Patrick Scoggins, a first-year student in the College of Medicine’s Physician Assistant program, got a lesson in empathizing with patients during a recent simulation training. He and other students participated in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Foundation’s “Health in a Box” asthma module, an interactive program allowing participants to discuss social factors that affect overall health, as well as the impact providers can have on patients beyond their medical treatment.
“A lot of the times when we think of a patient’s support network, we think of their nuclear family, and they think it’s their responsibility, they think they’re helpless. But if we took time to think of solutions, we could solve so many problems,” Scoggins said. “The more support they have, the more difference we can make. I think it’s important to emphasize that making that connection is what we need to do to empathize with these patients. It’s not just about pushing medication, it’s about knowing all the contributors to their environment – getting a full picture from the ground up, what they can afford, where they can get these resources. It all helps their cause.”
This exercise is part of a larger series of modules called “Health and Well-Being for All.” According to the CDC, the series was designed to educate current and future health care providers on how underlying health problems affect patients and communities. The program incorporates data cards, group dialogue, and facilitator tips to promote the process of leading change.
This marked the first time UT Health Science Center students were able to take part in one of the CDC Foundation’s modules. Students had the opportunity to look beyond surface-level causes of a low-income patient’s limited access to health care. “I think it’s very important for us as health care providers to learn this, especially because some of us don’t have that background,” said Regan Rushing, another first-year Physician Assistant student. “I know I personally don’t come from a situation that was discussed, but I see how it’s important to understand how some of the things we talked about drastically impact someone’s health.”
“Whether you like it or not, you are a leader,” Jess Guthrie, assistant director of Leadership and Service at UT Health Science Center, told the students during the module. As the exercise facilitator, Guthrie helped participants understand how they can actively make a change.
“This intensive takes what they already know about the social determinants of health and turns it into action,” she said. “Affecting change in the community requires working with the community, not just in the community. How do you identify people who are concerned about the same things you are? How do you understand their perspective better? How do you get all those like-minded people together and working in the same direction toward the same goal?”
Students participated in various role-playing activities, one of which had the students playing the part of officials in the health care system. The students’ goal was to convince each other why each of the organizations they were representing should contribute to improving health care standards in low-income environments. “I thought it was a really cool approach to learning the social determinants of health,” Physician Assistant student Isaac Johnson said.