During spring 2024, the Dr. George E. Schreiner ’43 Pre-Medical Center offered a Mercy Doula service-learning course. PreMed and PreHealth students, alongside Canisius PA students and local medical students, trained and then volunteered as mercy doulas (end-of-life doulas) at the Sloan Comfort Care Home where they accompany guests during this last journey of their lives.
The medical students were recruited by young Griff, Rachel Kueker ’22, who was in her second year of medical school and co-chair of the palliative care interest group at UB’s Jacobs School of Medicine. Our students are truly “people with and for others” and several continue volunteering at Sloan this summer.
Students were trained by ECMC palliative care physician (Kathryn Grimm ’77, MD) who established the Sloan Home, an ECMC palliative care nurse, a social worker, a retired chaplain, and an alumna who trained as a mercy doula (Colleen O’Hara ’13). Included in the course was a session on pediatric palliative care given by Griff and pediatric palliative care physician, Emilee Flynn ‘08, MD. Students from the course later hosted a movie night to see the new movie, Tuesday, then discussed its connection to what they learned in their mercy doula training.
Submitted by: Allyson Backstrom, Director, Dr. George E. Schreiner ’43 Pre-Medical Center
