Does hospice volunteering with the elderly count as working with an underserved population?

[779663]

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A secondary question is asking me about my work with underserved populations or rural populations.

I don't have any experience with rural populations, but I might have some with underserved populations, I'm just not entirely sure what constitutes as an underserved population?

This school is very big on underserved populations, but I can't find an exact definition that explains whether a population is underserved or not.

i work with the elderly a lot in my hospice volunteering, does that count as underserved? if not, what exactly makes a certain demographic underserved?

 

[eeeeagle!!]

Undeserved populations are those that don't have enough access to quality Healthcare. This could be due to social disparities such as living in low socioeconomic status regions, rural demographics, etc, where the density of physicians may be low, or too expensive for some people to afford.

Being elderly in and of itself doesn't mean underserved. There are plenty of geriatric patients who can afford and gain access to quality Healthcare. But there are just as many, if not more, that cannot.
With the elderly faction of our population representing the largest growing demographic, I'm sure you could easily "spin" working as a hospice volunteer as working with Undeserved.

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[779663]

Undeserved populations are those that don't have enough access to quality Healthcare. This could be due to social disparities such as living in low socioeconomic status regions, rural demographics, etc, where the density of physicians may be low, or too expensive for some people to afford.

Being elderly in and of itself doesn't mean underserved. There are plenty of geriatric patients who can afford and gain access to quality Healthcare. But there are just as many, if not more, that cannot.
With the elderly faction of our population representing the largest growing demographic, I'm sure you could easily "spin" working as a hospice volunteer as working with Undeserved.

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Thanks for the input, I just find it strange that this school really wants applicants who have experience with the rural or underserved. i mean these populations don't have the best access to healthcare themselves, so it follows that students would also not have incredibly good access to them. I have a lot of experience with populations that are not underserved in healthcare, but no one seems to be interested in that

 

[Espressso]

Thanks for the input, I just find it strange that this school really wants applicants who have experience with the rural or underserved. i mean these populations don't have the best access to healthcare themselves, so it follows that students would also not have incredibly good access to them. I have a lot of experience with populations that are not underserved in healthcare, but no one seems to be interested in that

The idea is to eliminate healthcare disparities. Like you said, these populations don't have the best access, so they are looking for applicants who seem dedicated to serving similar communities so we don't continue to have a growing population of people who don't have any access to healthcare.

 

[DrMikeP]

A secondary question is asking me about my work with underserved populations or rural populations.

I don't have any experience with rural populations, but I might have some with underserved populations, I'm just not entirely sure what constitutes as an underserved population?

This school is very big on underserved populations, but I can't find an exact definition that explains whether a population is underserved or not.

i work with the elderly a lot in my hospice volunteering, does that count as underserved? if not, what exactly makes a certain demographic underserved?

If those elderly were residents in Palm or Miami Beach or Manhattan then probably not. Were they all rxing supplemental state assistance in a state/county run nursing home?

 

[femmegoblue]

It's not, but it's an undesirable populations for most pre-meds to volunteer with and will be viewed highly in admissions!

 

[779663]

If those elderly were residents in Palm or Miami Beach or Manhattan then probably not. Were they all rxing supplemental state assistance in a state/county run nursing home?

I don't believe the nursing homes they are in are state or county run, I could be wrong on that though so I'll try to verify it. What difference would that make here though?

In my opinion, the care they receive in the nursing homes is very poor.

 

[DrMikeP]

I don't believe the nursing homes they are in are state or county run, I could be wrong on that though so I'll try to verify it. What difference would that make here though?

In my opinion, the care they receive in the nursing homes is very poor.

Nursing home care can be of low quality but that doesn't necessarily mean they are underserved.

The question is, are the residents of the home low income and indigent (i.e. underserved) OR are these wealthy elderly people sipping tea at noon and going riding in their $50K golf-carts on the beach? I had a patient in a nursing home that had 5 rooms per suite, cost $20K/month, had a dedicated nurse per suite, onsite chef, maid service, personal drivers, etc.

