clinic at the Children’s Hospital.
Providing medical care to such families
is important, and so is educating the
medical students about the importance of
rural medicine and, ultimately, improving
rural health by attracting more students
into a rural practice when they finish their
residency. “The goal was to have these
families act as teachers for the medical
students, so the students can learn
firsthand what life is like walking in their
shoes and what the healthcare system looks
like through their eyes,” she says.
Fifteen first-year medical students were
matched with five families who generously
gave up one night a month to work with
the students. All of the families have
multiple children, many of whom have
special needs that require frequent and/or
specialized pediatric care. The students
were accompanied by at least one faculty
mentor from Scott & White, as well as
members of the hospital clergy and social
services, and many of the pediatric faculty.
The families’ participation had a lasting
effect in the lives of the students. Dr.
McNeal says, “They will—and may have
already—become completely different
physicians, with a different perspective.
They left the program with a much better
appreciation of the barriers that rural
populations face.” Dr. McNeal says that the
feeling was reciprocal: one of the family
members commented, “This was the first
time I felt like someone in the healthcare
system really listened to me.”
This type of training is essential, and
innovative. What began as a pilot elective is
now a highly desired program on the
permanent list of elective courses at Texas
A&M Health Science Center College of
Medicine and possibly even destined
to become a required course. Dr.
McNeal hopes that more families in
more communities will choose to
become educators (in the truest sense
of the word) for medical students so
that they can influence the course of
students’ careers in ways that a
standard classroom setting may not be
able to provide.
Pediatric research
is a priority
Along with medical training, research
is integral to Scott & White’s
academic mission. The Pediatric
Endocrinology Division at the Children’s
Hospital, led by Section Chief William
Bryant, MD, associate professor of
pediatrics at the Texas A&M Health
Science Center College of Medicine, is now
an affiliate of the Type I Diabetes TrialNet,
an international consortium of diabetes
researchers. Dr. Bryant and primary
investigator Matthew Stephen, MD,
pediatric endocrinologist, and assistant
professor of pediatrics at the Texas A&M
Health Science Center College of
Medicine, are engaged in a research study
that seeks to identify those who may be at
risk of developing type 1 diabetes mellitus
(insulin-dependent diabetes commonly
diagnosed in childhood). Voluntary
screening is offered to relatives of those who
have type 1 diabetes.
The overall aim of the study is to
identify those at highest risk for
development of insulin-dependent diabetes
mellitus. Further study goals include
offering intervention for those deemed to
be at high risk, with the hope of developing
Dr. Jill Flippin (left) reviews a patient chart
with medical resident Amber Rogers at
the Scott & White Clinic - College Station.
ways to prevent the development of the
disease. Drs. Bryant and Stephen say the
study has another, immediate benefit for
the families they see. Whenever a child is
diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, the family
often worries about the risk of another
child or family member developing this
disease. Through its membership in Type 1
Diabetes
TrialNet,
the
Pediatric
Endocrinology Division at the Children’s
Hospital can better answer that question, at
no cost to the family. The study is open to
first-degree relatives up to the age of 45
years and second-degree relatives up to the
age of 20 years. Those interested in
participating are encouraged to contact
Nenita Torres, RN, at 254-724-6069.
Education, outreach, and research are
important components of a pediatric
patient’s overall care. Scott & White’s
efforts in these areas hold much promise
for the future of our young children. ■
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