Trinity School of Medicine recently participated in the “Doctor’s Day” exercise organized by the Kingstown Cooperative Credit Union, in celebration of the credit union’s 57th anniversary.

The activity was held in the Reuben John Development Centre of the KCCU Financial Headquarters in Kingstown on April 15. Services and information in a number of areas in the field of medicine were made available for visitors to receive consultations{{more}} and be given advice and information. These areas included Audiometrics, Vision, General Consultation, Health and Fitness, Nutrition, Dentistry, and Alternative Medicine.

According to activity coordinator Sharol-Rose Abbott, the main aim was primarily to ‘give back’ to the members of the organization. She said, “We realize that within the organization we have many persons within different areas of the medical field. We wanted to expose these persons, while giving our membership and other members of the general public the opportunity to get their blood pressure, blood sugar, body mass index and so on checked and at the same time engage in other consultations. “You have everything in place, just as you would normally, when you go to the doctor,” she observed.

Fifth term students Mia Lee and Anita Nehta, together with Dr Conrad Nedd, assistant professor of Clinical Medicine and clinical preceptor from Trinity School of Medicine, were the officials manning the Doctor’s Clinic booth. The students prepared each patient for consultation with the doctor, doing blood pressure and blood sugar checks and recording other information vital for a proper medical analysis.

Dr Nedd explained that after about three hours, the team had seen in excess of 50 patients.

“I would say we had a very productive day. Currently, we are not at the end of our tally, but our records show that we are upwards of 50 patients,” he said.

In outlining the benefits of such an exercise, he intimated, “The benefits are many. The students get the experience of working in a health setting like this community offering, getting the opportunity to practise and build on their evaluation skills and their understanding of how patients present. For example, we had a lady with very high blood pressure, who wasn’t having any symptoms at all. The opportunity to see somebody walk in like that adds to their clinical skills.” He added that the discussions coming out of each case provide invaluable information and experience.

Dr Nedd further expounded that Trinity prides itself in the cultural competence of its students, especially those coming out of the United States. US student Mia Lee described her experience as follows: “We saw a lot of patients. They kept on coming and we have been in overdrive for about two hours. The patients felt very reassured after their blood pressure was taken and I explained what they will do next. Each one went on to Dr Nedd for consultation. Personally for me, I think that meeting the persons who work in Kingstown, a very different environment, was good preparation for me, especially in terms of understanding the way they speak and so on. The interactions broke all barriers and I was able to relax and work quite comfortably. It was a very rewarding experience for me.”

Abbott, along with her Organizing Committee, was quite pleased with the services rendered by Trinity, as well as the other health professionals. She reported the numerous compliments her organization received as a result of the excellent service and information offered and has vowed that the Kingstown Cooperative Credit Union will make the event an annual one. Trinity School of Medicine will be happy to oblige, as it continues to provide out-of-classroom learning experiences for its students.