If you didn’t know the portion sizes the U.S. Department of Agriculture currently recommends for nutritious meals, or the test that can instantly identify whether someone may have suffered a stroke, the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine’s (WVSOM) Mini-Med School would have increased your health knowledge.
Those were just two of the many health facts that 36 residents of Lewisburg and surrounding communities learned during the March 15 event, in which medical students introduced members of the public to selected health-related concepts through hands-on demonstrations, visual aids, lectures and quizzes.
The 2022 event was the first in two years, with last year’s Mini-Med School canceled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. This year’s event focused on five themed “stations” that community members could rotate through. One attendee, Bonnie D’Orazio of Lewisburg, said Mini-Med School taught her about healthy ways to deal with stress and how proper nutrition can help control diabetes and other conditions.
“Tonight has been wonderful,” D’Orazio said. “It’s helped us to see ourselves a little bit differently and shown us how to overcome some of our health challenges. It’s like having your own private doctor at your fingertips.”
The event was organized by Class of 2024 students Brooke Seamans, James Easler and Lindsey Trusal, under the leadership of Andrea Nazar, D.O., who chairs WVSOM’s Department of Clinical Sciences.
Mini-Med School is one of several WVSOM events in which local residents and medical students have the opportunity to get to know one another, Nazar said.
“Our students genuinely want to connect with our community, and the community is always eager to support our students,” Nazar said. “Many participants enjoy learning about the backgrounds of our students as much as the medical knowledge that’s shared. And while the information is not intended to replace a conversation with a doctor, we hope it helps participants understand more about their health and guide the discussions they might have with their providers.”
Seamans explained that Mini-Med School is as instructive for students as it is for those who attend.
“It’s a chance for the community to come to WVSOM and experience what we experience every day,” Seamans said. “They get to take home valuable knowledge, and we get to learn to talk to community members about health issues using lay language. It’s important for us to learn how to communicate with people who aren’t physicians.”
At a station devoted to the topics of hypertension and stroke, attendees learned about risk factors for high blood pressure and were introduced to the “F.A.S.T.” test — facial drooping, arm weakness, speech difficulties and time — to check for stroke symptoms. A series of vials showed how much saturated fat is in various foods, and a visual display portrayed the consequences of hypertension on various parts of the body.
A women’s preventive health station emphasized conditions that can affect the female reproductive system, and used anatomical models to show how to perform a breast self-exam. At a station on men’s preventive health, participants passed around a plate marked with healthy portion sizes of the different food groups, learned why screenings for colorectal cancer are critical at certain ages and received information on the damage osteoporosis causes to bones.
At a station on stress relief and osteopathic manipulative treatment, students led visitors through a deep breathing exercise and demonstrated the osteopathic techniques of cervical stretching and suboccipital inhibition. And at a station focusing on mental health and addiction, participants used clickers to respond to quiz questions and discussed common misconceptions about the two subjects, dispelling the myths that mental illness is uncommon and that addiction is not a biologically based condition.
Student organizations that operated stations included the WVSOM chapters of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians, the American College of Osteopathic Neurologists and Psychiatrists, the American Geriatrics Society, the American Osteopathic College of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, the Christian Medical and Dental Association, Medical Students for Choice, Sigma Sigma Phi, the Student American Academy of Osteopathy, the Student Osteopathic Internal Medicine Association, the Student Osteopathic Medical Association, and the Lifestyle Medicine Club.