Conference Gives High School, Undergraduate Students a Look at UAMS’ Academic Programs
| On a recent Saturday morning at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Simulation Center, six high school students gathered around a manikin that needed immediate medical attention.
The makeshift trauma-care team applied tourniquets to stanch the manikin’s bleeding, performed CPR to restore its heartbeat, and ensured that the patient had an open airway.
Instructors noticed a few areas where the team fell short of professional standards, but the stakes were much lower in this case — the teens were taking part in a conference that gives them an early look at many of the academic programs offered at UAMS.
Dozens of high school and undergraduate students from across the state attended the April 11 conference, organized by the Edith Irby Jones Chapter of the Student National Medical Association. This year’s gathering combined a pair of events held each spring at UAMS: the Health Professions Recruitment and Engagement Program (HPREP) for ninth through 12th grades and the Medical Association for Pre-Medical Students (MAPS) Conference for undergraduate students.
“This event provides a great opportunity for students to learn more about careers that they’re familiar with or to develop an interest in fields that are completely new to them,” said Sean Bryson, a third-year medical student and the event’s co-chair.
Participants rotated through a series of hands-on activities that allowed them to explore different health care fields and meet with UAMS students who are pursuing those careers. In one session, attendees learned how health professionals perform physical examinations and gather patient histories.
Maddison Guess (center), a 10th grader at Cabot High School, practices on a manikin after learning how to intubate patients during the conference at UAMS.Image by Chris Carmody
In the Simulation Center, emergency medicine residents from the UAMS College of Medicine showed students the steps they would take to stabilize a patient with traumatic injuries. The students put what they’d learned into practice with the trauma-care simulation.
Andersyn Van Kuren, a 10th grader at Parkview Arts and Science Magnet High School in Little Rock, served as team leader during her group’s visit to the Simulation Center. Van Kuren, whose mother graduated from the UAMS College of Health Professions’ Speech-Language Pathology Program, said she has long been interested in health careers.
“If you’re thinking about becoming a health care worker, then it really helps you to come to an event like this to see what you’re getting into later in life,” she said.
Van Kuren was especially excited to attend a session in which the students examined themselves using portable ultrasound scanners. She said she hopes to one day specialize in ultrasound imaging for obstetrics and gynecology.
“I thought it would be a few more years before I got a chance to use imaging tools like this,” she said. “A part of me wishes I had the whole day to do it, but it’s great that we got to see other sides of the health care field as well.”
Maddison Guess, a 10th grader at Cabot High School, said she plans to pursue a career as a certified registered nurse anesthetist. During a session led by students from the UAMS College of Nursing’s Nurse Anesthesia Program, Guess learned how to intubate patients and made a couple of successful practice attempts on a manikin.
The nursing students also gave advice on how to face the admissions process for competitive academic programs, encouraging the conference attendees to handle rejection with grace but to never give up on their dreams.
“The UAMS students we talked to were very realistic about how great — and how challenging — this journey is going to be,” Guess said. “Now that I’ve gotten more information, it has only made me more motivated.”
A lunchtime panel gave attendees another opportunity to learn from the experiences of students in the colleges of Health Professions, Medicine, Nursing, and Pharmacy. The UAMS students answered questions about a variety of topics, including how to choose a specialty and how to build better study habits.
Undergraduate students took an even closer look at UAMS’ academic offerings, attending smaller breakout sessions that included representatives from the College of Nursing, the Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health, the College of Health Professions’ Physician Assistant Program, UAMS’ clinical research programs, and more.
“The undergraduate students are getting ready to enter the real world,” Bryson said. “We wanted to make their sessions a lot more informational because they’re closer to having to make decisions about what they would like to do next.”
Sharanda Williams, assistant dean for student affairs in the College of Medicine, speaks to a group of students about the college’s admissions process.Image by Chris Carmody
Sharanda Williams, assistant dean for student affairs in the College of Medicine, spoke to high school and undergraduate students about the college’s admissions process. During a session with one of the high school groups, she urged the teens to search for career opportunities that bring them joy and inspiration.
Williams likened the process to the assembly of a stained-glass window, which incorporates many smaller elements to form a complex design.
“When I imagine your future, I see the stained-glass finish,” she said. “You don’t yet know how the pieces will come together — but when they do, the result will be beautiful.”
The Student National Medical Association organized the conference with support from UAMS Academic Pathways and Workforce Partnerships. Patrice Storey, Ph.D., director of student, postgraduate, faculty, and staff engagement for Academic Pathways and Workforce Partnerships, said the event gave aspiring health professionals a better understanding of the high-quality training they could receive at UAMS.
“Our goal is to create an environment where students don’t just learn about health care — they begin to see themselves in those careers, supported by faculty and staff who are invested in their growth every step of the way,” she said.