The UVA Student National Medical Association (SNMA) Chapter and the UVA Comprehensive Cancer Center hosted Nephrology/Urology Day for local high school students on April 30. It was SNMA’s sixth and final session of the 2023-2024 Discover Medicine series. Discover Medicine is a longitudinal program committed to providing high school students in Charlottesville from underrepresented backgrounds exposure to the field of medicine through monthly, interactive activities about one of the body’s organ systems.
The students started the day learning about basic anatomy and physiology of the renal and urologic systems in a lecture led by medical students. Next they learned about a variety of research projects being conducted in the biomedical sciences through a fun “Gong-Show” led by BIMS graduate students Nicole Kirk, Ross Rivera, Caroline Riedstra, Alexys Riddick and Kendall Bromley. The morning sessions concluded with an interactive activity led by Nora Kern, MD, where students visited the simulation center, learned about urologic procedures, and practiced laparoscopic surgical skills.
The afternoon sessions began with a luncheon where the students were joined by BIMS graduate students and heard about their journeys to biomedical research. They also participated in an anatomy workshop led by fourth-year medical students, where the students examined 3D renal models and a variety of cadaveric specimens. The day ended with a graduation ceremony where each student was presented with a completion certificate, a Discover Medicine t-shirt and UVA Cancer Center swag.
The 2023-2024 Discover Medicine Committee Chair Misky Sharif would like to express deepest gratitude to Dr. Kern, Fionna Sun, MD, and the nephrology/urology student leaders Hibo Wehelie, Saja Ibrahim, Bhavik Patel, Nicole Kirk, Elia Namey, Tyler Johnson, Stephen Chukwurah, Michael Ogundeji, Wafa Salah, Parker Holum and Erin Saunders, for their enthusiastic dedication in planning and implementing the activities for the day. The team would also like to thank each of the 30 students on the Discover Medicine committee who brought all the activities of the past year to life and our faculty advisors, Lucy Pemberton, PhD, David Moyer, MD, and Christopher Baryiames, PhD, for their invaluable contributions in making this year a success.
Please see the Discover Medicine website and follow Discover Medicine Instagram, @uva_discover_medicine, for more information. The 2024-2025 Discover Medicine series will begin in fall 2024.
Filed Under: Education