UIW medical students offer hands-on lessons at Southside
Iris Jimenez leaned over a table in the Southside High School library and carefully drove a curved needle through a raw turkey breast.
Under the watchful eye of Krystal Kwong, Jimenez wrapped the nylon suture twice around her purple-gloved fingers, looping them to tie a knot and complete the stitch.
“Now we’re going to make a second stitch,” said Kwong, a second-year student at University of the Incarnate Word’s School of Osteopathic Medicine. She pointed to the cut in the meat, showing Southside students Jimenez and Clarissa Guevara where to place the needle again to avoid leaving a jagged scar.
Kwong and more than two dozen of her UIW classmates turned the school library into mock-doctor’s offices for “Mini D.O. Day” on Wednesday, a chance for the high school students to learn about osteopathic medicine and about pursuing health careers.
Members of the university chapter of the Student Osteopathic Medical Association, or SOMA, led workshops including CPR, art in medicine and women’s health, along with conversations about overcoming barriers and achieving goals.
A partnership started in 2017 between the medical school and Southside ISD aims to improve poor health outcomes and address chronic health issues in the area, which occur at higher rates than the rest of Bexar County and statewide.
Wednesday’s grant-funded event was designed to forge relationships with high school students in the district’s Career and Technical Education program, said Kayla Floyd, president of the SOMA chapter. “I think the students really learned some things about medical school,” she said afterward.
“We’re here to talk about reflexes,” said Matthew Coston, swinging a small hammer between his thumb and forefinger. He showed a small group how to find the tendons on their knees, and how to tap them with the hammer to test muscle reflexes,
before asking them to try it on himself and three other medical students.
Across the room, students outlined the differences between doctors of osteopathy, or D.O.’s, and medical doctors, or M.D.’s. They demonstrated osteopathic manipulative treatment, showing ways to treat carpal tunnel syndrome and ease neck pain.
At another station, students were urged to reflect on “what’s going to stand in your way, and how are you going to keep those from standing in your way?” In conversations throughout the afternoon, some high schoolers asked about choosing specialties and majors. Others saw a chance to ask for advice on studying for difficult classes.
The district’s health careers program has grown tremendously over the past 2½ years, Southside High CTE Coordinator Lynn Hernandez said. In addition to their science classes, students can earn certifications in phlebotomy, patient care technician, pharmacy technician, medical billing and coding technician.
Conversations with the medical students who are “living the dream you want to live” can help “kill the fear of the unknown” and help those still in high school see what’s possible, she said.
“My dad has cancer, and I’m interested in being an oncologist,” student Marti Montalvo said. “These are good people to look up to, they’re so confident and smart. It’s nice to know other people seeking the same future.”
Coston said these outreach efforts tie back to the mission of UIW’s osteopathic medicine school.
“Hopefully I’m able to show some students that not all doctors necessarily fit a certain mold,” he said. The group that led the workshops is made up of “a wide array of all different genders, ethnicities and backgrounds,” who can be models for students who might not have seen many doctors who look like themselves.
“It made me feel like I have a chance,” said Susanna Paredez, an aspiring dentist who said she’s now also considering a career in medicine. Talking with one of the UIW students who had struggled in some of his science classes but was able to work through them made it seem achievable, she said.
After listening to the UIW students, “you get inspired,” Paredez said. In the future, “I want to show other kids and I want to be able to do that for someone else.”