John McLees was a first-responder on Sept. 11 and today he suffers from lupus, rheumatoid arthritis and respiratory problems he attributes to the dust and fumes he inhaled protecting others. On January 15, McLees became a retired police officer-turned teacher as he volunteered to share his life and medical condition with second-year UCF medical students.
McLees and five other patients with rare autoimmune and skin diseases 麻豆精品 S� such as lupus, scleroderma and psoriasis 麻豆精品 S� spoke 聽during the skin and musculoskeletal module directed by Shazia B茅g, a rheumatologist at UCF Health and assistant professor of internal medicine.
麻豆精品 S淲hen my patients hear that I teach, they immediately ask about helping me with my classes as they want to educate others about these rare diseases, 麻豆精品 S� says B茅g, who treats five of the six volunteers.
麻豆精品 S淚 am hoping when the students leave here today they will be able to diagnose this disease early. 麻豆精品 S� 麻豆精品 S� Roy Louden, UCF Health patient
麻豆精品 S淭he diseases that I cover in my module are pretty rare, so my students get to talk to the patients and see these diseases that they may not ever see again. 聽Just to hear the patients 麻豆精品 S� stories, see their symptoms and how they present with these illnesses really resonates better, as they can literally put a face to the disease. 麻豆精品 S�
For Roy Louden, teaching others has become a way for him to cope with his illness. Louden suffers from scleroderma, an autoimmune rheumatic disease that affects approximately 300,000 Americans. He has been assisting B茅g with her classes since 2012 and has a YouTube channel where he educates others about living with scleroderma. Now in the advanced stages of the disease, Louden 麻豆精品 S檚 symptoms are visible 麻豆精品 S� skin tightening and muscle wasting in his limbs has caused his hands and wrists to bend inward. But in its early stages, the disease is difficult to diagnose. Louden says he volunteers to speak at the medical school because he wants to help future doctors recognize his disease 麻豆精品 S檚 early symptoms.
麻豆精品 S淎 lot of scleroderma patients I 麻豆精品 S檝e met online say they went undiagnosed for years because some doctors can 麻豆精品 S檛 recognize it or they don 麻豆精品 S檛 remember it from med school if they even learn about it, 麻豆精品 S� Louden says. 麻豆精品 S淪o this is my way of helping, it 麻豆精品 S檚 my way of staying positive and making impact. I am hoping when the students leave here today they will be able to diagnose this disease early. 麻豆精品 S�
During the exercise, organized by B茅g and Jeff Greenwald, assistant professor of dermatology, students rotated through small roundtable sessions where they engaged with each patient. They did not know their patient 麻豆精品 S檚 disease but had about 15 minutes to review the patient 麻豆精品 S檚 history and see current symptoms to reach a diagnosis. 聽They asked questions about symptoms, when they first appeared, and had patients show them photographs of previous skin lesions.
McLees, who served as a New York Police Department sergeant, says he finds fulfillment in helping medical students learn. 麻豆精品 S淲hen I heard that Dr. B茅g was a teacher, I volunteered to help her with her students in whatever way she needed, 麻豆精品 S� McLees says. 麻豆精品 S淚t 麻豆精品 S檚 really rewarding for me knowing that I am helping to train the next generation of doctors, showing them a real life patient with these health issues which is beyond a textbook with pictures. And it 麻豆精品 S檚 more than just teaching them about the diseases, they are also learning to interview and engage with patients in a compassionate way. 麻豆精品 S�
麻豆精品 S淚t 麻豆精品 S檚 very easy to remember when you 麻豆精品 S檙e engaging with an actual patient and seeing the visible symptoms of diseases. 麻豆精品 S� 麻豆精品 S� Courtney Bell, UCF medical student
First and second-year students usually develop their interviewing and diagnosing skills by working with 麻豆精品 S渟tandardized patients 麻豆精品 S� 麻豆精品 S� actors who pretend to have a medical condition. So for some, B茅g 麻豆精品 S檚 session was their first experience interviewing a real patient with a disease.
麻豆精品 S淲e learn about these diseases in class, but I felt way more engaged meeting the patients, and interviewing them to try to figure out what was wrong, 麻豆精品 S� says medical student Daralys Lopez. 麻豆精品 S淚 feel like this was a nice change of pace to classes.聽 I was also impacted by how positive and upbeat the patients were despite their illness. 麻豆精品 S�
Second-year med student Courtney Bell says the interview sessions have made a lasting impression and have helped to cement the concepts she learned in class.
麻豆精品 S淵ou can teach us a hundred diseases in three weeks, we won 麻豆精品 S檛 remember everything. 聽But it 麻豆精品 S檚 very easy to remember when you 麻豆精品 S檙e engaging with an actual patient and seeing the visible symptoms of diseases, 麻豆精品 S� Bell says. 麻豆精品 S淚 麻豆精品 S檓 not going to forget the time I met Mr. Louden or the 9-11 first responder with lupus. And this will definitely help us to remember these concepts years from now when patients come to us with these diseases. 麻豆精品 S�
