Student spends nine days as “resident” of Maine Veterans Home

Second year College of Osteopathic Medicine (COM) student Sarosh Kahn was recently featured in the Scarborough Leader in an article about her experiences inside the Maine Veterans Home (MVH) in Scarborough, as part of UNE’s Learning By Living program. 

Designed by Marilyn Gugliucci, Ph.D., professor and director of Geriatrics Education and Research in UNE’s College of Osteopathic Medicine, the program is the ultimate immersive educational experience for medical students who take on the role of older adults living in nursing homes.

For nine days, Kahn lived the life of an elder resident who had suffered a stroke resulting in weakness on her right side. She required help with bathing, eating and walking.

“My first anxiety was about how I was going to fit in at a veterans’ home,” Kahn told the Scarborough Leader. “I don’t come from a military family and I don’t have a lot of experience with veterans.”

Kahn says everyone inside the home welcomed her after word of her arrival spread.

Because of the diagnosis for the role she was playing, Kahn was required to eat pureed food, drink thickened liquids and use a wheelchair. She eventaully graduated to a walker.

Sarosh says she knows her experience at MVH will not only make her a better doctor, but a better human being.

“That includes everything from how I phrase something, to respecting a patient’s space, to the intonation of my voice,” she stated to the Scarborough Leader. “I could not be more pleased with my experience.”