HealthForce Minnesota News Archives
Instant Chemistry – Volunteer at Camp
ROCHESTER — Memories of summer camp are good. Camp has a lasting emotional impact on all who are associated with it. For many, life after camp will never be the same. Experience camp again by volunteering.
A brochure handed out at a staff meeting led Sara Paradise to a fun and fulfilling week at Scrubs Camp. “I instantly knew it was something I’d love to be a part of (and I was too old to be a camper...!), so I e-mailed the coordinator right after our meeting to see if they might need volunteers,” she said.
Part of what inspired Paradise to volunteer is her belief that “it is really important for kids who are drawn to the sciences to be aware of all the different options,” something she said she did not experience during her high school days. “After four years of intense preparation for medical school, I now realize how nice it would’ve been to have something earlier on to guide me, since early planning is so key to getting into some of the more competitive programs,” Paradise continued. “This camp gives students that broad exposure.”
Paradise noted that students seemed to especially enjoy the hands-on activities the most. Students amplified their own DNA during the DNA in Action course, they typed their blood in Clinical Laboratory Sciences, and they wore gowns and practiced suturing techniques on foam pads during the Surgical Skills workshops.
The diversity of the camp sessions may be surprising. “Students intubated dummy patients, developed slings out of cloth, made brains out of clay, toured hospitals, spoke to nurse anesthetists and so much more,” according to Paradise. “I think by allowing them to ‘do’ rather than just watch it became real and exciting.”
While most students came to the camp unsure of their career direction, Paradise was surprised that by the end of camp most students seemed to be interested in other areas of medicine besides being a physician, such as research or nursing. “I was so used to college, where everyone seems to be ‘pre-med.’ I think that is the beauty of being young; you can be driven by what you like rather than choosing something because you feel it’s a safer track or that you have no options other than a four-year degree program” she said. Paradise’s advice to students is to choose a career that fits one’s unique personality and strengths.
Scrubs Camp may influence students to pursue a career in the healthcare industry the same way that The Future Physician class impacted Paradise when she was a freshman at the University of Minnesota. That class led her on a path that continually involves new opportunities to learn and grow in the medical field. Paradise has volunteered at the children’s playroom at the University hospital, coordinated workshops in the Medical Education office and has volunteered at a Latino youth clinic. Since graduating in May 2008 with a Spanish degree, Paradise has worked as an anatomy teaching assistant, does research on trauma patients in the ER, and supports physicians and nurses in a hospital as an Electronic Medical Records trainer. Content provided by HealthForce Minnesota. For more information on Scrubs Camp, visit www.healthforceminnesota.org.
Original article copyright Rochester Post Bulletin
March 10, 2010