Students from many fields learn older patients’ needs

More than 800 health professions students from North Texas universities learned to enhance older patients’ safety through better communication during two days of activities at the UNT Health Science Center in Fort Worth.

Although the event had been planned for months, it was especially timely, said David Farmer, PhD, Director of Interprofessional Education at UNTHSC.

"A crisis such as the Ebola infections in Dallas emphasizes the criticality of communication," he said.

For Anthony Nguyen, a first-year pharmacy student, the UNTHSC exercise was a first.

"My education so far hadn’t teamed me up with people pursuing careers in other health care fields," said Nguyen, who is pursuing a PharmD degree in the UNT System College of Pharmacy on the UNTHSC campus. "It’s good to learn to talk to each other."

In one of several sessions, students worked in interprofessional groups of eight to 10 that included pharmacy, medicine, public health, physician assistant studies and physical therapy from UNTHSC; nursing from the TCU Harris College of Nursing; and dietetics from Texas Woman’s University. The groups rotated through stations where they worked hands-on with such geriatric issues as falls risks, cognitive impairment, multiple medications and functional impairments such as arthritis, deafness and vision problems.

Donning awkward work gloves, Vaseline-smeared eyeglasses and earplugs to simulate old-age limitations, the students attempted to button a shirt, read a prescription label and load a weekly pill dispenser.

"You really learn what it’s like when you have to do it," said Ayeshi Irani, a first-year student in the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Discussing actions to take in specific situations, such as when a patient mentions a medication error, Martha Rew, TWU Dietetic Internship Director, emphasized that a dietitian should share the information with every member of the patient’s health care team – nurse, physician and others.

Other sessions also involved TCU students of social work, athletic training and speech language pathology.

Communication among health care providers in various fields is crucial to preventing medical mistakes and improving patient safety. That’s why UNTHSC is partnering with other universities and community organizations to provide extraordinary interprofessional education.   

Recent News

Abe Clark
  • Research
|Mar 28, 2024

Dr. Abe Clark honored with international research award

Abbot “Abe” Clark, PhD, FARVO, FAAO, regents professor of pharmacology and neuroscience in the School of Biomedical Sciences at The University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth, has received the International Society for Eye Research 2024 Ernst H. Bárány Prize.   The awar...
Processed With Lensa With Pt12 Filter
  • Research
|Mar 28, 2024

Dr. Steven Romero receives American Physiological Society award for excellence in research

Dr. Steven Romero, associate professor of Physiology and Anatomy at the School of Biomedical Sciences at The University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth, was named the 2024 Henry Pickering Bowditch Award Lecturer by the American Physiological Society. The lectureship is awarded to ...
Screenshot 2024 03 28 At 8.50.12 am
  • Our People
|Mar 28, 2024

Physical therapy student lands prestigious role in national organization

When Jonathan Hansen was an undergraduate intern at Texas Health Arlington Memorial Hospital, he encountered a man who had just suffered a stroke. The patient’s right side was completely paralyzed. Hansen, now a first-year student in The University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Wort...
Jackie In Dc
  • Our People
|Mar 27, 2024

Personalized Health and Well-Being student repays generosity through advocacy

In 2019, The University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth student Jacqueline Green said she felt hopeless. She became pregnant while experiencing hard financial times, and she didn’t have insurance. Compounding her stress was terrible grief. Her mother-in-law suddenly passed away,...