On February 15, the UVA SNMA Chapter and the UVA Comprehensive Cancer Center were excited to welcome 33 high school students from local Charlottesville high schools for Neurology Day. The day was the fourth installment of the monthly Discover Medicine series. Discover Medicine is a longitudinal program committed to exposing high school students from underrepresented backgrounds to the field of medicine.
The students began the day by learning about the basics of the nervous system and brain cancer, through a lecture led by medical students and biomedical sciences (BIMS) graduate students. They practiced history-taking and physical exam skills with guidance from the student leaders. The session was followed by a luncheon where the students were joined by attending physicians, researchers, residents, medical students, and BIMS students and learned about their journeys to medicine.
The afternoon session began with a workshop led by Dr. David Moyer where students learned about both normal and pathologic neurology anatomy through a variety of human 3D models and a variety of cadaveric specimens (including a brain). The day concluded with an interactive standardized patient case review where the participants had the opportunity to synthesize the knowledge they gained throughout the day where they worked in teams to identify the diagnosis causing a very common neurological symptom.
Dr. David Moyer addresses high school students at Discover Medicine event.
The Discover Medicine Leadership team would like to extend sincere appreciation to BIMS graduate students Kadie Hudson, Caroline Riedstra and Claire Conarroe and medical students Tyler Johnson, Josephine Arewa and Kimberely Duru for leading the planning and implementation of the Neurology Day. Without them, the successful day would not have been possible. The team also extends their appreciation to Dr. David Moyer and Dr. Lucy Pemberton for their continued guidance and support throughout the Discover Medicine series.
Please reach out to Misky Sharif, Discover Medicine Chair, if you may be interested in assisting in any of the upcoming sessions including a Musculoskeletal Day and Nephrology Day.
For more information, visit the Discover Medicine website and follow Discover Medicine on Instagram.
Filed Under: Community, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Education