to help their patient achieve their health goal.
The student will conduct a 24-hour diet recall with their patient partner. To do this, they will ask their patient to report all of the foods and beverages they have consumed in the preceding 24 hours. Based on the information they gather from their patient, the student will then input the foods/beverages their patient consumed into a nutrient content database. They will summarize their patient’s current nutrient intake and compare to nutrient intake recommendations, and write a report to their PSP faculty with some observations and recommendations base on their patient’s chronic conditions.
The student will interview their patient partner using a social benefits screening tool in order to identify any social determinants in their patient’s health. They will then come up with ideas on how to help their patient access any resources needed.
The student may design their own activity to complete with their patient partner if the above options do not apply. They will identify a skill from what they have learned in class that they would like to apply, and then they will meet with their patient to practice this skill. If a student chooses this option, they must send a proposal to the course director for approval.
3rd Semester: PSP 1C
This is the last semester before the students begin their clerkship rotations. Their task in this semester is to meet with their patient partner (either in person at a doctor visit, procedure, or hospital admission, or over video chat) to learn about the medications their patient is taking. The student will ask their patient to bring their bottles to this meeting, and they will ask their patients how they are taking each medication. The student will then compare their patient’s bottles to the medication list in their patient’s chart. This teaches the students the importance of understanding how complex medication regimens can be and importance of having accurate lists to avoid unwanted side effects and interactions.
PSP in Clerkship
In the third year of medical school, the students will begin their clerkship rotations. This is when they will be rotating to different specialties of medicine (internal medicine, surgery, pediatrics, etc.) and will be working at the hospital. During this year, the students will have a number of options to choose from for their task to complete with their patient partner. The students will choose one of the following options:
If a student’s patient partner is discharged from the hospital during the course of the clerkship year, the student may choose this option. Students will identify risk factors of readmission involved in transitioning from the hospital to home. They will then write a report for their PSP faculty diving deeper into the pitfalls, best practices, and opportunities for safe processes during transitions of care.
The student will look through the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) and other main preventive care guidelines to identify what would apply to their patient partner based on their age, gender, and risk factors. The student will then prepare a report for their PSP faculty on what preventive recommendations apply to their patient.
The student will research complications that arise from their patient partner’s chronic condition. They will then prepare a report for their PSP faculty on what complications they think their patient may be at risk for and what strategies are being done, or can be done in the future, to manage these complications.
The student may choose this option if their patient partner suffers from chronic pain. For this task, the student will report the type of chronic pain their patient has, the types of assessment and monitoring of pain that apply to their patient, what treatment options their patient has already tried and what they might try next, and their responses to treatment.
The student may design their own activity to complete with their patient partner if the above options do not apply. They will identify a skill from what they have learned in class that they would like to apply, and then they will meet with their patient to practice this skill. If a student chooses this option, they must send a proposal to the course director for approval.
PSP in Post-Clerkship
This is the fourth and final year of medical school. Since students will be graduating in the Spring and saying goodbye to their PSP patient, their task in this semester is to prepare a summary report of their patient’s conditions and status of care. It is our hope that most patients enrolled in the program will decide to continue with PSP once their student graduates. For PSP patients that decide to stay, their 4th year student will introduce them to a 1st year student in late September. The 4th year student will share their summary report of their patient with the 1st year student and will also mentor them on the relationship with their patient.
For the students to show their gratitude to their patients they have partnered with over their time in medical school, the PSP program will host a celebration for all of the PSP in Post-Clerkship students and their patients. This celebration will be an open house at the School of Medicine and will take place on March 29th 2022 from 5-7pm.