High School Students Exposed to Health Care Professions at UAMS
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A UAMS medical student (right) guides two high school students through a pig heart dissection during the Spring Forward/Health Profession Recruitment and Exposure Program.
Adrienne Hatchett, co-president of the Student National Medical Association, (center), explains the parts of the heart to students from In His Image Youth Development Center.
April 1, 2014 | With more than 60 students in grades 8-12, plus parents and other community leaders, the UAMS Center for Diversity Affairs (CDA) hosted the Spring Forward/Health Profession Recruitment and Exposure Program (HPREP) March 20-22 as part of its outreach efforts.
“We were very impressed with the amount of participation in the camp this year,” said Billy Thomas, M.D., vice chancellor for diversity and inclusion at UAMS. “Attending a dynamic camp like this is one of the best ways for students to be inspired to go into the health care field. The importance of early exposure programs like this cannot be overemphasized.”
Opening night, campers, parents and other guests heard from guest speaker Ivory A. Toldson, Ph.D., professor of counseling psychology at Howard University in Washington D.C. and the deputy director of the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities. He addressed the importance of acquiring higher education to obtain careers in health (STEM) and about his path to working at the White House.
The unlikely pairing of hip-hop and health care came together in a unique presentation exposing students to health care professions at the Spring Forward Health Profession Camp. In a unique approach to inspire students to explore health care careers, Andrew Morrison, vice president of Mentoring in Medicine, Inc. (MIM), a nonprofit that works nationwide with disadvantaged students to cultivate health careers, presented an interactive, hip-hop stage play, “Morgan’s Big Biology Test,” that focused on heart-healthy living and health careers.
“The play and interactive presentations spoke to the students on their level,” Thomas said. “This approach to reaching out to students will have long-term impact on their lives and the health care field.”
MIM continued the learning experience by leading a “heart examination lab” where the campers dissected pig hearts. The campers were assisted by first- and second-year College of Medicine students and SNMA members.
On Saturday, SNMA members took the lead and provided tours, networking and many practical experiences across the UAMS campus. The campers toured the UAMS Dental Clinic, gross anatomy lab, simulation center and even took a short course in the team based learning center.
SNMA members along with other health profession students networked with campers during lunch. All campers were afforded the opportunity to meet with individual recruiters and representatives from all UAMS colleges. The camp was sponsored by CDA, the Edith Irby Jones Chapter of the Student National Medical Association, Say it Loud! Readers and Writers Group, and the City of Little Rock Community Programs.