RCHC Community Project Abstracts

Back to preceptor site search page or search by subject

Preventative Health and Health Maintenance Information for Patients in Monmouth, Oregon: Helping the Patient Help Him(Her)self
Date of project: 9/8/2008

Total Health Community Clinic (THCC) primarily serves low income, uninsured or underinsured, individuals. They tend to lack continuity of care and comprehensive care, and often have office visits solely to address acute health issues. Consequently, it is difficult for the health care providers to effectively educate patients on preventative health and health maintenance topics and perform health screening. To facilitate patient knowledge, increase compliance with recommended health screening, and expedite office visits; I created age specific information sheets for patients that outline recommended ways to stay healthy and when specific health screening tests should be performed. Ideally, these will empower the patient to take a more active role in assuring that all of their health care needs are met.

Obstetric Guide
Date of project: 4/28/2008

West Salem Clinic and Total Health Community Clinic in Monmouth primarily serve low income, homeless individuals. Ten percent of the patients require obstetric care which is currently offered by three providers each having 10 deliveries per month on average. The clinics lack educational material that are practical, user friendly, and accessible to the women desiring pregnancy care at these facilities. For the past year, the clinic director has been interested in creating a brief, up-to-date, and readable manual of obstetric care. The goal of the manual is to offer as a free hand out to their patients as a guide for every step of pregnancy and to help providers become more efficient in managing the prenatal visits.

The Effectiveness of Patient Education in the Total Health Community Clinic: A Media-Based Approach
Date of project: 2/11/2008

Patient education is a key component of preventative medicine and is necessary to providing comprehensive patient care. This student attempted to identify the effectiveness of patient education efforts in Monmouth, Oregon family practice clinic. The design included observation of patient education methods currently in use in the clinic and an analysis of the effectiveness of those methods over the course of four weeks. In addition, patient interviews were conducted to both assess the effectiveness of patient education methods currently in use and to discuss methods for improvement. New methods for educating patients were then employed and their effectiveness measured via observation and patient feedback. These included patient educational videos presented in the waiting area as well as patient handouts. In addition, a patient-accessible computer with learning tutorials was proposed to clinic administrators and approved for implementation. The changes achieved in this project enhanced patient education and increased satisfaction with the clinic waiting room experience, as many patients felt that their waiting time was more valuably used.

You Are What You Eat!
Date of project: 9/13/2004

My community project was aimed at educating teen athletes about eating healthy diets to maximize their success in sports and to maintain their health. I picked this topic because all teens that want to play school sports must get a sports physical before they can participate in the sports. This allows physicians a good opportunity to educate the athletes before they start to train. The second reason that I decided to educate teens about a healthy diet is because it may be confusing for teens. I was also hoping to educate the teens about eating disorders so that they may recognize the signs and seek help if needed. Lastly, I wanted to educate teens about nutrition because for them, this is the time to develop proper eating habits that will serve as a foundation for healthy eating as an adult. I decided that the best way to educate teen athletes was by making an informative flyer that could easily be handed out at their sports physical. In this flyer, I provide information about main things to consider with respect to diet as an athlete, helpful eating habit hints, pre and post game eating tips, and eating disorder signs. I hope that this information will contribute to the success of teen athletes in developing healthy eating habits for the present time and for later on in life.

Back to preceptor site search page or search by subject