The Final Day: Chad

Today was the final day of the Summer Institute. I am emotionally drained yet at the same time very fulfilled. This week has been long and tiresome. I feel transformed after listening to all of the lectures and different perspectives I was exposed to this week. Today we presented our "solutions to problems" to each other and it was awesome. It is really unique to have 150 professionals in different fields come together and form a 2 day "think-tank" trying to come up with solutions to Tulsa's issues. It gave me much hope that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Hopefully this idea of community medicine will spread to other communities and be able to impact many other communities other than our own. Being exposed to the concept of community medicine has not only made me aware of our problems, but has also shown me the possibility of finding solutions to those problems. It was eye opening to realize that to fix these problems, it is going to require the entire community working together. Without collaboration, it will not work. With collaboration, success becomes a reality!

Chad Knight

Life as a Hungry 9 Year Old: Chad

Today we had a few community interviews that were great. However, the highlight of my day took place during the poverty simulation. We each split up into simulated families that were struggling financially. My role was that of a 9 year old boy with only a single father and sister. It became extremely frustrating throughout the simulation because of many things. One example was the need for public transportation. Everywhere we went required 2 bus passes per person and many times we were stuck at home. I only attended school twice when I should have gone 5 times. This was not because I was being "lazy" but because I had to babysit my sisters baby while she looked for part time work. I was once taken to "juvy" for being at home alone. The reason I was home alone was not because of intentional neglect but more because of hunger, my family was out trying to find work to buy us food. This simulation was great to shine a light from a different perspective that I was used to. It made me aware of the day to day struggles that this demographic faces and how much harder it would make something like going to college!

Chad Knight

Poverty Simulation: Elecia

To be very honest, I did not have a very good attitude towards the poverty simulation while I was participating. I was pretty frustrated because for the first three "weeks" no matter where I went I did not get anything from anyone. Yet, I saw the other participants getting somewhere in life. A part of me thought it was because some of the "providers" did not know what I was talking about, even though I had been instructed to do certain things on the paper that described my role. However, it is a possibility that these people in the booths were just doing a really good job at keeping all possible resources away from me even though I had the means to pay for it. Regardless of which scenario it was, I felt like quitting. I was close to calling it a day and just going home because I felt like I was just wasting my time. Then, I finally realized that there are probably people out there who live lives that are unfair, where nothing seems to work out, just like I was experiencing. If I quit the simulation, there were no consequences; but for people in poverty who quit on life, they could end up being depressed, start committing crimes, or even worse try ending their lives. Even though I was skeptical about whether this simulation was going to teach me anything during the first three "weeks", I found out upon reflection that it very much did serve the purpose it set out to do-to give me a greater understanding of what people in poverty must live through.

You Don't Have To Be Super Human: Elecia

For some reason, I always thought that people who dedicated their careers to helping those in need were like super humans with an extraordinary ability to keep giving out love without growing weary. As my group interviewed people in our community, I found out something very simple- that all of these people were still people, they just had very compassionate hearts. They were not individuals that were very different from me in the sense that they wanted to see the results of their labor and needed social relationships that would edify them. I saw how discouraged they could get when it seemed like their hard work was not making a difference in the community that they cared so much for. This shed some light on the need for more people to serve in the community so that these providers can be given breaks where they can focus on themselves. In addition, seeing how other people are committing their time for the same cause could encourage them to continue on.

Elecia Kim

We're all students at the Summer Institute: Dr. Guevara

Thus far Summer Institute is proving to be a very satisfying and exciting experience. In the first two days I've heard three thought-provoking lectures from seasoned faculty, participated in a poverty simulation and performed appreciative inquiries of three community service agencies. Most importantly it has allowed me to work with the many students and faculty representing a multitude of disciplines at OU. It's amazing that in two full days of work, I've seen, heard, read and experienced as much as I have. And I'm learning not only from faculty but from medical, nursing, social work and physician-assistant students that I'm sitting alongside. They bring creativity, energy and idealism that can sometimes get lost along the road. Before the institute, I thought I was a fairly empathetic and informed physician when it came to understanding the challenges and issues faced by my patients. I can see now that the scope of the problems in which indigent and disadvantaged patients find themselves is much larger and complex. It has stirred to me to re-evaluate how I view and interact with patients and how socioeconomics and early development experiences impact their lives. It has also set the wheels of my mind in motion in trying to find ways I can help improve the lives of not only my patients but their families, neighborhoods and communities. It's clear that the problem is large and can easily overwhelm if not intimidate. But then that's the purpose of the insitute: To collectively pool our knowledge, ideas and experiences towards finding new and innovative ways to improving the health of Tulsans and Oklahomans.

