Student D.O. of the Year!

Tonight I received an E-mail from the TUCOM President that made my jaw drop and hit the floor. I am the 2011 TUCOM Student D.O. of the Year! It is still sinking in... wow!

I just want to thank friends and family for your warm messages! I am so humbled by this honor, and as I have said to a few of you already, I feel like Student D.O. of the Year is really more of a reflection of the Touro - CA Community. I have been able to acquire knowledge and wisdom from the best- and you all have helped me learn more than I ever thought I would in just 2.5 years of med school thus far! What an incredible journey it has been and I am so excited for what lies ahead!

The SDOY application consisted a CV/ list of achievements, and an essay response. My response to last year's question can be found in the blog under Feb 2010, I think. For those who are curious, I have pasted my response to this year's prompt below (word limit was much shorter than last year):

"Recent analysis from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reveals that if current trends continue, as many as 1 in 3 adults in the United States could have Type II Diabetes by the year 20501. What measures will you take to help prevent this outcome among your patients?

Source:
1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2010, October 22). Number of Americans with diabetes expected to double or triple by 2050 [press release]. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/media/pressrel/2010/r101022.html."

In 2010, it was estimated that 285 million people had diabetes, and predictions by the International Diabetes Association indicate that this number will increase to 438 million by 2030. Decreasing the incidence and prevalence of diabetes will take a major effort to remove the barriers to prevention, which are largely cultural, social, economic, psychological, and educational. As a future physician, I should play a major role in this effort by developing competency in diabetes prevention and management, and influencing the removal of barriers to behavioral change.

According to the National Institute of Health, those at high risk of developing diabetes who can implement dietary changes, develop healthy coping skills, participate in support groups, set goals like losing 5-7% of their body weight, and get at least 150 minutes of moderate physical activity per week will decrease diabetes risk by 58%. In my practice, I will encourage patients to take responsibility for their health and motivate them to implement these habits and goals. Studies by Prochaska & DiClemente (1986) have shown that a technique called motivational interviewing can help physicians identify the level of intervention appropriate for patients’ levels willingness to make changes in their lives. According to this research, by focusing on my patients’ level of readiness to make lifestyle changes, I can create individualized diabetes prevention and management recommendations for my patients. Believing in my patients’ ability to become healthy, I can open the door for them to carry out a self-motivated program of lifestyle changes that can reduce their risk for diabetes and even reduce diabetes-related complications in those who already have the disease. Once patients start to implement their diabetes prevention lifestyle changes, I will encourage them to become health mentors for their families. A community effort would help make leading a healthy lifestyle part of the norm, which would alleviate some of the societal psychological barriers to healthy living.

My colleagues and I can also help decrease the incidence of diabetes by leading the effort in designing and implementing community programs directed at increasing physical activity, healthy eating, and health literacy. According to studies by Thompson (1995) and Pate (2003), more than fifty percent of all US adults do not get the recommended amount of exercise needed per week to reduce diabetes risk, and two-thirds of all adults in the US have BMI’s of over twenty-five, which means that most people are overweight. This statistic points to the need for programs aimed at reducing diabetes in the overweight and obese population, focusing on diet and exercise. The National Diabetes Prevention Program, which launched in April 2010, is helping communities plan and execute workshops and educational events directed at diabetes prevention through life-style changes in this population. Another program, called Passport to health, works with families on managing their weight and preventing obesity-related health problems. Physicians should advocate to have these programs and other national health awareness tools shared with their communities.

One of the best ways to get the community together in a collective effort towards health and prevention is to promote the development and use of community centers. These facilities provide space for workshops, support groups, mobile health clinics, communal kitchens, and local gardening space. My colleagues and I should advocate for the creation of supportive facilities that successfully promote preventive health practices within our patient population. We should recruit students and professionals from the health care field to volunteer at these facilities by running workshops and free health clinics. The goal in this effort should be to teach clients about health maintenance and connect them with local resources.

If we focus on the effort to overcome barriers to diabetes prevention within our communities and ourselves, we can successfully reduce the prevalence of diabetes in the US population. I believe I can help decrease the incidence of diabetes by helping patients realize their unique role in the greater health of the community, and I can reinforce their health through education and preventative action. Most importantly, I must live a healthy life style and lead by example, encouraging patients to personify the words of Mahatma Gandhi, to “Be the change you wish to see in the world.”