From what I understand, the students are primarily the ones responsible for keeping track of their CC pts. The DH students are informed of the need to really follow ALL of their patients through all of their appointments until the DH student graduates. Lynn suggested that since their program is much smaller and deals with many less patients than the U of MN, the opportunity for pts to get "lost" in the system is probably not as much of a concern as it is here. Students really the ones in charge of calling their pts to get them back in for their recalls. The "group directors" get updated lists of the names of pts their students have treatment planned and provided some type of treatment on. The students are responsible for updating this list with their group directors a few times each semester, and show the instructor what the treatment plan was, what the student has completed, and what the next step/recall is. Although the focus is for the students to really take responsibility of keeping these patients in the system, the clinical instructors/group directors are there to help nudge the students and make sure they are doing this. At the end of the year, when the "senior" class graduates, the patients are assigned to a new student within the same clinic group. This helps ensure the patients are seeing the same faculty and DDS every time they come in for an appointment, so this adds another level of accountability, and hopefully, the faculty can help track patients in a non-structured way.
I am hoping to visit Lynn at MCTC over spring break or after the end of the semester this summer, so if I can get more clear answers to some of my questions, I'll be sure to pass on the info to y'all.
Have a great weekend! See you all Monday!
Wow! I really like how MCTC handles their CC patients. Making the students accountable is great. I like that patients stay in the same group, too. This is one of the things that is frustrating for students, instructors and patients alike. If the patients would stay in the same group for all of their needs it would be so much easier!
ReplyDeleteI agree with Jackie and how the students are held accountable being a good idea. I wonder how they track patients that cancel or miss appointments? Could they get lost in the system after a senior graduates?
ReplyDeleteOkay, this comment has nothing to do with continuous care patients - but I wanted to tell you that your FMP protocol looks great! It is much needed in clinic - and will answer many questions for both students and faculty!?!
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