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BIDDEFORD, Maine

11 medical students interested in geriatrics are awarded 2010 research and practice fellowships

The University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine's Department of Geriatric Medicine announced that 11 COM students interested in geriatrics have been awarded 2010 research and practice fellowships.

The fellowships include: Two American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR) Medical Student Training in Aging Research (MSTAR), One American Geriatrics Society/Boston University Summer Institute on Aging, One Betty Ford Summer Institute for Medical Students (SIMS).

Six students participated in the Learning by Living: Nursing Home Immersion Project, and one student participated in the new Learning by Living @ Home Project.

American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR) Medical Student Training in Aging Research (MSTAR)
This prestigious and highly competitive fellowship in the Geriatrics field provides successful candidates with the opportunity to conduct research for 8 weeks during the summer at top ranked Geriatric sites and work beside nationally renowned researchers in the field: 

Jennifer Gibson-Chambers, MS I, Johns Hopkins University Medical School, Geriatrics and Emergency Medicine

Sarah Velten, MS I, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Geriatrics Department

The University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine has attained the highest number of AFAR/MSTAR Fellowships Awards of all Osteopathic Medical Schools. Marilyn R. Gugliucci, Ph.D, is their home institution sponsor.

American Geriatrics Society/ Boston University Summer Institute on Aging
This highly competitive Institute is limited to 16 medical students nationwide in their third and fourth year of medical school.

Stephanie Bissonnette, MS II (soon to be MS III) will be attending this week long institute May 24-May 28th.

Betty Ford Center Medical Student Summer Institute
This clinical training institute provides medical students with the opportunity to live at the Betty Ford Substance Abuse Center in California and work with families and substance abusers for an intense week. University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine student: Robin Caron, MS II, was awarded a position in this institute.

Learning by Living: Nursing Home Immersion Project
Students selected for this one of a kind experience will be admitted into nursing homes for 2 weeks to live the life of an elder resident, complete with a diagnosis and standard procedures of care. Three (3) University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine students, Mekkin Lynch, MS I; Hunter Sweet, MS I; and Jana Tencati, MS I, will be filmed by an independent movie production team during their stay in the homes. Filming begins on May 24th with Mekkin Lynch at St Andres Health Care Facility. Hunter will be admitted into the ME Veterans Home and Jana Tencati will be admitted into the Sarah Neuman Home in NYC.

Additionally, Amy Pratt, MS I will be admitted into the Nashoba Valley Nursing Home in MA; and Matthew Sharbaugh, MS I, will be living at The Chelsea Soldiers Home also in MA. Matt will experience "ward" living, sharing quarters with 11 other residents. These students will not be filmed for the documentary but will have media experiences.

A fourth year medical student from the University of New Jersey Medical and Dental School (Allopathic), Soochong Kim, will be admitted into a nursing home in Manhattan, NY. This is the first time Learning by Living research will be conducted with a medical student in clinical training.

All students will contribute to the Ethnographic/Biographic Research data that has been collected since 2005.

NEW PROGRAM: Learning by Living @ Home
A new research project will be piloted this summer, which is a variation of the Learning by Living© Nursing Home Project. The Dept of Geriatric Medicine has partnered with the ME Alzheimer's Association and ME Parkinson's Association to work with their physicians, patients, and family members so that medical students may experience life in the home of a person living with Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease. University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine student Shannon O'Connell, MS I, will be the first pioneer for this project. She will live for 7 days (24/7) in the home of a person with Parkinson's disease who is confined to a wheelchair and has an 80 yr old spouse who is the primary caregiver. Shannon will first shadow Dr. Ed Drasby (DO, Neurologist) for a day to learn more about the disease from a physician's perspective and then live in the home to learn about the disease and care giving experiences from the family. This project utilizes a Qualitative Ethnographic/Case Study research design.  

Marilyn R. Gugliucci, Ph.D., Director of Geriatrics Education and Research is the home institution sponsor for the fellowship awardees, the "adult child" and research sponsor for the students being admitted into the nursing homes; and the research sponsor for the new "@ Home" Project.

 

About the University of New England

The University of New England is Maine’s largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of flexible, accredited online degrees. In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.