Presenter: Danielle Stein, Kinesiology, Global Public Health Scholars
For my practicum, I shadowed a physician assistant (PA), Kyle Jervis, in the Emergency Department (ED) at Northwest Hospital in Randallstown, Maryland. During my practicum, I acquired knowledge about healthcare and medicine by observing Kyle and asking him questions. In addition, I volunteered by getting blankets and supplies for the patients and staff members. At the conclusion of my shadowing and volunteering experience, I interviewed Kyle about health disparities in emergency rooms that treat people in low-income communities locally and nationwide. From this interview, I learned about the patient populations in the Northwest ED and the barriers many of them face to receive quality healthcare. I also asked about the challenges that healthcare providers face when treating patients of these populations and what is being done to address these challenges. Additionally, I focused on how the education levels of patients affect their ED visits and overall healthcare experiences.
Excellent poster and presentation. You recognize that there are critical barriers to healthcare access. Your interview provided a “case study” of an Emergency Department PA. What might be some ways to dig deeper into the challenges to support your future career goals? Where else might you turn to learn more – coursework? Further shadowing? Travel to other countries to observe their ED practices? I look forward to seeing how you use this information in the future.
This was a very interesting presentation! I didn’t know about Emergency Departments, and that they are one of the only places that accept uninsured patients. Based on what you’ve learned from your time at Northwest Hospital, what do you think are some solutions that can help increase quality healthcare for those that don’t have access to a private provider? Should qualifications for Medicare be expanded? Is there anything that the state of Maryland can do to help alleviate the burden from facilities like Northwest?
Hi Meredith, thank you so much and that's a great question! Kyle was extremely thorough in the explanations of his diagnoses and treatment plans. He always explained the simplified version of the science behind the medical condition and every step of the treatment plan and their purposes. When some patients who came in were convinced that they were experiencing something they read online, Kyle was patient and answered all of their questions, and explained details on why their symptoms were not what they read about. I am unsure if he learned about ways to handle these situations in PA school, but he definitely has experience dealing with mistrust problems because they are fairly common in the hospital he works at.
This was a really interesting presentation! Good job! What are some things you noticed Kyle Jervis do in order to combat mistrust or problems patients may have had with medical literacy? Were these problems he was trained to face in PA school or did he have to learn through experience?