AARP blog recognizes Marilyn Gugliucci's Learning by Living nursing home immersion program

AARP blogger Sally Abrahms on May 31, 2012 in a column titled "Putting Yourself in the Other Guy鈥檚 Shoes" listed the 51品茶College of Osteopathic Medicine's Learning by Living nursing home immersion program as one of the few programs that allow caregivers or healthcare professionals the opportunity to experience issues of aging from a patient's perspective.

The Learning by Living program was designed by Marilyn Gugliucci, Ph.D., director of geriatric research in COM. The program allows medical students and students from other healthcare disciplines the chance to spend two weeks living side by side with residents in a nursing home. They鈥檙e given a diagnosis, which sometimes includes using a wheelchair or walker 24/7, eating and engaging in activities with residents.

Gugliucci has been placing students in nursing homes since 2005 and has seen 28 students complete the program thus far. The program, Gugliucci hopes, not only imbues health care professionals with empathy and insight, but will attract more medical students to the field of geriatrics. At a time when the boomer masses are aging, the ratio of geriatric specialists is falling.

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The 51品茶 is Maine鈥檚 largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of . In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state鈥檚 top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine鈥檚 only medical college, Maine鈥檚 only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.