Archive: Around Town

For the past 9-weeks, students from Cornell's Community Based Leadership Development Program (CBLDP) have been spending their summer as volunteers with the  Cayuga Medical Center Emergency Department's Patient Care Advocacy Team known as PCAT.

As the program comes to a close, the participants will be showcasing their volunteer experiences through digital stories that they have constructed at a showcase event at Cayuga Medical Center on Friday, August 7 at 6pm.

This summer was the CBLDP's pilot partnership with PCAT, Cornell Career Services (CCS) and the Public Service Center (PSC); providing students with career exploration in the health care fields, professional experience working with patients, and exposure to the social issues and challenges in the US healthcare system.  CBLDP students meet with Amy Somchanhmavong at the PSC, and Lauren O'Neil, Phd. the Pre-Med advisor in leadership sessions to relate their experience in the Emergency Department to how they can grow to become better leaders and doctors.

The seventeen students who participated with PCAT volunteered for at least four hours every week in the Emergency Department (ED) supporting staff in providing patient care as well as attending bi-weekly seminars to strengthen their leadership development and service-learning experiences.


Student volunteers are primarily responsible for checking in with patients at least every half hour and help them understand what's going on with their visit, answer any questions the patients may have, keep them company, and get them anything they might need. Students work closely with the nurses, scribes, and doctors to make sure that each patient in the ED is receiving the attention they need. In their down time, students will help around the department in many ways, taking patients to their rooms or to other areas of the hospital, waiting with them before they go home, restocking rooms, and assisting staff with various tasks.

"The Cornell student volunteers have become an integral part of our Emergency Department over the summer. Their assistance allows our staff to ensure each patient receives the best possible quality of care. Through their dedicated service, it is our hope that these students were able to grow in their understanding of medicine, patient care, and community" said John Turner, Vice President, Public Relations, Cayuga Medical Center.

As a part of the program, the students also kept a weekly journal of their reflections on volunteering with the Patient Care Advocacy Team and created a digital story that visually illustrated the highlights of their experience and views on the role of leadership in medicine.

Partnering with PCAT provides students with a venue in which to contribute their valuable service while developing leadership skills. The program is offered jointly through Cayuga Medical Center, the Cornell University Health Professions Advising Program, the Cornell University Public Service Center and Cornell Career Services.
 
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