daup h i n cm s .org Features PAT An Enlightening Experience By JASMINE GEATHERS MD/PhD Candidate, G2 10 Winter 2020 Central PA Medicine D uring my time in medical school, one of my most memorable experiences was participating in the Patients-as-Teachers (PAT) project with a classmate of mine. This project was a part of the humanities training and I learned so much from the experience. The PAT involved my classmate and I interviewing a patient with a chronic illness; in our case the patient had gradual vision loss, and submitting a creative piece about what we learned about the patient. This project helped me to get a better grasp on what patients with chronic illnesses experience after the diagnosis. As a medical student, I think it is easy to forget that life goes on outside the hospital, but that is not the case. The diseases that patients have to deal with can extend into every aspect of their life and as future physicians, it is important that we realize that and take it into consideration when developing a treatment plan. The PAT project was a fun and enlightening project that did not feel like work at all. It reminded me of why I wanted to become a physician scientist and I am glad that the PAT project was a part of my medical education.http://www.dauphincms.org