Dementia Care: Bench to Community

INTERDISCIPLINARY APPROACH

LABORATORY- Student was introduced to the Brain Tissue Repository of UC Irvine and its

associated research projects- Assisted graduate students with micro-dissection of brain tissues - Student was then provided an independent, succinct research project attempting to correlate

ApoE4 levels with cognition

CLINICAL- Rotated through the UC Irvine MIND

Clinic (Institute for Memory Impairments and Neurological

Disorders)- Immersed into the entire diagnostic process of the clinic: from the basic

neurological exam, to the 3-hour long neuropsychological exam, and finally

the family conference- Attended multidisciplinary meetings

with nurses, social workers, pharmacists, and geriatricians

reviewing cases

COMMUNITY- Student was provided tours and

general information meetings at the Alzheimer’s Association of Orange County and the Alzheimer’s Family

Services Center - Student observed support groups

for patients and caregivers with Alzheimer’s, and for caregivers of

patients with Frontotemporal dementia and Lewy Body Dementia

- Student spent a day interacting with the patients at the Alzheimer’s

Family Services Center

CLINICAL TRIALS- Student went through each step of

the clinical trials process: enrollments and appointments- Student was exposed to the

different types of clinical trials being offered at UCI

- Student was able to see how clinical trials can be an important part of

care for dementia patients

Wonita Youm, B.S. Ruth Mulnard, DNSc, Shirley Sirivong, Lisa Gibbs, M.D., Ann Abrams, LCSW. University of California, Irvine

Objectives- Create an interdisciplinary experience in Geriatrics for medical students- Integrate clinical, laboratory, and community experiences- Generate interest in Geriatrics and implement a sustainable program that can be offered annually to medical students

Methods- Prepared a schedule that eased student into the experience- Front-loaded the student’s summer experience in order to provide student time to further extend any interests- Provided a point person to coordinate the student’s schedule and periodically check on the student’s progress

Outcomes and Future- Student reported that the fellowship was well-rounded- Increased student’s interest in serving the geriatric population- Provided the student with first-time exposure to clinical trials, first-hand exposure to neurology and geriatrics, and to the unique needs of the elderly- Program is being offered again for the summer of 2011

Student’s Summer Schedule

Special Thanks to:•Reynolds Foundation Grant•Coordinators: Dr. Ruth Mulnard, Shirley Sirivong, Dr. Lisa Gibbs, Ann Abrams•Neurologist: Dr. Gaby Thai•Neuropsychologist: Dr. Malcolm Dick•Neuropathologist: Dr. Ronald Kim•Senior Psychometrist: Susan Randhawa•Clinical Trials: Catherine McAdams-Ortiz, Beatriz Yanez•Tissue repository/Lab: Dr. Wayne Poon•Alzheimer’s Association Director: Deborah O’Connor•Alzheimer’s Family Services: Dr. Tonia Vojtkofsky