Teens test skills at Medical Jeopardy

By By Sherry Pruitt, The Jonesboro Sun

What kitchen remedy may be used to relieve pain from a jellyfish sting?

What element composes most kidney stones? And what percentage of a watermelon is made up of water?

Those were a few of the questions asked during a session of "Medical Jeopardy" for four teams of high school students enrolled in Medical Application of Science for Health camp hosted by the University of Arkansas for Medical Science's Area Health Education Center in Jonesboro.

The answers, by the way, are: vinegar or meat tenderizer, calcium and 92 percent, respectively.

Twenty teenagers, 17 senior high students and three juniors, attended the program, which is in its 20th year, program coordinator Sandra Lusby said. The students were from the Craighead County school districts of Jonesboro, Valley View, Brookland, Buffalo Island Central, Nettleton and Westside, as well as Manila, Pocahontas, Corning, Maynard and Ridgefield Christian School.

The camp offers hands-on and shadowing experiences in all areas of medical careers. The idea behind the camps is to attract interest among local high school students to consider a career in the many fields of the medical profession, according to a brochure. Studies indicate medical students from rural communities are most likely to return to a rural setting to establish their practice.

Dr. Dosha Cummins, program director, said the shadowing experiences are assigned based on the students' top preferences. One of the top fields chosen is surgery, Cummins and Lusby said. Other specialty areas include: pharmacy, dentistry, veterinary medicine, nursing, pediatrics and other health professions.

"We go with their interests as best as we can accommodate them," Cummins said, but many times they think they know the area of expertise in which they want to work, but after attending the 2-week camp, they change their minds.

Students toured St. Bernards Medical Center, including a visit to the lab; the Arkansas Biosciences Institute on the Arkansas State campus, where they conducted strawberry DNA experiments; and the University of Arkansas Medical Sciences in Little Rock.

Students trained in basic first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation, casting, blood pressure and diagnostic scenarios. They also studied heart dissection, suturing, exercise and fitness, workouts and team building, pregnancy, the effects of alcohol, drug education, sexually transmitted diseases and surgical robotics.

They kept a journal for the duration of the program and were able to anonymously share their thoughts if they desired, Cummins said.

The program is free to students who demonstrate scholastic ability and is supported by AHEC, Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Arkansas Department of Health's Office of Oral Health, Arkansas Farm Bureau, Baptist Health and UA Rural Hospital programs.