For 150 years, the Wayne State University School of Medicine has remained committed to serving the Detroit community. It is only fitting, then, that the School of Medicine's sesquicentennial anniversary is also the inaugural year for the Herman and Eva Blum Endowed Award, an award established by Dr. David and Mrs. Marie Blum, which will annually honors one student for outstanding devotion to community service.
Nathan Nartker, a fourth-year medical student who has matched into a residency in Dermatology at the Wayne State University School of Medicine, received the Herman and Eva Blum Endowed Award for his dedication to serving the people of Detroit.
Nominated for the award by his peers, Nartker showed an unfailing dedication to the community as he played an integral role in the Diabetes Education and Wellness Clinic throughout his four years in medical school.
The clinic, which provides free diabetes education and wellness training to underserved adult patients, exists through the partnership of seven disciplines, including the School of Medicine. The interdisciplinary approach to patient care allows students to engage with each other and patients for a well-rounded education in patients' multifaceted needs.
Nartker started volunteering with DEW during his first year in medical school as a part of the co-curricular program, but continued his service through his fourth year, going above and beyond the required service-learning hours.
"Mr. Nartker takes time to understand the needs of his patients and also the impact other health care professionals will have on the care provided," said Jennifer Mendez, Ph.D., associate professor and director of Co-Curricular Programs for the School of Medicine. "This award recognizes his leadership, professionalism, integrity, compassion and dedication to service."
Early during Nartker's service with DEW, he was asked to become a part of the leadership team as the medical school coordinator on the Clinic Executive Board. In that position, he oversaw and mentored new clinic volunteers. His position on the Clinic Executive Board also allowed him to collaborate with other disciplines to discuss new approaches to providing patient-centered care and addressing health disparities.
Through these collaborations, Nartker and his colleagues discovered three areas for improvement: patient compliance, appointment times and interprofessional communications. To address these areas, Nartker developed the interprofessional Treatment Summary Assessment, a tool he continued to develop during his third and fourth years. After extensive research, and feedback from conference presentations, reviews with colleagues and discussions with patients, he translated the tool into a smart phone application. Because most of his patients carried smart phones, the technology Nartker developed enhances patient-centered care and provides diabetes patients and their health care providers with an accessible communication tool for diabetes treatment, tracking, health and wellness.
It was his continued dedication to the patients at the DEW clinic and the innovations inspired from that service-learning that encouraged the committee to award Nartker with the Herman and Eva Blum Endowed Scholarship. Learn more about the award here.