ADHCE SCHOLARSHIPS 2018-2019

For 2018-2019 The Alliance awarded one scholarship

This scholarship was awarded to a group of medical students for their project ‘Patients with Disabilities as Teachers’ (P-DAT) Program. Their proposal that had been submitted: 

The three medical students at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine (GCSOM): Douglas Wells, M3, Avisha Shah, M3, and Emily Herman, M2. All three students are members of an advocacy organization called Community Healthcare Advocacy Team for Individuals with Disabilities (CHATID) which consists of students, faculty advisors, community service providers, and individuals with disabilities.

The objectives of the project are: first, to promote recognition of the importance of using proper disability etiquette such as Person First Language and becoming familiar with resources in the community for people with disabilities; second, to promote self-identification of their personal barriers and those of their practice overall for patients with disability while creating solutions for improvement. The goal of the project is to enhance health care providers’ knowledge on disability etiquette to provide inclusive and respectful care for this patient population.

​Here is a brief description: “The P-DAT program is a three-hour education session, originally created by the Department of Family Medicine at Lehigh Valley Health Network, proven effective to teach the general public basic communication etiquette and sensitivity unique to people with disability. A 2013 study has shown that 98% of medical school students who completed the program found it to be effective in “increasing overall awareness and sensitivity and improving competency for future interactions with patients”. The P-DAT session contains three components:

First, a person with disability as the P-DAT educator describes their daily routines and health care experiences to encourage learners to interact with people with disabilities. Second, a half hour film called “Patient Voices” is shown, which portrays a mock encounter with eight individuals with different disabilities. The film is meant to show learners how to interact with them using respectful and patient-centered etiquette. Lastly, lessons from the film are solidified with further discussion between the P-DAT educator and learners.

We plan to modify the P-DAT into a one-hour session with a focused discussion on the health care experienced by patients with disability as an educational intervention for health care professionals.