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Practicum Poster and Summary

Practicum Poster – Elysa Matthea R. Atmosfera


Practicum Experience Summary

Agency Mission

Waco Family Medicine’s mission is to “improve wellness of the underserved and vulnerable residents of the Heart of Texas by providing effective access to high quality, comprehensive primary health care; and by educating tomorrow’s Family Physicians and health care professionals. (2021)”

Agency Programs

Waco Family Medicine is known as a large, multisite federally qualified health center (FQHC) in Central Texas providing integrated medical, dental, and behavioral care across 14 clinic sites. Waco Family Medicine medical services include: Prenatal Care, Women’s Health, Well Child Checkups & Immunizations, Minor Surgeries, Chronic Care Management, and Referral for Additional Services. Although not mentioned on the agency’s website Physicians of Waco Family Medicine can prescribe Produce and/or Exercise Prescriptions to their patients as part of their chronic care management plan or overall wellness plan. The dental services of Waco Family Medicine include: Dental Exams, Prenatal Dental Care, Pediatric Dentistry, Dentures & Partial Dentures, Fillings Root Canals & Extractions, Gum Disease and Routine Cleanings. The behavioral care services are Counseling Services for a broad range of treatment needs including: Depression, Anxiety, ADHD, School Behavior, Trauma, Life Adjustment Issues, Grief, Stress, and Relationship Problems. Waco Family Medicine provide these additional services to Central Texas residents: Pharmacy Services, Financial Assistance Programs, and Lab & Radiology Services. The various programs mentioned indicates Waco Family Medicines innovation and sustained community partnerships to address social and environmental barriers to wellness the community served may face.

Community of Interest

Waco Family Medicine predominately serves low-socioeconomic individuals and families within McLennan county. My practicum experience focused on providing inter-professional training to Fitness Advisors within Waco Family Medicine’s Exercise Prescription Program whose patients may experience social determinants of health impeding their overall quality of life.

Practicum Goals and Objectives

Practicum Goal 1: To increase level of confidence of Waco Family Medicine’s Fitness Advisors concerning Public and Community Health.

  • Objective 1: By the end of the training, at least 25% of the Fitness Advisors will indicate an increase in confidence level that they can empathize with your patients’ present circumstance.
  • Objective 2: By the end of the training, at least 25% of the Fitness Advisors will indicate an increase in confidence level that they can be a health resource for their patients.
  • Objective 3: By the end of the training, at least 25% of the Fitness Advisors will indicate an increase in confidence level that they can incorporate public health into their work.
  • Objective 4: By the end of the training, at least 25% of the Fitness Advisors will indicate an increase in confidence level that they can incorporate community health into their work.

Practicum Goal 2: To increase level of confidence of Waco Family Medicine’s Fitness Advisors concerning interacting and empowering their patients.

  • Objective 1: By the end of the training, at least 25% of the Fitness Advisors will indicate an increase in confidence level that they can communicate effectively with their patients.
  • Objective 2: By the end of the training, at least 25% of the Fitness Advisors will indicate an increase in confidence level that they can help their patients create S.M.A.R.T. goals.
  • Objective 3: By the end of the training, at least 25% of the Fitness Advisors will indicate an increase in confidence level that they can integrate Motivational Interviewing techniques when communicating with their patients.
  • Objective 4: By the end of the training, at least 25% of the Fitness Advisors will indicate an increase in confidence level that they can suggest self-regulation strategies to their patients.

Work Completed

I began my practicum experience by observing daily operations of Fitness Advisors from patient arrival, Fitness Advisor communication of visit objectives, Fitness Advisor exercise demonstration, patient encouragement and visit interaction, and next visit scheduling. In between patient visits I interviewed Wellness Center Coordinator, Raejone Lucas, concerning the history of the Exercise Prescription Program, her experience thus far, and patient demographics. The majority of my practicum experience involved research concerning the various lesson topics I planned on covering during the two trainings which include: 9 Dimensions of Wellness, Social Determinants of Health, History of Waco and McLennan County Population Demographics, Cultural Humility, Health Behavior Change Theories, S.M.A.R.T. Goals, Motivational Interviewing, and Self-Regulation Strategies.

Once I completed my research, I consolidated my findings to two trainings: Public and Community Health Training for Fitness Advisors and Empowering Your Patients with accompanying lessons application activities. Prior to implementing the trainings I created a Pre- and Post- Fitness Advisor Training Questionnaire to measure the level of confidence of the Fitness Advisors concerning certain areas prior to the training and after participating in the training. I was able to provide my training to two new Fitness Advisors, Raejone Lucas, Wellness Center Coordinator and supervisor of the Fitness Advisors, my practicum site supervisor Dr. Kelly Ylitalo, and Wendy Cox, Waco Family Medicine’s Community Health Engagement Manager. However, only Ms. Lucas and the two new Fitness Advisors completed the Pre- and Post- Fitness Advisor Training Questionnaire.

Outcomes

Practicum outcomes include Waco Family Medicine receiving more positive feedback concerning patients’ experience with Fitness Advisors of the Exercise Prescription Program, integration of these trainings in future Fitness Advisor orientations, and the catalyst for Wellness Center staff to sustain an environment promoting holistic health and wellness for all.

Lessons Learned

Throughout this experience I learned there is a vast amount of information regarding all the topics covered within the two trainings which felt overwhelming at times when deciding how much I can realistically cover during a 3 hour session and feelings of imposter syndrome. This challenge has pushed me to be comfortable to ask for help when I need it and to remember that I will never know everything concerning these topics and these products are the foundation for future Fitness Advisor professional development topics. This was my first creating and implementing an inter-professional training. As I based the trainings off of webinars I have participated and through the feedback from the Fitness Advisors and implementing the training including less topics, more in-depth discussion, and more application activities would enhance this training.

Additionally, I learned from the Post-Training Questionnaire open ended questions the importance of taking the time to gather more information before creating lesson application activities. It would have been beneficial receiving more feedback from Dr. Ylitalo and Ms. Lucas concerning past encounters with Exercise Prescription Program participants.

 

Reference:

About us: Federally qualified health center • residency programs •. Waco Family Medicine. (2021, March 12). https://wacofamilymedicine.org/about-us/.