The Diabetes Youth and Families (DYF) which operates Bearskin Meadow Camp has had a relationship with UCSF since 1938 when the residential camp was founded by Dr. Mary Olney (alum 1932). This past summer, the DYF and UCSF offered its first official interprofessional experience for medicine, pharmacy, and nursing students. Three nursing students, one pharmacy student, and one medical student participated in a week-long residential diabetes camp in Kings Canyon National Park under the direction of SON faculty Maureen McGrath, PNP, and community preceptor, Deborah Simon Weisberg, MD, family practice residency director at Lifelong Medical. The students participated in daily didactic and case study learning and were fully integrated into the medical management of type 1 diabetes in this adventure camp setting.

“I enjoyed learning from and participating with other healthcare professionals while at camp. Each person and profession bring a new set of knowledge and skills that we can all learn and benefit from and this was very insightful for me as a student and future professional in the field. I will be taking this experience and put it into practice because I realize how incredibly helpful and important it is to reach out to other people in the team that may have more knowledge or different viewpoints.” – Yessenia Quintanilla, RN, PNP-Student

A special thank you to Cat Tram (SOP), Maria Wamsley (SOM), and Linda Stephan (SON) for helping conceptualize this interprofessional experience and to our community partner DYF for allowing our students such an amazing opportunity to participate in this fun and educational camp.