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Assignment Details

BTG Authorization and Release Form (ADULT) (Recap)

PDF Version

BTG Authorization and Release Form (MINOR) (Redcap)

PDF Version

BTG Program Evaluation

Must be viewed prior to June 17

BTG Program Evaluation
Bridget McCormick, MS, Bridging the Gaps

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Introduction to Oral Health in the Bridging the Gaps Program

Must be viewed prior to June 17th

Introduction to Oral Health in the Bridging the Gaps Program
Abby Quinn Peterson, DMD, MPH, University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine

Oral Health Slides

Introduction from Pennsylvania Department of Health

Must be viewed prior to June 24th

Introduction from Pennsylvania Department of Health
Edward Naugle, PhD, Director, Pennsylvania Primary Care Office

Weekly required readings:

Week 1:
The Statue, WHYY

Week 2:
MAHA Report
“Paul Offit vs. RFK Jr. Is the Battle of Our Times” Philly Magazine

Week 3:

Week 4:

Week 5:

Week 6:

Week 7:

Photo Journal Project

Due July 17th submit to your student coordinators 

Goal

To better understand the mission, intervention strategy, and challenges experienced by your BTG placement or its participants/clients/patients. You will be asked to take some photographs while you are at your site. We will review ethical and appropriate approaches to this photography assignment when we meet, but briefly, the photos serve two purposes. First, they allow you to reflect on your experience and capture something you may later want to process or think more deeply about. Second, the photos can be used to support your ability to describe and explain the needs of your organization or the communities they serve. Below are some prompts that will guide you as you consider this project. 

Final Product:

A representative photo and accompanying narrative with a title.

Suggested Topics/Prompts for Interviewing

After talking with your Community Preceptor(s) and other staff/clients, take photos that reflect these issues/challenges you discussed. All photos should NOT include identifiable individuals.

See below Journal section for an outline of all weekly journal prompts.

 

  • Journal 1: What is the mission statement of your site placement? Who are its target recipients? What is its strategy of intervention? 
  • Journal 2:  List one or two challenges your site and/or its participants/clients/patients experience. What do you see as the larger societal structural issues contributing to those challenges?
  • Journal 3: Choose a photo from what you have taken. What does your photo show? What ideas do you have for influencing those structural issues? 
  • Journal 4: Write a narrative to accompany your photo, explaining what it shows and how you would want to use it to educate decision makers.
  • Send in your photo and narrative, along with a title, to your student coordinators by July 17, 2026 

CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE/SMOKING CESSATION/ ORAL HEALTH

 

Mentors:

Oral Health: Durgha Natrajan ([email protected]) and Jenna Patel ([email protected]).

Tobacco Free / Smoking Cessation: Ryan Coffman, MPH, CHES, CTTS-M Tobacco Policy and Control Program Manager, Philadelphia Department of Public Health (submit questions for Ryan HERE).

Oral Health Supplies are available for distribution at your site, complete the order form on the website in student materials.

During the core sessions, you will hear from presenters about Cardiovascular Disease (CVD), Smoking Cessation (SC) and Tobacco Free Policy (TFP), and Oral Health Disease (OH) as it relates to the community. Given the prevalence of CVD, SC/TFP, OH in the communities you are serving BTG focuses on prevention/health promotion, when appropriate. Using the mentors and resources provided consider how best to incorporate the below objectives into your work at the site (ALSO SEE RESOURCES CVD, SC/TFP, OH).

AS FUTURE HEALTH PROFESSIONALS RESOURCES CREATED AND SHARED SHOULD BE DOUBLE CHECKED FOR MISINFORMATION – confirm all sources of information are reliable and up to date.

A group of the student coordinators will be tasked with coordinating an effort for BTG around CVD, SC/TFP, OH and you will be asked to share with them your CVD, SC/TFP, OH prevention/promotion work by July 20th.

Goal:

For Students to incorporate into their projects when appropriate

OBJECTIVES

Cardiovascular Disease

  • To raise awareness through health education.
  • To focus on topics related to cardiovascular disease prevention: healthy eating, exercise, stroke prevention, and smoking cessation.
  • To connect people to resources.

Oral Health

  • To raise awareness of oral health’s relationship to overall health.
  • To discuss topics related to oral health disease prevention.
  • To connect people to oral health supplies and dental care resources.​

​Smoking Cessation and Tobacco Free Policy

  • To raise awareness through health education.
  • To support sites in creating smoke free environments.
  • To support individuals in their effort to quit smoking.

GETTING STARTED

  • Review the resources
  • Speak to the Community Preceptor (CP) at the site about the BTG programmatic themes (CVD, OH & Smoking Cessation) and discuss what, if any, intervention would be appropriate.
  • Connect with the Dental Alumni Mentors.

