This story was last edited at 1:35 am March 31, 2005.

by Tara Beverly

Spending your summer in sometimes cold and rainy Edinburgh, Scotland, may not be a dream getaway, but making a difference by working with geriatric patients made a great learning experience for two OU-COM students. And that was the experience fourth-year students Scott Grogan and Kimberly Wells had while completing the Charles J. Cannon Edinburgh Geriatric Tutorial Program last summer. The tutorial is one of a number of international programs available for students, which are administered by the college's Office of International Programs. While in Scotland, Grogan and Wells did research, worked with geriatric patients and managed to plunge themselves into Scottish culture.

Grogan and Wells chose to go to Edinburgh (pronounced “Ed-in-Bra,” according to Grogan) because of the city's leading reputation in the field of research geriatrics. In fact, the health-care system for the elderly is viewed by many as the best in the Western World. In Grosvenor Hall February 18, Grogan and Wells did a PowerPoint presentation on their Edinburgh Geriatric Tutorial experience.

“We wanted to experience and study care of the elderly in a non-American health-care system. We wanted to see how others do it,” Wells says. ”They — the Scottish — have a very different view of geriatrics.”

One thing that they noticed most immediately, says Wells, is that “the elderly are more revered in Scotland than in this country. Elderly people even have their own street signs, which inform drivers that ‘old people are crossing.’”

While in Edinburgh, Grogan and Wells attended five hours of lecture on some days — complete with traditional Edinburgh tea breaks and lunch. On other days they trained with geriatric physicians that treated the elderly in nursing homes, hospitals and home hospices, during which the pair were able to study various aspects of geriatric clinical care.

In addition to attending lectures and doing clinical rotations, Grogan and Wells had to complete research papers on the health-care system they were being trained in.

“In their health-care system, physicians have much more decision-making power over treatment, especially the treatment of terminally ill patients,” says Wells.

“There is a national health system, the National Health Service, that the government supports. Private hospitals exist as well, but they are paid for out-of-pocket by patients or through private insurance.”

Also, they note, that it is not as crucial for the elderly to plan for the end of life as it is in America; the health-care system there seems to accommodate better for their treatment at the end of life. Also there are laws help to maintain the autonomy of the elderly as they near the end of life.

Grogan and Wells found that there are pluses and minuses to having a national health-care system. Higher taxes are a “negative,” for instance. Some physicians also may be paid less than ones performing similar work in the United States. But there are generally shorter working hours, and the environment is much more relaxed.

Patient discharge planning can be more difficult because of the complexity of resolving outpatient treatment and living arrangement issues, which may result in longer hospital stays.

Even with lectures, clinical rotations and research, Grogan and Wells found that their “workdays” were generally finished by the middle-to-late afternoon.

“We had a very flexible work schedule, which left us with plenty of time to explore,” says Grogan.

“We visited Holyrood Park, which is located in the center of the city, kind of like New York’s Central Park,” Grogan says. “I also got to play golf, one of my favorite sports.”

“The Highlands and the Doune Castle (Monty Python’s “Holy Grail” Castle) were cool to see,” adds Wells. “Going to pubs and joining the locals in ceilidh, which involves traditional Scottish dancing, was very enjoyable,” Wells says.

The two students lived in an international dorm while in Edinburgh.

“It was interesting living in the international dorm. We met a lot of nice people from different countries,” says Grogan.

“He met his Scottish girlfriend there,” Wells jokingly adds.

“Although we had single rooms, we had a communal kitchen that everyone used. It was very expensive to eat out, so we tried to cook a lot at home,” says Grogan.

“If you go out to eat in Scotland, you have to try haggis,” they say.

“It’s much better than people have been led to believe,” says Grogan. “I recommend it highly!”

“It was a wonderful eye-opening experience to live in such a different culture,” says Wells. All in all the two say they had a great time.

“I plan to go back in April,” says Grogan.

Maybe to visit that girlfriend.