Grade 9 student Isaac Di Cresce drills into a manikin leg to learn about intraosseous access, an alternative to IV access used when rapid treatment is needed.
Rady Faculty hosts youth, inspires pursuit of the health professions and biomedical sciences
Hundreds of high school students from Manitoba descended on Bannatyne campus Nov. 6 and 7 for two annual events at the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences highlighting the health sciences programs at UM and scientific discovery.
On Nov. 6, approximately 50 Grade 9 students participated in Take Our Kids to Work Day, a nation-wide initiative that encourages students to spend a day at the workplace of a parent, relative, friend or volunteer host. The Rady Faculty organized a full-day, interactive program that exposed the youth to a variety of health professions and scientific careers.
“I loved the hands-on activities and I was kind of surprised. I thought it was just going to be a bunch of people talking, but this was really fun!” said Alexa Pitz.
The youth rotated through various workshops in the colleges of medicine, dentistry, pharmacy and rehabilitation sciences.
In the Clinical Learning and Simulation Facility, they went through four stations that showed some of the life-saving jobs performed by first responders when called to a cardiac arrest. This included inserting breathing tubes and drilling holes for intraosseous access into life-like manikins.
At a College of Pharmacy lab, the students made lip balm and sunscreen to take home, which was a highlight for many. At the School of Dental Hygiene in the Dr. Gerald Niznick College of Dentistry, the students learned how to do detailed tasks with mirrors and remove plaque from model teeth. At the College of Rehabilitation Sciences, they learned about occupational, physical and respiratory therapy with some hands-on demonstrations.
Isaac Di Cresce wants to one day become a bioengineer but said Take Our Kids to Work Day opened up the idea of many other possibilities in health care. He also said he learned things that will help with day-to-day living.
“I’m having a great time. We just learned about how we can get plaque off of our teeth, how to brush better and what to look out for when we’re brushing. It turns out that 96 per cent of adults have cavities in their teeth, which was really surprising to think about how all of this can be stopped by just brushing for two minutes every morning and night,” he said.
On Nov. 7, more than 300 students and teachers from 60 high schools from across Winnipeg and surrounding areas attended UM Bannatyne campus for Discovery Day, co-hosted by the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences and the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame (CMHF). Twenty students came from more than 350 kilometers outside of Winnipeg for the day-long event.
Students had a chance to speak with award-winning faculty members, take part in interactive workshops demonstrating real-world medical skills, and see what it’s really like to be a health professional or scientist.
Jade Pelland, a Grade 11 student, said she came to Discovery Day because she’s interested in working in children’s health.
“I’m interested in pediatric medicine all around, but personally, after all I’ve seen today, I want to explore respiratory therapy. It was just so cool and seeing all the machines and how they progressively become more interesting and up to date. It’s just interesting to look at,” she said.
Fleur McEvoy, director of the bachelor of midwifery program at the College of Nursing, took part in the event for the first time in a workshop on reproductive health, in collaboration with faculty from the obstetrics and gynecology department at the Max Rady College of Medicine. She said the students she met were enthusiastic and interested in learning about the programs.
“We connected with students from Winnipeg and around the province at the event and spoke with them about the midwifery profession. One of the students shared they were helped into the world by a midwife. We were delighted to learn several were considering midwifery for their career path and we hope to see them again in the future,” she said.
The day began with a keynote address from Dr. Lisa Monkman, Indigenous health curriculum co-lead for post graduate medical education at the Max Rady College of Medicine, remarks from 2022 CMHF laureate professor emirita Dr. Noralou Roos, and greetings from Dr. Peter Nickerson, dean, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences.
Watch a social media video featuring highlights from both events.
