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Students honored for health care policy improvement posters

The Science of Health Systems course at Penn State College of Medicine introduces first-year medical students to the foundations of health systems science, including health care delivery, financing, insurance, population and public health, social determinants of health and advocacy and change agency.

As a requirement of the course, students are tasked with collaborating on a project that provides them with the opportunity to use their knowledge learned in the course and their evolving understanding of health systems science to:

  • identify categories of the healthcare system that are “in need,”
  • elaborate on ways in which the Affordable Care Act or other current policies address these areas, and
  • propose potential health systems improvments to address these areas.

Students present their poster projects orally to a group of Penn State faculty and staff judges and to their peers. Projects this year covered various health care topics including problems with today’s electronic medical record, the rising opioid epidemic, vaccination compliance and price transparency issues in health care.

Winning Projects

Streamlining Healthcare: Accessing Ways to Improve Continuity of Patient Care
First-year students include Alexander O’Donovan, Meaghan Dougher, Andrew McCullen, Ae Lim Yang, Daniella Mikhail, Karen Chen and Nathan Michalak

Current State of Access to Mental Health Services and Primary Care in the U.S.
First-year students include Sarah Benyo, Holly Wisnousky, Patrick Bergquist, Timothy Groh, Nicole Cumbo, Neekita Jikaria and Catherine Smiley

Winners have been invited to present their posters during EdVenture, the College of Medicine’s annual celebration of teaching and learning, taking place April 18, 2019.

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