Family Medicine Student Community Health Improvement Project (CHIP)
The Community Health Improvement Projects (CHIP) are a practical and engaging way for University of Vermont (UVM) College of Medicine third year medical students to learn firsthand about some of the health issues our communities and medical practices face as they develop their clinical skills under the tutelage of UVM’s network of clinical preceptors.
Check out what UVM College of Medicine Students
are Doing in Our Communities!
COMMUNITY HEALTH IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS 2016
Gayathri Prabhakar, UVM College of Medicine, 3rd year student
Gayathri Prabhakar, UVM College of Medicine 3rd year student just completed her family medicine clinical clerkship at Middlebury Family Heath, where she completed her Community Health Improvement Project (CHIP) on depression in the elderly. The family physicians at Middlebury Family Heath felt their patient population would benefit from more information about both clinical features of geriatric depression, as well as available community resources to improve patient symptoms. Gayathri compiled information about depression in the elderly and about community resources and shared this information with the practice providers, patients and their care-givers.
- Prabhakar G. Identifying Depression in the Elderly (PowerPoint presentation)
- Prabhakar G. Depression in the Elderly
Nicholas Kovacs, UVM College of Medicine, 3rd year student
Nicholas Kovacs, also UVM College of Medicine 3rd year student just completed his family medicine clinical clerkship at Milton Family Practice. In an effort to reduce dental caries in their young patients, physicians at Milton Family Practice are now offering a fluoride varnish procedure. Through his Community Health Improvement Project, Nicholas assisted the practice in producing education materials for patients and parents to learn more about this opportunity to improve oral health in the primary care practice setting.
- Fluoride Varnish in the Medical Home (PowerPoint presentation)
- Fluoride Varnish Pamphlet
COMMUNITY HEALTH IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS 2015
Benjamin Farahnik, UVM College of Medicine, 3rd year student
Benjamin Farahnik, UVM College of Medicine 3rd year student researched and compiled information in a PowerPoint presentation, along with a fun and interactive classroom presentation for 1st and 2nd graders about the importance of preventing skin cancer in Vermont.
- Preventing Skin Cancer: Sun Safety Education for Children (PDF of a PowerPoint presentation)
- Fun Sun Safety Staying Safe while Having Fun in the Sun (PDF of a PowerPoint presentation)
William Manning, UVM College of Medicine, 3rd year student
William Manning, UVM College of Medicine 3rd year student researched and compiled information in a PowerPoint presentation, along with a YouTube video (with assistance from Sarah Manning, also a UVM medical student), about Anorexia athletica for high school coaches, athletes, school nurses and parents.
- Preventing and Recognizing Anorexia Athletica – For Coaches and Athletes (YouTube video)
- Preventing and Recognizing Anorexia Athletica – For High School Coaches and Athletes (PowerPoint presentation)
Phil Teh, UVM College of Medicine, 3rd year student
Phil researched and compiled information on measles.
- Powerpoint on Educating the Community About Measles and Its Prevention
- Informational Pamphlet on Measles
COMMUNITY HEALTH IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS 2014
Job Larson, Milton Family Practice, Jeyko Garuz, Winooski Family Practice, Vishal Shah, Thomas Chittenden Health Center
As part of their University of Vermont College of Medicine clerkship experience, 3rd year medical students Job Larson, Vishal Shah and Jeyko Garuz identified improved nutrition as a way to address multiple chronic conditions, as well as improve overall health. Together they decided to come up with a unique and creative resource for patients to use to improve their diets.
Through community interviews as well as interactions with patients, the students identified cost containment, meal simplicity, and familiarity with particular foods as major factors determining patient adherence to diet modification. They also encountered enthusiasm among providers for more resources to provide patients, as well as creative and entertaining approaches to dietary modification. (See more on the students community health education projects at: Jeyko Garuz FM CHIPpowerpoints2; Larson Diet Modifications for Managing Hypertension on a Budget; and Shah Heart Healthy Eating.)
Given these factors the students decided to develop two resources. First, they each produced a week-long menu for patients, complete with meal preparation instructions, which focused on treating a specific chronic disease. These menus will be given to patients by the community health teams at their corresponding rotation practices (Milton Family Practice, Winooski Family Practice and Thomas Chittenden Health Center).
These menus focused on:
- Hypertension – Larson Hypertension Menu
- Coronary artery disease – Shah Heart Healthy Eating Menus
- Diabetes – Jeyko Garuz Diabetic cook book
Secondly, the students collaborated on several cooking videos, now available to patients online, which demonstrated how to prepare several key meals. The videos can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCA9hKoz001yWOiD8j-8YOug.
Through this project the students have also set a foundation that other students or community members could expand on, and add fun, nutritious, and low cost meals that can be easily prepared.
COMMUNITY HEALTH IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS 2013
Griffin Biedron, UVM College of Medicine, 3rd year student
Griffin researched and compiled information on Lyme disease.
