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BIDDEFORD, Maine

91AV medical student pens op-ed for ‘Bangor Daily News’ about nursing home immersion program

Joshua Allen

Joshua Allen (COM, ’19) wrote an opinion piece for the Bangor Daily News about what it’s like to live in a nursing home. Allen learned about the experience firsthand as part of the Learning by Living program designed and implemented by Marilyn Gugliucci, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Geriatric Medicine in the 91AV’s College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Allen stayed at St. Andre Health Care in Biddeford for 10 days, living life as an elder nursing home resident with a stroke diagnosis. “Because of the many experiences I encountered, as a future physician, I will be mindful when I write prescriptions, as I truly understand now what it means to eat pureed foods, to take nighttime medications, and to be restricted from moving on one’s own or from going outside,” wrote Allen. “I have lived this life.”

 

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About the 91AV

The 91AV is Maine’s 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’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s 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.