While growing older can be the beginning of a new and exciting phase of life, it can also bring on new health challenges. Navigating through the complex health care system can compound these problems. Any assistance that an older adult can get to understand the current health care system can empower older adults to be proactive and engaged in their care, not get overwhelmed by the system, and leave them the time to continue as active members of society. This is the primary reason that POGOe has selected the Elder Patient Navigator Program by Drs. Gary Blanchard and Sarah McGee from The University of Massachusetts Medical School as its Editors Choice for April.

This educational program assigns medical students in their pre-clinical years to older adults who specifically request assistance managing an office visit. With this Navigator Program, the benefits are two-fold. Patients benefit from having a student Navigator with them during their doctor’s appointments who can listen to the discussion, instructions and follow-up plans. When the clinical visit is over, the medical student meets with the patient to help clarify the patient’s understanding of the encounter and any questions or confusion that may have arisen. The older adult patient is provided with a reliable, written account of the visit, including test results or any changes in medication administration, in language they can understand. Participating pre-clinical medical students are the other beneficiaries. Through the program, the medical students witness first-hand - early in their medical education - a health care provider-older adult patient interaction. They are able to observe a practicing physician during an actual patient encounter and note the different issues that an older adult may face in the clinical setting. The participating students apply their basic skills and knowledge to address real-life needs of older adults who are from the community their institution serves. By helping the older adults navigate through real problems and challenges, medical students are able to apply what they have been learning in medical school to a real-world context. Hopefully, early exposure to the challenges older adults face, such as understanding what transpires during a clinical visit, will make them more sensitive to this issue before they transition to their clinical years. It therefore provides medical students a compelling reason to learn, which should increase their motivation, understanding and retention of material and skills they learn which are related to the needs of older adult patients.

This educational product includes instructions on program implementation, facilitators’ guides, sample brochures of the program, ready-to-use patient information worksheets as well as program evaluation forms. The worksheet encourages the medical students to pay attention to every detail during the clinical encounter. The product also includes useful tips on implementing the program such as piloting the Navigator Program at a single outpatient clinic site especially receptive to the program goals; finding a Student Navigator Leader, and recruiting older adult patients to the program. Soon to be added is a Student Navigator Resource Handbook, which will include Navigator orientation materials with a syllabus of relevant articles. This handbook will be a useful resource for students participating in the Program.

If you would like to know more about the program click the link to the product here in POGOe and get the materials for free! The Elder Patient Navigator Program was also presented at the Geriatric Education Materials and Methods Swap at The American Geriatrics Society Annual Meeting in Orlando in May 2010.