The Health Mentors Program: A Longitudinal Chronic Illness Mentorship Program

Abstract

Abstract Introduction This 2-year curriculum is designed to address the gap in chronic illness care education and to introduce students to the benefits of working on an interprofessional team. The Health Mentors Program was created to familiarize students, through experiential learning, with the following key elements pertaining to team-based, patient-centered care: placing chronic illness into life context, obtaining a comprehensive health history, gaining access to care and systems barriers, patient expectations of healthcare providers, professionalism, developing a wellness plan, polypharmacy and adverse drug reactions, self-management and patient education, and patient safety. Methods The curriculum consists of eight modules administered over a 2-year period. Throughout the curriculum students are grouped into interprofessional teams of four to five students from multiple disciplines (e.g., medicine, nursing, pharmacy, physical therapy, etc.). Each group meets with a health mentor who is a volunteer from the community with a chronic medical condition (e.g., high blood pressure, diabetes, arthritis, etc.) and has a willingness to share both their life experiences and experiences with the health care system. In between modules students are expected to write personal reflections and participate in team-based case studies and/or faculty-led interprofessional small group debriefing sessions. Results Preliminary data collected during year one of the program suggests that this curriculum has a positive impact on attitudes toward chronic illness and interprofessional care. Qualitative analysis from student reflection essays at the end of year one of the program revealed that students had a more positive attitude toward chronic illness and aging, valued the experience of interprofessional team learning, and developed a better understanding of patient-centered care. Discussion Our preliminary findings suggest that early, longitudinal patient contact may help to prevent the negative connotations many students come to associate with chronic illness during their later clinical experiences. Community health mentors with chronic conditions can have a positive impact on health professions' student attitudes and should be utilized in chronic illness care education.

Keywords

• Chronic Illness
• Teamwork
• Chronic Disease
• Adverse Drug Reaction
• Polypharmacy
• Health Mentors