Medical Students Receive 2006 Caring for Community Grant

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TEMPLE, Texas (June 1, 2006) – Third and fourth-year medical students at the Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine submitted a proposal this spring entitled "Project SEED" for funding to the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) and the Pfizer Medical Humanities Initiative (PMHI). Project SEED, which stands for "Screening, Education and Empowerment for Diabetics", was selected as one of eight nationwide proposals to be funded for the 2006 Caring for Community award.

According to third-year student Anthony James, Project SEED has two aims.

"Our first goal is to improve diabetes education, counseling, prevention and outpatient treatment for Martha's clinic patients," James says. "More specifically, we intend to provide additional clinic time specifically dedicated to diabetes education."

Students plan to place more emphasis on blood glucose monitoring, dietary guidance, insulin administration and awareness of the complications of untreated diabetes. They will also provide participants with glucose monitors, test strips, take-home literature and blood glucose logs.

The second aim of Project SEED is to improve the current quality and scope of testing and examination equipment currently available at Martha's Clinic. Students plan to place special emphasis on point-of-care diabetes testing, such as blood glucose, HgbA1c, and urine microalbumin measurements, services not previously available to those seeking care at the clinic.

"Through this project, we hope to monitor the progress of the diabetic population of Martha's Clinic and the surrounding indigent population, tracking surrogate endpoints for diabetes care," James says. "By doing so, we hope to decrease diabetic associated end organ damage, mortality, and increase the general quality of life for these members of our community."

For more information on Martha's Clinic, visit: http://medicine.tamhsc.edu/student-affairs/organizations/marthas-clinic.html.

For more information about the 2006 Caring for Community national medical student service project, visit: http://www.aamc.org/about/awards/cfc.htm .