By Todd Taylor
David Mendoza, M.D., a fourth-year University of Florida neurology resident, was among 21 recipients nationwide of Back to Bedside funding from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education.
Mendoza’s project, “Motivational Interviewing to Improve Outcomes After Stroke or Transient Ischemic Attack Attributable to Modifiable Risk Factors,” is aimed at encouraging two-way communication between physicians and patients who have suffered a stroke. These patients are at higher risk of a future stroke without significant behavioral changes to control the underlying conditions that contributed to the initial stroke, Mendoza said.
The project will involve training a group of neurology residents in motivational interviewing, known as “MI,” and they will then provide MI-consistent counseling to eligible patients. A control group of neurology residents and patients will continue with conventional poststroke counseling.
“This patient population could benefit from more attention from their providers to ensure they attend their follow-up appointments and understand all of the medical advice they are receiving, but on a busy vascular neurology service, this is especially difficult,” Mendoza said. “As such, a targeted approach to elicit behavior change like MI is an ideal intervention.”
Back to Bedside is a resident-led initiative to develop innovative strategies for finding deeper connections with patients and improving physician and patient wellbeing.
“We are excited to launch this collaborative project, which includes neurology residents from all levels of training as well as a psychiatry resident, to help organize and carry out this important new approach to patient care,” said Christina Wilson, M.D., Ph.D., interim chief of vascular neurology and faculty mentor for the project.