 

[Goro]

No.

Poor people are the underserved.

A secondary question is asking me about my work with underserved populations or rural populations.

I don't have any experience with rural populations, but I might have some with underserved populations, I'm just not entirely sure what constitutes as an underserved population?

This school is very big on underserved populations, but I can't find an exact definition that explains whether a population is underserved or not.

i work with the elderly a lot in my hospice volunteering, does that count as underserved? if not, what exactly makes a certain demographic underserved?

 

[Thordinson]

No.

Poor people are the underserved.

I volunteer at a hospice with the vast majority(90% or so) on Medicare. Would this count? I'm curious.

 

[femmegoblue]

I volunteer at a hospice with the vast majority(90% or so) on Medicare. Would this count? I'm curious.

Medicare does't mean you're poor, it means you're over 65.

 

[Goro]

Not necessarily.

I volunteer at a hospice with the vast majority(90% or so) on Medicare. Would this count? I'm curious.

 

[Thordinson]

Medicare does't mean you're poor, it means you're over 65.

True but the patients I interact with wouldn't be receiving care if not for Medicare.

Not necessarily.

Okay. I was just curious.

 

[DrMikeP]

True but the patients I interact with wouldn't be receiving care if not for Medicare.



Okay. I was just curious.

Doesn't matter they may not be poor.

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[Thordinson]

Doesn't matter they may not be poor.

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Gotcha.

 

[779663]

If those elderly were residents in Palm or Miami Beach or Manhattan then probably not. Were they all rxing supplemental state assistance in a state/county run nursing home?

No.

Poor people are the underserved.

I see, do you have any advice about how I can answer this question since all my shadowing, volunteering and research etc... is not with underserved populations?

 

[Goro]

You tell the truth

I see, do you have any advice about how I can answer this question since all my shadowing, volunteering and research etc... is not with underserved populations?

 

[DrMikeP]

I see, do you have any advice about how I can answer this question since all my shadowing, volunteering and research etc... is not with underserved populations?

If you don't have it then you just don't. Go find a soup kitchen.

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[DJBroca]

@Goro How about a hospice home for end-stage dementia patients? Many, but not all, of our patients experienced homelessness. Is this considered an underserved community? I've been volunteering here for the past couple of years (~400 hrs). Thoughts?

 

[de Ribas]

@Goro How about a hospice home for end-stage dementia patients? Many, but not all, of our patients experienced homelessness. Is this considered an underserved community? I've been volunteering here for the past couple of years (~400 hrs). Thoughts?

I work with patients with end-stage Dimentia and some are on hospice and most are very poor people having no friends or relatives, but I did not consider them as underserved. To serve the underserved, I volunteered at Salvation army shelter/kitchen where I saw a real picture of the underserved and I met a lot of people who seek place for overnight and need to eat.

 

[workaholic181]

Second the above; just because several patients in the overall pop. You treat may be ‘underserved’ you’re not in a place exclusively for the treatment of the underserved.

 

[Goro]

@Goro How about a hospice home for end-stage dementia patients? Many, but not all, of our patients experienced homelessness. Is this considered an underserved community? I've been volunteering here for the past couple of years (~400 hrs). Thoughts?

No. Underserved = people who don't have access to doctors. I don't know if the homeless per se count as "underserved"...but I'm sure one can find a government definition.

 

[DJBroca]

National Hospice & Palliative Care Organization considers the following as underserved communities: children, corrections, disease-specific, ALS, dementia, kidney, ethnic, faith, etc.
The home I volunteer at is in a city that is classified as a medically underserved area (MUA) based on the index of medical underservice and the 2017 census. The index says if the ratio between providers to patients is below 62, it is considered a MUA.
I am torn because I have always considered our patients as underserved over the years, but do not want to look like a fool to adcoms if I talk about my experience with the underserved if they wouldn't consider it as such.