Robert Guevara, MD

Community Interviews, and The Value of a Used Honda: Chad

Today was my first day at the Summer Institute. It began early and went late. I learned things I had never known, let alone even thought about. We began the morning with a lecture on the urban design of Tulsa. This lecture brought up several interesting points including the transportation issues facing the underserved communities, such as North Tulsa. Before today, my main thought of automobiles was that I wish I had a better car than a used Honda. However, after today, I began to think of what my life would be like, if I did not have my used Honda. I became grateful very quickly. I would have to take public transportation everywhere I wanted to go such as for a doctor visit, to Walmart, to the dry cleaners, and to work every day. This could complicate my life very easily.
After the morning lectures we went out into the community to interview different community agencies and how they impact/or are impacted by Tulsa. The experience that stood out to me the most was at the Community Service Center. We spoke with the person in charge of Hispanic affairs. She told us of the many struggles facing the Hispanic community in Tulsa. One thing that really stood out to me was that an issue of trust emerged as a determining factor as a roadblock to overall medical treatment. There is a cultural awareness that needs to be learned by more physicians. In the Hispanic community, it is the eldest female in the household that is looked up to for medical advice by the entire family, quite frequently, more so than even physicians. That is why it is important that, as a future physician, I learn to treat the whole family and not just the patient. Because if the grandmother disagrees with the treatment, the patient is not likely to comply.
The second half of my day consisted of a discussion with other group members who had different community experiences. It was informative to hear about their encounters in the community and how it was similar to mine. We tried to find a common theme amongst the different organizations and we found that every organization is motivated to make an improvement. A major issue we found, though, was that there needs to be better coordination and communication amongst these organizations. After the day was over, we came back to our dorm rooms and discussed health care topics even more. It was a good way to bounce ideas off of each other in a very causal way. I had an outstanding experience today and can not wait until tomorrow!
Chad Knight

Part of the Big Picture: Tiffany

Coming into summer institute, I know some of the meaning and idea behind the school of community medicine. However, after Dr. Clancy spoke about the story of community medicine and the grand idea behind it, I will have to say I stood a little bit prouder that night knowing I am a part of a bigger picture and it is not about me. It is about the community and what they need and what is important to them. The people that came up with the idea, and have backed the School of Community Medicine should really pat themselves on the back. I had no idea that there was such a divide between north and south Tulsa. Who knew that one city could be so separate. I am excited for the rest of the week and what I will be exposed to. Maybe we will be able to break down some of the barriers and face the problem head on.

Tiffany Martinelli
PA- Student OU Tulsa
Norman OK"

SUMMER INSTITUTE: GET READY, SET, GO

Nothing quite illustrates a concept like a story -- a true one filled with high points, disappointments, heroes, underdogs and even bad guys. When it's delivered by the head of OU Tulsa to about 120 members of the Summer Institute at OU Tulsa School of Community Medicine, it's important and captivating indeed. OU Tulsa President Dr. Gerry Clancy on Sunday used a series of personal anecdotes since his arrival in Tulsa in 2001 to inspire the leaders in all of us. His message during the first anchoring lecture in the week-long event: Transform how we view and deliver health care in Tulsa so that we can fight the bad guys of health disparities, predjudices, nay-sayers and those resistant to change and concepts like disruptive innovation. The story continues, but now we're the heroes and our patients are the underdogs. During the upcoming week, we'll collectively combine our knowledge, experiences, talents, passion and imagination towards coming up with better, brighter and more sustainable ways of providing accessible and quality health care in Oklahoma.

Robert Guevara, MD, Family Medicine/Psychiatry
Assistant-Professor, Department of Community Medicine/Family Medicine.

A Relevant Experience: Kevin

The inaugural SOCM Summer Institute was the first experience of my medical education, and looking back on it, I could not be more pleased. In my view, the first year of medical school by itself does not bestow upon the students a strong sense of relevance. The Summer Institute showed me that everything we learn has real significance outside of simply passing boards. It put a face on the conditions that we learned about first year and motivates me to want to be the very best physician I can be. Studying metabolic pathways can get a little tiresome, until through the SOCM you hear about a doctor diagnosing a local person with Wilson's disease (a rare copper metabolism disorder that will get about 10 minutes of class time). The context that was put around medical education proved to be a valuable asset during first year.

I have lived in the Tulsa metro area my whole life, but I discovered so much about the health status of our city that week. The health disparity is startling to me, and the fact that it is happening within a ten mile radius of my home makes me want to do something about it. I think that the profession of medicine has taken a hit since the golden days of the 1950s, but in each of these interviews I saw people getting excited about how we can change our community for the better. Some of our interviewees seemed genuinely surprised that we wanted to know how we could best serve them, yet isn't that in just about everyone's personal statement? I think that this experiment that we are embarking upon can transform the way people look at medicine in our day, and that gets me excited.

At first, these problems we are facing and hoping to address might seem disheartening to you. I hope that during the week you will give serious thought to what a solution might look like and how you might fit into it. The presentations that were given on Friday made me very hopeful for improvement of our local health care system. I see at OU Tulsa a group committed to making a difference quickly, and that is something I think is worth pursuing for the betterment of our community.

Kevin, MSII
Tulsa, OK

Pre Blog-Blog

I'm so looking forward to to the Summer Institute 2009 and reading what our bloggers have to say about their experiences.

Check back once the Summer Institute begins (July 26-31) and follow a few of our participants as they share.