Medical students who volunteer at HPES health screenings (pictured) developed a program in response to the need for medical information for adolescents. Teen Health Care Camps are scheduled to reach more than 2000 youth through presentations at the Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri, Boys and Girls Club of Greater St. Louis, Washington University Bernie Harris Math/Science Camp, and College Bound.
- Cardiovascular disease – Instruction on the importance of having a healthy blood pressure through diet and exercise. Teens learn how blood pressure is measured and the importance of each reading is discussed. To make the topic fun, each teen is given an opportunity to take the blood pressure of another teen participant using a stethoscope and blood pressure cuff.
- Vision testing – Teens are given an actual visual examination, taught to understand how vision works; and, if necessary, are given a recommendation to get further testing.
- Nervous system – The main activity is testing the function of the cranial nerves with simple tests such as following a moving finger with their eyes, moving their tongue, and touch sensation in their face. It is fun to experience deep tendon reflexes (e.g. the knee jerk) and teens are given a reflex hammer to demonstrate reflexes for themselves.
- Pulse – The main activity is the articulation of the pulse in any place that allows an artery to be compressed against a bone, such as at the neck, at the wrist, behind the knee, on the inside of the elbow, and near the ankle joint. The pulse rate can also be determined by having the teens measure the heart beat directly (auscultation), using a stethoscope.
The Young Physician Education Program
in school.
The goals of the Young Physician Education Program include:
- to provide engaging, interactive, experiences to enhance level of knowledge relevant to prevention of obesity, cardiovascular disease and diabetes
- to enhance service learning experience for medical students by providing opportunity for structured interaction with youth as a community health educator
- to make students and their families aware of free health screenings provided by HPES.
The Young Physician Education Program was firstly presented at the Bernie Harris Math/Science Camp at Washington University and for the Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri Cadette Health Fair. It has since added yearly presentations at College Bound, Mathews-Dickey Boys & Girls Summer Camp, and Boys and Girls Clubs of America for teens and their families.