Project DOCC

I helped out with Project DOCC on Friday. What’s Project DOCC? Well, from the Houston Project DOCC website:

Project DOCC, a groundbreaking national program for pediatric physicians-in-training, has a simple goal:

To improve each patient's quality of life by teaching physicians-in training the effect of chronic illness on patients and their families.

Created in 1994 by three parents, Project DOCC's philosophy is that, by understanding how families deal with illness and or disabilities out side the hospital setting, pediatric physicians-in-training become better and more compassionate physicians.

Project DOCC's teacher - parents and guardians of children with special medical needs - provide physicians with a unique perspective on culturally effective, family-centered care.Project DOCC Houston is a non-profit organization that is a collaboration of Houston-area families of children with special health care needs, Baylor College of Medicine's Department of Pediatrics and Texas Children's Hospital. Project DOCC Houston is mandatory for first year pediatric physicians-in-training as one of the teaching modules of Pediatrics 101.

The Project DOCC program is made up of three components; the home visit, the parent interview and the Grand Rounds panel presentation.

Both Allison and I have participated in the home visit portion (check out here for more on the parent interview and Grand Rounds). During the home visit the resident(s) come to the home of a special needs child to get a feel for a day-in-the-life of that family. We go over medications and dietary issues and storage issues for supplies. We get into insurance and Medicaid, home modifications for handicap access, marital and financial stresses and so much more. There’s also a ‘visiting parent’ who interjects their own experiences as well as providing a more global perspective of the challenges of caring for a special-needs child.

I take special satisfaction from being able to tell our story and educate another doctor about hemophilia and challenges that come with it.

So on Friday I was the ‘visiting parent’ and we had a very interested and observant resident. I’ve done home visits where we’ve had two or three residents and, honestly, having the undivided attention of just one is so much better. With three residents or even just two one can shrink back and not engage, letting another resident take the lead.

All in all it was a good visit and hopefully enlightening and productive for the resident.

Check out to see if Project DOCC is in your area and how you can get involved.