Student-run clinic expands heart and lung focus

To better serve both students and the community, the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences’ student-led interprofessional clinic (SLIC), housed at Riverview Health Centre, expanded its cardiopulmonary clinic this fall. 

The cardiopulmonary clinic is one of three that operate at SLIC, and this year it runs from Sept. 28 to Dec.18. The other clinics are for neuro rehabilitation and mental wellness. 

Last year was the inaugural year for the clinic and both physical therapy (PT) and respiratory therapy (RT) students from the College of Rehabilitation Sciences took part in running it as part of their fieldwork placements. This year, they were joined by students from the College of Pharmacy. 

Curtis Humeniuk, interprofessional health education and clinic lead at the facility, said the program was created to address the needs for more cardiopulmonary placements for students, and for community members who need support for heart and lung health. 

“I think it’s just a great relationship in that respect, where students get to have placements and then clients get to benefit from the expertise that the students are able to provide,” said Humeniuk, a 2017 graduate of UM’s master of physical therapy program. 

“The students get a chance to really learn about each other, learn from each other and find out where there’s some differences and some complementary roles in their scopes.  And I think the patients that come here really benefit from that. They get more holistic care overall.” 

This year, 16 PT students, 10 RT students and up to 10 pharmacy students will have placements in the interprofessional clinic. PT students are in five days a week for six weeks and two RT students rotate through on one-week placements. Two fourth-year intern pharmacy students are currently completing their eight-week elective placement for four days a week, while up to eight more pharmacy students will be attending for a two-day visit.  

The clinic has three preceptors for both PT and RT, and five preceptors for pharmacy. 

Fourth-year pharmacy student Dylan Kurjewicz said he sees one or two clients a day for conditions such as heart failure, COPD and pulmonary fibrosis. 

“We are consulted to manage their medications, try and optimize them, and identify anything going on that needs to be addressed,” Kurjewicz said. 

He added that he liked working in an interprofessional setting, and that he’d like to continue in a similar situation after he graduates next year.  

“Working synchronously with other disciplines is nice, because then it’s very easy to interact with them and collaborate and problem solve,” he said. “I didn’t realize how much overlap there is between disciplines.  I wouldn’t consider pharmacy and physiotherapy to be all that aligned, but I would sit in on [the PT] consults and think, ‘this is very relevant to me.’” 

Second-year PT student Seamus Plunkett said the students work together in the same room between seeing patients, and sometimes they will consult with patients at the same time. 

“It’s a really great facility and the interprofessional collaboration is very nice. It’s very easy and accessible to speak with the other students,” Plunkett said. 

He also appreciates the time he gets with the patients, many of whom he sees twice a week. 

“It is really nice just to give them the full one hour of face-to-face contact time and just really get an individualized program for them.” 

Third-year RT student Rajwant Kaur spent her week in the clinic doing respiratory assessments such as taking histories, spirometry tests and six-minute walk tests, while also providing inhaler and oxygen education for patients to help them better manage their cardiopulmonary symptoms. 

“It’s been a great experience because I get to learn what other professions do. It gives us good exposure of knowing what a PT does for a patient to improve their quality of life, and what a pharmacist’s role is,” she said. “And together we can discuss the patient’s aim and how we can work together to make a plan for the patient.”