SNMA Springfield Day
Amber Marshall M'06
Student National Medical Association sponsored its annual Springfield Day
on Saturday, March 13th. About 40 anxious and eager junior and high school
students entered TUSM after a 2-hour bus ride from the Springfield area.
After some orange juice and donuts, and a warm welcome from Colleen Romain,
the students set off for a fun filled afternoon of learning. The students
attended a series of workshops geared toward exposure to medical education.
These afternoon sessions were comprised of an anatomy workshop, where the
kids toured the M&V lab and were able to observe the cadavers, physical
diagnosis where the students practiced auscultating the lungs and heart,
and finally a STD awareness workshop where the kids tested their sexual
health knowledge in a quiz-bowl style game. Some of the students were quite
bright. In one physical diagnosis workshop, one student, aged 14, came to
the program already equipped with the skills to correctly measure blood
pressure and HR. Some medical students could stand to learn from these junior
high kids! After the workshops, the Springfield group ate lunch while listening
to a panel discussion entitled “College Prep 101.” The discussion
was highly informative as Taiwo Oshodi, a 4th year Tufts undergraduate and
Tambra Stevenson, from the School of Public Health, discussed the importance
of time management and organization skills. The day ended by giving Tufts
T-shirts and hats to the kids. The Springfield students are member of the
“Reach Program”, involving a conglomerate of seven junior high
and high schools in Springfield, MA. The program aims to motivate students
to pursue higher education as well as to expose them to health- and science-related
careers. For the past 5 years, SNMA has sponsored Springfield Day, benefiting
over 150 students. Thanks to all who volunteered and helped to make this
year’s Springfield Day a success.
PHOTO ALBUM
