Reading time: 2 minutes The 6th graders of Honowai Elementary School fill the JABSOM auditorium.
About 100 sixth-graders from Waipahu’s Honowai Elementary School got a glimpse of potential careers in medicine during a physician training tour sponsored by the University of Hawaii at Manoa School of Medicine.
The event is designed to inspire young learners and marks the first time that the entire sixth-grade class at the John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM) has participated in such a program.
The tour, hosted by JABSOM’s Hawaii/Pacific Basin Community Health Education Center (AHEC), followed students’ classroom curriculum and focused on topics such as the microbiome and the dangers of smoking, vaping, and drug use. Ta.
Plant medicine seeds early
Students also engaged in hands-on activities that reflect the critical thinking and collaboration skills taught to medical students, such as learning how to measure a patient’s blood pressure and solving problem-based clinical scenarios.
“Role modeling is extremely important for young people,” said Associate Dean Lee Buenconsejo-Lam. “You just have to have the ability to say, ‘Wow, that person could be me someday.'”
The event was inspired by Honowai teacher Maria Ignacio and JABSOM mentor Crystal Costa. Ignacio worked with Costa in the dean’s office while earning a master’s degree in education at UH Mānoa.
“I also went to public school, but I never really thought about what I wanted to be when I grew up. That’s why we are now providing medical care to children and thinking, ‘This is… It’s an option for you.’ I think that’s a good thing to think about,” said Ignacio, a graduate of Moanalua High School.
Connect classroom lessons
Ms. Ignacio noticed that her students were especially excited during the fractions workshop.
“It was great to hear them say, ‘Oh my god, I know how to do this,’ and connect it to the medical field. Perhaps future doctors and nurses from this group may be born,” she added.
MD students receive questions from Honowai students.
Sophia Tolentino, 12, expressed a new interest in health care. “I probably took this job because I liked learning about health and medicine,” she says.
JABSOM often accepts high school students on similar tours, but introducing students earlier could have an impact.
“Some of our students first came to us when they were in middle school and are now participating in our training program,” Buenconsejo-Lum said. Approximately one-third of JABSOM’s first-year MD class participated in the school’s pathway program at a young age.
Students of all ages interested in working in the healthcare industry can participate in AHEC’s Pre-Health Career Corps program, which offers workshops and opportunities to explore and understand what it takes to become a healthcare professional. You can do practical activities.
For more information, please visit JABSOM.
