Page 30 - WesternU View - Fall/Winter 2014
P. 30
COMP takes the long
view of health care
C Left to right: COMP student Kenneth Chang, Angel Gomez, COMP Assistant Dean Edward Barnes MD, FACP
Learning. “They begin to see through their patient’s eyes what it’s like to live
College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific (COMP) student Kenneth Chang,
with chronic diseases every day.”
DO ’18, recently sat in the lobby of WesternU’s Patient Care Center and talked
with Chino resident Angel Gomez. He asked Gomez about his medications, his
Barnes started the LC3 program a year ago with about 35 students in the
blood pressure readings, and whether he’s drinking enough water every day.
joined the program this year. Students are paired with a Western Diabetes
“He’s helping me a lot. He’s a good man,” Gomez said. “He’s going to be a COMP Class of 2017. An additional 50 students in the new COMP Class of 2018
good doctor.” Institute patient and will follow the patient throughout their four years. COMP-
Northwest in Lebanon, Oregon is also implementing the program on a smaller
The student doctor and patient are part of the Longitudinal Chronic Care Course scale, with about 10 students pairing up with nursing home patients of Assistant
(LC3), a pilot program at COMP. Chang will take care of Gomez throughout his Professor Derrick Sorweide, DO.
time as a COMP student.
Longitudinal tracks harken back to the way doctors were trained in
“I feel that regardless of what medical specialty one wants to go into, we can’t apprenticeships. An apprentice physician would work with a physician and
forget about the art of medicine,” Chang said. “Medical school is very follow patients over a longer period of time.
challenging with the huge amount of material that we are supposed to digest,
but knowing that I’m doing something for my patient is motivating me to rise Medical school is now arranged in sequenced blocks of education. Students
to those challenges.” complete a course, get a grade, then start a new course.
Chang attends Gomez’s appointments at WesternU’s Western Diabetes Institute “What these longitudinal tracks allow us to do is what we call integrated blocks,
(WDI) and with outside providers, and they also talk by phone at least once a where they’re all connected without ending,” Barnes said. “The goal is to get
week. them through seven years, including residency. That’s how long their training
actually is. I think it’s important so they get the long view of being a physician
“We wanted each student to get to know a patient very well,” said Edward rather than dropping into this rotation, coming out of that rotation, stopping
Barnes, MD, FACP, COMP Assistant Dean of Longitudinal & Experiential that course. I didn’t get that view until I actually got into practice.”
28 Western University of Health Sciences
view of health care
C Left to right: COMP student Kenneth Chang, Angel Gomez, COMP Assistant Dean Edward Barnes MD, FACP
Learning. “They begin to see through their patient’s eyes what it’s like to live
College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific (COMP) student Kenneth Chang,
with chronic diseases every day.”
DO ’18, recently sat in the lobby of WesternU’s Patient Care Center and talked
with Chino resident Angel Gomez. He asked Gomez about his medications, his
Barnes started the LC3 program a year ago with about 35 students in the
blood pressure readings, and whether he’s drinking enough water every day.
joined the program this year. Students are paired with a Western Diabetes
“He’s helping me a lot. He’s a good man,” Gomez said. “He’s going to be a COMP Class of 2017. An additional 50 students in the new COMP Class of 2018
good doctor.” Institute patient and will follow the patient throughout their four years. COMP-
Northwest in Lebanon, Oregon is also implementing the program on a smaller
The student doctor and patient are part of the Longitudinal Chronic Care Course scale, with about 10 students pairing up with nursing home patients of Assistant
(LC3), a pilot program at COMP. Chang will take care of Gomez throughout his Professor Derrick Sorweide, DO.
time as a COMP student.
Longitudinal tracks harken back to the way doctors were trained in
“I feel that regardless of what medical specialty one wants to go into, we can’t apprenticeships. An apprentice physician would work with a physician and
forget about the art of medicine,” Chang said. “Medical school is very follow patients over a longer period of time.
challenging with the huge amount of material that we are supposed to digest,
but knowing that I’m doing something for my patient is motivating me to rise Medical school is now arranged in sequenced blocks of education. Students
to those challenges.” complete a course, get a grade, then start a new course.
Chang attends Gomez’s appointments at WesternU’s Western Diabetes Institute “What these longitudinal tracks allow us to do is what we call integrated blocks,
(WDI) and with outside providers, and they also talk by phone at least once a where they’re all connected without ending,” Barnes said. “The goal is to get
week. them through seven years, including residency. That’s how long their training
actually is. I think it’s important so they get the long view of being a physician
“We wanted each student to get to know a patient very well,” said Edward rather than dropping into this rotation, coming out of that rotation, stopping
Barnes, MD, FACP, COMP Assistant Dean of Longitudinal & Experiential that course. I didn’t get that view until I actually got into practice.”
28 Western University of Health Sciences
