Medical Student Project: What can students learn from family caregivers?
Tracy Huynh, a 2nd year medical student, completed a research project about what students can learn from family caregivers. The project is part of 'FLEX', a component of the Undergraduate Medical Program at UBC which allows students to engage in self-directed learning opportunities that incorporate personal interests, critical thinking, innovation, and advocacy.
"The topic of family caregiving is important to me because I have seen the impacts that caring for a loved one has on a family," says Tracy.
Tracy interviewed 5 family caregivers from UBC's Interprofessional Health Mentors program about what doctors can do to better support family caregivers and what resources are most helpful. Her findings highlight the importance of peer support and the need for physicians to work in partnership with caregivers.
“Shared or informed decision-making, I think that’s great that the students are learning about it but … Nobody actually says it to the patient that this is what we’re talking about today is informed decision-making, shared decision-making,” said one caregiver.
The next step is to develop educational resources to help students learn how to better support family caregivers. Stay tuned!
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