More than 30 teenagers from Mayfield High School visited the Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine on Feb. 19 to learn about the transition between high school and college, as well as osteopathic medicine.
The event was organized by medical students in the Student National Medical Association (SNMA). The organization engages with high school students in Mayfield’s Engaging Latino Communities for Education (ENLACE). ENLACE works with first-generation Hispanic students, as well as other minorities, and is designed to enhance students’ academic success, graduation rates and the transition to higher education and future careers.
The day included hands-on activities such as first aid and wound-packing training; one-on-one discussions with current medical students; and osteopathic manipulative medicine (OMM) demonstrations, a set of hands-on techniques used by osteopathic physicians (DOs) to diagnose, treat and prevent illness or injury.
High schoolers also listened to a presentation led by Miley Grandjean, a learning specialist for medical students, about how to best approach the transition from high school to college. Grandjean’s presentation discussed the freedom that college comes with, various ways to study, how to budget and how to create a schedule.
A separate presentation led by second-year medical student Adriana Hall covered the differences and similarities between allopathic (MD) and osteopathic (DO) physicians, and also educated the students on when to go to urgent care versus the emergency room.
First-year medical student Sidra Ali, a member of SNMA who spearheaded the visit, says, “Many of these students will be first-generation college students. I hope we gave them advice we wish we had before going to college and got them even a little bit ready for the transition.”
Ali is originally from Roswell, New Mexico. She earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Davis, but says the transition from high school in Roswell to college in California was tough. “I hope this event can help ease that transition for others,” she says.
Mayfield High School senior Racki Lucero says she enjoyed the field trip and learned a lot. “I learned how to do CPR, how to put a tourniquet on, and how to put a splint on.”
Lucero was originally considering a career in nursing, but after the visit, she says she’s now open to other health care career options.
Breakfast and lunch for the high schoolers was supported by Burrell College’s Offices of Enrollment Services and Multicultural Inclusion.
