A.T. Still University Hosts Area High School Students
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By Alisa Kigar, SCH Communications Specialist
The Med Club students from Schuyler & Scotland County High Schools took a field trip to A.T. Still University in Kirksville on March 27, 2023. Med Club meetings, field trips & symposiums are designed to increase emphasis on math and science, stressing their importance in preparation and pursuit of healthcare careers. The students and sponsors toured the A.T. Still Museum, Dental School Simulation Lab and the Medical School Simulation Lab. The students were also shown the pediatric simulators, birthing simulator and immersion room.
“The students were very excited to be able to see all of the amazing features of the lab and get their hands on real healthcare equipment. There were a lot of good questions from the students,” said Dr. Meagan Weber, CEO, Scotland County Hospital. The Med Club program is organized & coordinated by Dr. Weber. She said she is hoping to make the field trip to A.T. Still University an annual event for the area Med Club students.
The simulation labs in both the dental school and medical school allow dentistry and osteopathic medical students to practice their skills on human manikins that feature programmable internal organ responses. The manikins can communicate with the students, and have all the vital signs, including life-like lung and heart sounds, necessary for students to carry out assessments. Lisa Archer BSN. RN. CHSE, Director of Simulation & Performance Assessment, A.T. Still University, said, “We took the students through our adult simulation rooms and gave them an opportunity to take a history and do a physical exam on a patient with pneumonia. They learned the proper technique for using a stethoscope to listen to lung sounds. They ordered labs and chest x-rays, and gave antibiotics and nebulizer treatments and oxygen therapy. I think they had fun.”
Bryn Aylward, a senior at Scotland County High School in Memphis attended the field trip to A.T. Still University. She said, “I thought the experience was super neat being able to see first year dental school students working hands-on with simulation dummies. We were also able to go into a monitored simulation classroom and do hands-on learning activities to see what it is like for medical students to perform and learn from high tech dummies with different medical problems.” Aylward plans to attend nursing school at the University of Missouri- Columbia this fall.
The Med Club project in area high schools is designed to address five main areas, which include: 1) Develop interest in healthcare careers at an early age, 2) Introduce diverse opportunities in healthcare, 3) Increased emphasis on math and sciences, 4) Open opportunities to our youth in careers allowing them to make a good living in our rural area, and 5) Fill future voids as current healthcare workers retire. Students from Scotland County High School that attended: Lauren Triplett, Bryn Aylward, Kendal Anderson, Letha Ward, Austin Ambrose, Caelin Robinson and Tresa Huber.
