Pictured: First-year medical student Raja Haris Rizman demonstrates using tools to complete a suture. Photo by Deborah Manog
By Deborah Manog, UH Med Now
The University of Hawaiʻi’s (UH) John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM) was bustling with middle and high school students thirsty for knowledge and hands-on learning at Teen Health Camp on Saturday, October 28, 2017. Although the one-day event occurs across several islands, this was Oʻahu’s third camp and the largest since its inception in 2010.
Thirty-five UH medical student volunteers led the interactive workshops. This year’s response to the event was so overwhelming that a seventh workshop was created. “In the Doctor’s Office,” introduced students to common tools used for diagnosis including an otoscope, ophthalmoscope and a reflex hammer.
In the nutrition workshop, each student pretended to order their favorite meal from a fast-food restaurant and analyzed the actual amount of calories, protein, fats and carbohydrates that they would eat in one meal. In “Mala,” students sat among the verdant plants of the Native Hawaiian Healing Garden at JABSOM, learning about the different types of traditional Hawaiian medicine.
Jamaica Torres’s favorite activity was the suturing workshop, where she and her peers actually learned how to use specialized tools to suture wounds on dummy arms. Torres is a cadet in the National Guard Youth Challenge Academy, a program that mentors students who are at risk of dropping out of high school and provides an alternative way for them to earn their high school diploma. This cadet dreams of becoming a nurse in the US Coast Guard.
“I want to help those who are going to war for us, letting us have freedom,” Torres said. She treasured her experience at Teen Health Camp because it helps her to focus on her goals.
“I love it. I didn’t know this is what it takes to be a nurse and whatnot in the field.” Torres said. “They’re teaching us what it’s like being in school here, what they’re learning and what it takes to actually be out in the field.”
Other workshops focused on clinical skills, infectious disease and casting, where students paired up and took turns wrapping a cast on each other’s arms.
Priscilla Mapelli, Director of Create and Navigate Opportunities in Education (CANOE), part of the JABSOM Hawai’i and Pacific Area Health Education Center, urges Hawaiʻi’s middle and high school students to take advantage of the event, something that did not exist when she was that age.
“Personally, I think it would keep me really motivated and focused as the years went on and give me the confidence to know that ‘Yeah, I can do this, I held a needle driver, I actually put on somebody’s cast,’ or “I know about different ways diseases can be spread amongst the population,’” Mapelli said. “I think having those skills early really sets the tone for later on in their education,” she added.
Teen Health Camp 2017 Video Edited by Deborah Manog
Teen Health Camp 2017 from UHMed on Vimeo.
While Teen Health Camp provides a great opportunity for those who attend, fourth-year medical student Jordan Wang believes that JABSOM students also benefit by getting involved in the community through this event.
“We’re just really excited about the momentum that these kids are bringing for health care careers…”
“The (medical) students really enjoy it, which is why we come back. My classmate and I have returned as fourth-years to help with this project and we’re just really excited about the momentum that these kids are bringing for health care careers,” Wang said. Teen Health Camp Medical Student Coordinator Erika Noel advocates for the program, which as become a passion for her.
“It’s targeted to underprivileged, underserved communities to expose them to health care,” said the third-year medical student. Noel added, “It’s great for us to be able to touch the lives of over 200 children in one day and this is what makes me love to do this year by year.”
Upcoming Teen Health Camps:
January 20, 2018 on Maui
February 10, 2018 on Hawaiʻi Island
February 17, 2018 on Molokaʻi (for the first time)
Fall 2018 on Oahu (exact date TBD).
If you are interested in participating in Teen Health Camp, contact Priscilla Mapelli, 808-692-1065.
Teen Health Camp is an event by UH Mānoa in collaboration with John A. Burns School of Medicine, Na Pua Noʻeau, Hawaiʻi/Pacific Basin Area Health Education Center, Native Hawaiian Center of Excellence, Health Careers Opportunity Program (HCOP), and the Hawaiʻi Science Career Inspiration (HiSCI) Program and the Health Opportunities Student Association. Donations to the event were provided by Cookie Corner Kaimuki and Ala Moana, Dave & Buster’s, Buca di Beppo, TY Gurney Surf School, Waikiki Beach Services, Wet’n’Wild Hawaiʻi, Papa Ola Lokahi, Hawaiʻi Pacific Health, Department of Health Smiles, Honolulu Kitchen and Subway.
Teen Health Camp 2017 Photos by Deborah Manog
