Students make house calls

Most students don’t get hands-on training with geriatric patients until near the end of their studies, but UC Irvine School of Medicine students experience senior health issues a little earlier.

During the first three years of coursework, two freshman medical students are paired with one adult, age 55 or older, for physical practice of geriatric medicine techniques as part of the school’s Student-Senior Partner Program.

For third-year medical student, Sarah Smith, working with people was something she knew would happen eventually, but it surprised her how soon that came around.

“Usually students don’t get hands-on training until their third year of medical school,” Smith said. “I was surprised that we would be going into their homes to do our visits. It makes the visit much more relevant and comfortable to be in their home.”

Smith and fellow students Walter Tsang, Fernando Torres-Mosqueda and Linda Doan worked with Bobbit and Bill Williams of Newport Coast, who signed up for the program during a medical seminar held every year at the Crystal Cathedral.

The initial meeting for medical students and seniors occurs every year at the Bren Events Center on the UCI campus. After a lecture on healthy aging by the school staff, the freshmen are directed to find the person assigned to them.

“Well they had all the seniors in one big room at tables spread out from each other,” Smith said. “Then they told us what table they would be at, and then we had to go find our senior.”

Partners are paired up in the first months of their first year, and meet for three sessions during each of the first three years of medical school, for a total of nine visits.

Under the direction of nurse practitioner Camille Fitzpatrick, the senior partner program is the only long-term relationship formed between the physicians-in-training and volunteers during their four years of medical school.

“Broadly speaking, the goal of [the program] is to give students the opportunity to develop a longitudinal relationship with a ‘real’ older patient, to develop understanding of healthcare issues the older adult faces, and to nurture positive attitudes toward older adults,” Fitzpatrick said.

Each meeting focuses on a specific area of geriatric medicine, such as blood pressure or healthy mental aging.

Bill Williams, 74, spends every morning swimming laps for 20 minutes, and biking through Crystal Cove for another 40 minutes. He also lifts weights every other day.

The Williamses remain active in a number of local charities and clubs. Bobbit Williams, 71, volunteers with charities for the American Cancer Society, the Philharmonic Society of Orange County and runs her own book club.

Bill Williams is on the Newport Beach Library board of trustees, travels with Orange County Seniors Golf, participates in political discussions with the Lincoln Club and still found time to participate in the Catalina triathlon for the past 23 years.

“He really works at it, a proper diet and exercising every day,” Bobbit Williams said about her husband. “Genes are a big part of it too.”

With the United States Census Bureau reporting that adults 85 years and older are the fastest growing population group in the country, emphasis on specific areas of study in the medical community should begin to reflect such growth, Fitzpatrick said.

“There is a huge need for geriatric medical education,” she said. “We as medical educators have a duty to prepare future clinicians to care for the elderly.”

Williams, Smith and Tsang will have their final meeting July 17 at a goodbye luncheon held at the Double Tree Hotel in Irvine.

Tsang and Smith plan to graduate in 2007. After medical school, both will focus their studies on internal medicines. Tsang will then go onto a fellowship in kidney studies, and Smith plans to specialize in geriatric medicine.

“It’s been really interesting to share philosophies of life,” Bill Williams said. “They’re beginning their careers and we’re at the tail end of ours.”

Aside from their busy schedules, the Williamses have no objections to becoming senior partners again.

“I felt like it was important for young physicians to realize that they need to keep the patient in mind,” Bill Williams said. “No matter how old.”dpt.24-boomers-CPhotoInfoCS1SA73220060624j1c735ncDON LEACH / DAILY PILOT(LA)Medical students Sarah Smith, left, and Walter Tsang speak with Bill and Bobbitt Williams as part of UC Irvine’s Student-Senior Partner Program.