Dr. Stuart Green and Kirsten Graham present their research on the landmark program, which Dr. Green helped NJCTS implement in 2011 and is soon to be published.
MORRISTOWN, N.J. – The New Jersey Center for Tourette Syndrome & Associated Disorders (NJCTS) participated in the prestigious, selective 17th annual Atlantic Health Research Day on June 5 at Morristown Medical Center, displaying a poster detailing the findings of the soon-to-be-published “A Patient-Led Educational Program on Tourette Syndrome: Impact and Implications for Patient-Centered Medical Education” research paper.
The paper was researched and written in tandem by former NJCTS Medical Outreach Coordinator Kirsten L. Graham, MSEd; Dr. Stuart Green, DMH, LCSW, the associate director of the Overlook Family Medicine Residency Program; Dr. Roger Kurlan, MD, director of the Movement Disorders Program at Overlook Medical Center; and current NJCTS Medical Outreach Coordinator Jamye Shelton Pelosi, MEd, PsyM. It details an introduction to Tourette Syndrome; overview of Patient-Centered Medical Education (PCME); methods of design, sample and assessment; results and conclusions.
NJCTS partnered with Dr. Green in 2011 to implement its PCME program, which has been presented at more than a dozen hospitals across New Jersey. As part of Research Day, Dr. Green also gave an oral presentation about PCME, which he describes as “professional education which prioritizes the patient’s perspectives and needs by engaging empowered patients as educators and leaders, and partners with community-based patient support and advocacy organizations.”
The goal of PCME, according to Dr. Green, is to help physicians and other medical professionals understand the many and often complex needs of patients.
“Whenever you look at these kinds of interventions, you always find significant short-term benefits on empathy and attitudes – a change in practice and a change in outcomes,” said Dr. Green, who presented to an audience of more than 200 medical professionals from around the region. “You still don’t find the level of patient involvement that needs to become routine. Communication between physicians and patients is really where the crux of the challenge comes, and this program is truly innovative.”
Atlantic Health has played host to many of NJCTS’ PCME programs over the past several years, including presentations at Morristown Medical Center, Goryeb Children’s Hospital and Overlook Medical Center.
“Our Patient-Centered Medical Education program is unique in that it provides pediatric and family medicine physicians and residents at New Jersey hospitals an opportunity to hear directly from adolescents/young adults with TS and their families,” NJCTS Executive Director Faith W. Rice said. “This breakthrough program has been highly successful at further educating these physicians about Tourette Syndrome, a neurological disorder that affects 1 in 100 children.”
More information about the PCME program is available by calling 908-575-7350 or by visiting www.njcts.org.