News & Media

My name is Kimberly Malan and I was one of a group of Special Olympics athletes who acted as standardized patients at the Frank H. Netter School of Medicine at Quinnipiac University.

I was paired up with Quinnipiac medical students who acted as “doctors”. These future “doctors” are learning how to interact with patients with intellectual disabilities (ID).

I was given a case study and a different name. My name was “Tracy Bowden” and I “rolled my ankle while exercising.”

To play up the part, “Tracy” limped into the doctor’s office, and the Quinnipiac “Doctors” asked various medical questions to find out what was wrong. After “ Tracy’s” doctor’s visit was done, I had a chance to give the Quinnipiac students feedback. My feedback was that the “doctor” did not tell “Tracy” what she would need to do to take care of her ankle.

Overall, the students were very understanding of people with ID and their needs during doctor office visits.

SOCT athletes participated in three recent events as standardized patients to educate students going into the healthcare field about how to treat individuals with ID. In addition to the event at Quinnipiac University on June 16th, the athletes also participated in a class with physical therapy students at Quinnipiac on June 18^th and with audiology students at Sacred Heart University on May 22nd.

The athletes were paid for "teaching" the students how to better communicate with and care for people with ID. These initiatives are all part of the Special Olympics Healthy Athletes® program which strives to provide accessible, equitable healthcare to individuals of all abilities.