{"id":4554,"date":"2018-10-04T14:18:05","date_gmt":"2018-10-04T18:18:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/chs-draft\/?p=4554"},"modified":"2019-01-25T11:30:59","modified_gmt":"2019-01-25T16:30:59","slug":"students-across-multiple-health-disciplines-screen-senior-citizen-volunteers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/chs\/2018\/10\/04\/students-across-multiple-health-disciplines-screen-senior-citizen-volunteers\/","title":{"rendered":"Students across multiple health disciplines screen senior citizen volunteers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Colleges of Health Sciences, Nursing and Pharmacy represented at Senior Health and Wellness Program<\/h4>\n

Students from all three colleges in the Academic Health Collaborative got some hands-on training while senior citizens from the community gained some valuable health information during the Senior Health and Wellness Program at Independence Square Tuesday.<\/p>\n

One hundred students and nine faculty members from the Colleges of Health Sciences, Nursing and Pharmacy and attended to 27 senior volunteers, testing their mobility, hearing and mental health, helping with questions on their prescriptions and relaying important nutritional information, among other services to enhance their overall health.<\/p>\n

\"\"\u201cIt\u2019s a service for the community and an educational opportunity for our students,\u201d said Physical Therapy Clinical Assistant Professor Carol Petrie. \u201cThe students get to practice their screening skills and the seniors get a report on their overall health.\u201d<\/p>\n

The event brought together future health experts from across multiple disciplines. Students in kinesiology tested volunteers\u2019 bone density to find out if they are at risk of osteoporosis, while physical therapy students tested their balance and fall risk, and those in communicative disorders tested volunteers\u2019 hearing. Nutrition students assessed their diets and pharmacy students answered questions about their medications, while nursing students screened volunteers for geriatric depression.
\nThe Physical Therapy Department has been hosting the event for 15 years, with the original intent to focus primarily on balance and exercise, according to Clinical Professor Janice Hume. It has since been expanded to include multiple health disciplines, giving seniors a more complete look at their overall health.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is unbelievably better to have the other disciplines involved,\u201d Hume said, noting the program helps prepare students to treat their future patients. \u201cPart of it is understanding who your patients are and who seniors are. They\u2019re not all unhealthy. We have some super seniors here, and that\u2019s really eye-opening for the students.\u201d<\/p>\n