DREAM Big 2026
Student org provides valuable patient experience for students
With person-centered care, it is paramount that healthcare professionals be prepared to work with a diverse patient population while treating each person as an individual.
The 2026 DREAM Big event helped put this into practice by bringing together UNT Health Fort Worth students involved in the student organization DREAM (Disability Rights, Education and Activism in Medicine) with students from the Fort Worth ISD Transition Center — adult students with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.
The 2026 DREAM Big event brought together UNT Health Fort Worth students involved in the student organization DREAM (Disability Rights, Education and Activism in Medicine) with students from the Fort Worth ISD Transition Center — adult students with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD).
UNT Health faculty coached students on clinical skills as they gained experience working with individuals who have IDD.
“These experiences give the students an opportunity to tailor to those individuals and practice that tailoring, which is an art — that’s part of the art of medicine,” said Lauren Dobbs, MMS, PA-C, Chair of the Department of PA Studies.
Over 30 students from the Transition Center gained more exposure to health professionals, helping lower their own anxiety when interacting with them.
“So often families like mine enter medical spaces feeling anxious, wondering if our child will be seen as a whole person, or just as a diagnosis,” said Brandie Wiley, DREAM founding advisor and adoptive parent of three children with disabilities. “To watch future clinicians kneel down, listen, laugh, practice skills with patients and show curiosity, it shifts the narrative.”
“This was a great opportunity for our students who are going to be future providers to really connect with their patients,” said Dr. Patrick Feng, DO, a UNT Health Associate Professor who helped coach students.
“As a parent, it means everything!” added Wiley.