Sufferers at a free Faculty of Drugs clinic for Orlando’s deprived are getting dietary counseling, because of the experience of registered dietician/nutritionist Steven Burroughs, a school member in UCF’s Faculty of Well being Professions and Sciences.
Burroughs leads dietary affected person training consultations on the student-run KNIGHTS Clinic at Orlando’s Grace Medical Dwelling. The clinic is staffed by UCF medical and social work college students, UF pharmacy college students, UCF college and volunteer group physicians and is funded by a grant from the Diebel Legacy Fund on the Central Florida Basis.
His message to sufferers and medical learners is easy: small way of life modifications can enhance lives.
“Good vitamin is actually vital for illness prevention,” Burroughs says. “All of us eat and all make choices, a few of them good and a few unhealthy.”
He and the scholars ask sufferers of their care questions on weight-reduction plan, train and stressors as a part of their appointments.
“We give them the training and instruments that they want by way of weight-reduction plan modification or modifications of their way of life in order that hopefully they don’t want a whole lot of treatment or costly procedures,” Burroughs says. “I keep in mind motivating a affected person, I requested if she had grandchildren and if she may make small modifications she’d have the ability to dwell an extended more healthy life. As I mentioned these phrases, she began to cry and mentioned that’s all she wanted to listen to to make modifications to cut back her threat of heart problems.”
Burroughs’ pleasant, straight-forward method is why sufferers reply to his recommendation, whether or not for managing diabetes, weight reduction or different persistent circumstances that require dietary monitoring.
Second-year medical pupil Chelsea Wu says working with Burroughs has been eye-opening.
“He’s so educated. He’s respectful and treats sufferers with dignity, which could be very inspiring,” she says.
“It’s the small issues that add up,” says second-year medical pupil Christopher Schilson, who has been working with Burroughs for practically a yr. “Sufferers don’t know that simply strolling half-hour a day can meet a weekly train purpose, or simply slicing out sugar from espresso can assist.”
After sufferers depart the clinic, college students keep up a correspondence with them between visits to assist them keep motivated and observe their progress.
KNIGHTS Clinic sees about 70 sufferers on an ongoing foundation for his or her major care beneath the supervision of medical faculty college and native physicians. With its evening hours, the clinic helps Grace Medical ease its backload of sufferers whereas serving to healthcare college students study interdisciplinary medical care and teamwork.
Burroughs says his service to the clinic has been personally and professionally inspiring.
“I really like coming to KNIGHTS clinic,” he says. “It provides me pleasure working with college students, constructing relationships in clinic, giving again to group and having significant interactions with sufferers and seeing them motivated to enhance their well being although vitamin.”