UAMS HEALERS Program Resumes after Two-Year Pause
| After a two-year pause due to COVID concerns, rising juniors and seniors from Pulaski County high schools returned to the UAMS campus to partake in the HEALERS program. This program is a hands-on, interactive learning experience open to students in Pulaski County interested in working in the medical field.
More than 100 applicants applied to the Healthcare Education Active Learning Experience for Regional Scholars (HEALERS) program, which is put on by the UAMS Volunteer Services department. Twelve students were selected for the two-week program.
Mattie Thacker, volunteer coordinator at UAMS, said more than 100 students have completed the HEALERS program since its 2012 inception.
The goal of the program is to introduce high school students to the many different health care careers at UAMS, as well as help students demonstrate an increased awareness of teenage health-related issues, enabling them to make informed decisions. Students also gain experience in a clinical setting by volunteering in patient care areas every afternoon throughout the program’s duration.
“This program is important because it is one of the few opportunities for high school students to actually get hands-on experience in a hospital setting,” Thacker said. “We’ve had students from past years come back and tell us that the program inspired them to go into medical school, pharmacy school or nursing school.”
Students participated in a variety of activities, working in the heart and brain labs, attending educational sessions in the simulation center, touring the Emergency Department and shadowing doctors and nurses to observe proper patient care techniques.
“This summer program is valuable and potentially has a beneficial lifelong impact on the participants,” said David Davies, Ph.D., professor in the UAMS College of Medicine’s Department of Neurobiology and Developmental Sciences. Davies led the students in the introductory lab sessions that explored the structure and function of the brain and heart.
“I’ve always found my interactions with these high school students to be worthwhile,” Davies said. “But what has been surprising, and rewarding, is encountering freshman medical students who tell me that we first met years before when they were high school participants in our programs.”
Melanie Medellin, a rising senior at Joe T. Robinson High School, appreciated the hands-on nature of the program. “Volunteering up at the units is really amazing, and seeing the proper way to interact with patients has been one of my favorite parts,” she said. “It’s been nice getting to interact with stuff that I don’t normally have a chance to at school.”
Fellow participant Ananya Uddanti, a rising junior at Central High school, agreed. “The knowledge that we have gotten beyond classroom experiences has been something that I have enjoyed.”
Destry Thomas, program manager for clinical education, taught students about CPR and first aid, and they earned certification in both. Kelly Urban, Ph.D., RN, of the UAMS Trauma Department instructed them on how to administer first aid to accident victims, including controlling bleeding.
“Seeing the students get excited about a future in health care is inspiring,” Thomas said. “They were eager to learn, which always makes for a fun class.”