 Smoking Cessation Initiative 

Help support a smoke free environment

  • Does the site have a documented policy on smoking?
    • If no, help the site think about developing a smoke free policy and connect them to resources at Smoke Free Philly.
    • If yes, how can you improve the function or support the effort.
      • Offer to do an assessment of the site or the area surrounding the site to see if there are ways to better support a smoke free environment.
      • Create a resource(s) the site can use.

Help support individuals 

  • Raise awareness of the dangers of smoking, industry advertising, target markets, etc.
  • Provide resources for those wanting to quit (Quitline, tips on how to develop a quit plan, smoke-free apps, info on nicotine replacement therapy, support, etc.).
  • Create a resource(s) the individual can use or/and share.

Small Groups

Lead by a skilled facilitator Small Groups will focus on what students are learning through their community-based work as well as from all other components of the program:  BTG presentations, the students’ growing understanding of their community site, the storytelling project, articles, discussions, etc. Small Groups take place weekly during the Wednesday Curricular Sessions.

Group 1Darcie Rudolf[email protected]
Group 2Anthony Singleton[email protected]
Group 3Elissa Goldberg[email protected]
Group 4David Malloy[email protected]
Group 5Rayn Philips[email protected]
Group 6Crystal Wortham [email protected]
Group 7Pat Dooley[email protected]
Group 8Jerome Wright [email protected]
Group 9Annie Tickell[email protected]
Group 10Zoë Van Orsdol[email protected]

Course Schedule: for the week we are on zoom (7/3/24), links will be sent by your Program Director.

Social Media Content

If your site is hosting an event, awareness campaign, resources, etc. tag @BTGUpdates on Instagram or LinkedIn so we can share the post or email your Program Director(s) and cc:
Nasheeka Conix ([email protected]) & Bridget McCormick ([email protected]).

Expectation: Use of Social Media

Taken from BTG Student Agreement
You should be mindful that school policies, such as those related to professionalism and privacy, apply to both your offline and online activities. Students are expected to act responsibly in their use of social media and to remain protective of client and community site information. In addition, students who reference BTG in their postings should ensure that it is clear that views expressed are their own, and not those of the program.

WEEKLY JOURNALS/ FINAL PAPER

Journal Submission:

Your Program Director will provide details about when and who to submit your weekly journals to.

Guidelines for Journal Writing:

  • It is not designed as a log of daily activities.
  • It is an opportunity to reflect on: personal experiences, work activities, problems, observations, questions, professional learning goals, agency strengths and weaknesses, program strengths and weaknesses, and ideas for future interventions and projects.
  • The journals are not to be included or used in any other public domain (e.g. Social Media, Blogs, etc.) to respect confidentiality of colleagues and community.
  • The expected length is one to two pages.
  • Occasionally a BTG faculty member may request that you address specific issues in your journals.

Prompts for the photo journal project (address each question briefly at the end of the appropriate journal): 

  • Journal 1: What is the mission statement of your site placement? Who are its target recipients? What is its strategy of intervention? 
  • Journal 2:  List one or two challenges your site and/or its participants/clients/patients experience. What do you see as the larger societal structural issues contributing to those challenges?
  • Journal 3: Choose a photo from what you have taken. What does your photo show? What ideas do you have for influencing those structural issues? 
  • Journal 4: Write a narrative to accompany your photo, explaining what it shows and how you would want to use it to educate decision makers.

Final Report Guidelines:

Please review and reflect on your internship experience in a 4-6 page paper. Feel free to reference any of your journal entries that you think are particularly important.

Please reflect on what you have learned this summer about social injustice and inequities and the impact of that on:

  • Your experience at your site
  • Your own personal growth as you have gone through the experiences of BTG
  • The way you see your work in the future.

Please also comment on:

  • Work related to Cardiovascular Disease Prevention, including smoking cessation.
  • Include information that you learned about the community perspective of cardiovascular health.
  • Work related to oral health.
  • Include information that you learned about the community perspective of oral health.
  • What did you learn from your interaction around the storytelling project?
  • How did the BTG experience affect your perspective on your career?

OTHER optional discussion points:

  • How has your understanding of community or community health been affected by your experience/knowledge gained in BTG? If so, in what ways?
  • How has your perception of inter-professional teamwork been affected by your experience with BTG, if at all?
  • Were there projects or activities in which you participated/organized/initiated that challenged you in new ways? If so, could you describe these and tell us about why they challenged you?
  • Were there any activities that you led or in which you participated that made a particularly deep impression (for example, activities related to cardiovascular health, oral health)?
  • How did your perception or understanding of your site change over the summer?
  • Do any Wednesday sessions stand out for you and if so, in what ways?

NOTE: Your final paper will be shared and excerpts may be used in funding materials. If an excerpt is selected you will be notified and permission requested.