Physician Encourages Medical Students to Address Needs of "Vulnerable Groups"

Newswise — About one in five Americans has a disability and one in 10 has a severe disability. Whether physical disabilities, developmental disabilities or mental illness -- these individuals face difficult challenges in the healthcare system.

Other Americans, such as the frail elderly, homeless, terminally ill and uninsured, also confront their own difficulties when seeking medical care.

Future doctors at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine learn about these people on a personal level in the school's Vulnerable Groups program.

Kathy Johnson Neely, M.D., assistant professor of medicine at Feinberg, takes her second-year medical students to sites around Chicagoland to meet and observe these disadvantaged groups. The on-site visits are part of the Physician, Patient and Society curriculum.

Neely says, "This required curriculum is perhaps one last chance to broaden a student's perspective before they become immersed in the world of the hospital ward and clinic." The needs of people in these "vulnerable groups" span a broad spectrum of medical care that will need to be addressed by our future doctors, Neely said.

Neely, a staff physician at Seasons Hospice, says "My personal and professional experience has been enriched by caring for patients at a women's shelter, on hospice home visits and I want to share this experience for my students as well." Neely, who previously had volunteered at Circle Family Care and Deborah's Place in disadvantaged Chicago neighborhoods, says, "For many, just getting out of bed in the morning is an act of heroism."

Neely's students recently spent two weeks at various service agencies, including Chicago's Anixter Center, meeting and talking with a variety of disabled people and observing the care/treatment they receive:

-      Adults with a brain injuries caused by substance abuse or trauma;

-      Young adults aged 21-30 with developmental disabilities, learning how to take part in the community through jobs;

-      Disabled children aged 3-21 suffering from autism, ADHD, severe mental retardation; and

-      Deaf people suffering from addiction problems.