The Buddy Program™
The Buddy Program is supported by a grant from the Glen and Wendy Miller Family Foundation.
The Buddy Program is a unique opportunity for medical students
to build relationships with persons who have Alzheimer's disease
or other related illnesses outside of a clinical setting.
The Buddy Program was selected as recipient of
the 2004 MindAlert Award in the category of Early-Stage
Dementia Programs by the Lifetime Education and Renewal Network
of the American Society on Aging, in collaboration with MetLife
Foundation.
If you would like to find out more about the Buddy Program, please
contact Darby Morhardt at (312) 908-9432 or e-mail: d-morhardt@northwestern.edu.
As a Buddy Program Participant students: 1) receive a 3-hour orientation
on Alzheimer's disease and communication skills over 2 lunch-time
meetings; 2) are matched with a buddy who lives in a location convenient
to visit on a regular basis throughout the academic year;
3) participate in monthly group meetings and educational seminars.
At the end of the year, students receive a certificate for your
medical school records and compensation for expenses.
The Buddy Program, which was developed by the CNADC in 1998, is
a unique program matching first year Northwestern University medical
students with patients diagnosed with early Alzheimer’s disease
or a related illness. This program allows both students and the
diagnosed person to get to know each other on a more personal rather
than a clinical level and just enjoy being together.
The program has attracted ten to fifteen medical students per year
who volunteer their time to take part in a 3-hour orientation course
on Alzheimer’s, communication skills training, and family issues,
then commit to spending at least four hours a month with their buddy,
in addition to monthly meetings with the program planners. Buddy
Match Day marks the first meeting of patient and student as they
get to know each other at a party hosted by the NADC. It is at this
event that the buddy pairs begin their relationships, share their
stories and plan ideas for the coming months’ events. Family
members of the patient also get to know the student, as they often
facilitate the buddy visits.
The patients are selected for the program from the Northwestern
Alzheimer’s Disease Center’s Clinical Core and other Northwestern
related programs. Patients and families are contacted individually
and are provided written material on the program. Persons with the
illness are selected based on their ability to understand the basic
concept of the program and their willingness to spend a minimum
amount of time each week with their buddy. Patients who seem to
benefit most are those in the early to moderate stages of the illness.
Matches are made based on interests of both patients and students.
Download Buddy Program Brochure
The goals of the Buddy Program are as follows:
- Educate medical students regarding Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) at an early stage of illness by
- Heightening awareness of skills and strengths that remain in people with ADRD.
- Providing opportunities to see how someone with ADRD responds to his or her own changing abilities,
- Familiarizing students with issues of the daily care and support of persons with ADRD and their families and the most effective ways of communicating with persons with dementia.
- Introduce students to research and practice opportunities in related fields.
Related Information
Buddy Program featured in the Feinberg School of Medicine Research Newsletter - July 2008
Scientists bond with Alzheimer's patients - July 2005
Buddy
Program in the News - February 5, 2004
CNADC
"Buddy Program" Recipient of the 2004 MindAlert Award
from the American Society on Aging - January 2004
Buddy
Program Highlighted on NU Homepage
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