UIW Healthcare Student Organizations Take Flight in the New Year
A new semester at UIW has just begun, but students at the University’s health professions programs wasted no time organizing to further their own professional development and opportunities for growth in their chosen fields.
On Tuesday, Jan. 14, students from the Feik School of Pharmacy (FSOP) announced the founding of UIW’s student chapter of the Association of Black Health System Pharmacists (ABHP). ABHP is a non-profit organization that strives to “promote collaboration, leadership, education, advocacy and research that improve the health status and quality of life of minority patients and to advance the practice and vision of Black and other minority pharmacists in the health systems” (ABHPharm.org).
The UIW student chapter members strive to exemplify ABHP’s mission through their own work as they plan events and projects that will allow them to serve communities both on and beyond campus grounds.
“We want to be able to show local high school students and people all around that anything is possible,” shared Maxx-Scorpio I. Uzuh, student chapter member. “There are people who grow up in neighborhoods that think it’s impossible to see Black people as pharmacists, doctors or nurses, so the more they see, the more that they can believe and trust that there are people out there that are doing things for the community. The more spotlight we can bring on, not just pharmacy, but Black people or minorities in pharmacy, the better.”
The ABHP students are looking forward to establishing the new student organization at FSOP and working towards being recognized as an official ABHP student chapter. Their first official event as a chapter will be to provide blood pressure and blood sugar screenings to the community at the Martin Luther King Day Health Fair (1213 Iowa St. San Antonio, Texas 78203) in conjunction with University Health on Monday, Jan. 20. They look forward to organizing other future events that will allow them to make a positive change in local communities and serve as role models to other aspiring pharmacists of various backgrounds.
The UIW School of Osteopathic Medicine Student Government Association (UIWSOM SGA) also hit the ground running this week. The organization hosted its “Chat with the SGA Board” event which welcomed first-year medical students to learn about their student leaders and how to get involved in the UIWSOM community.
“The SGA at UIWSOM is dedicated to representing and serving all the members of the medical learner community,” shared Jespreet K. Deol, president of UIWSOM SGA. “Members of UIWSOM SGA serve as liaisons and representatives of the learner community, amplifying the voices, opinions and concerns of their peers. They also gain leadership experience by representing their peers not only within the University but also at local, state and national levels, fostering both personal and professional growth.”
On Wednesday, Jan. 15, the American College of Osteopathic Surgeons (ACOS) UIWSOM student chapter welcomed community members to participate in suture workshops. ACOS UIWSOM’s clerkship director of surgery Dr. John Etlinger demonstrated and taught attendees how to perform basic suturing and knot typing techniques.
“Suturing is a fundamental skill for a surgeon and is essential knowledge to medical students regardless of which specialty they are interested in pursuing,” explained Katherine Asbery, president of UIWSOM’s ACOS chapter. “The ACOS is a national organization dedicated to supporting osteopathic surgeons and promoting the osteopathic surgical profession. Our chapter at UIWSOM aims to
support the overall mission of ACOS with a focus on creating opportunities for students to be exposed to surgical specialties by hosting events focused on education, networking and developing skills with hands on experience like the suture clinics.”
Finally, on Thursday, Jan. 16, the Latino Medical Student Association (LMSA) UIWSOM student chapter hosted a medical Spanish session that focused on vocabulary related to neurology. The organization, comprised of graduate level medical students, welcomed Spanish speakers of all levels to practice their foundational medical Spanish vocabulary in a supportive and encouraging space.
Alex Biera, president of UIWSOM’s LMSA chapter, said that the group organizes monthly Spanish lessons to help bridge the language gap that so often negatively impacts patient care. “The goal isn't to teach someone how to be fluent in Spanish, but rather to give up-and-coming medical practitioners helpful words and phrases they can have handy to better understand and help the Spanish speaking patients before them,” said Biera.
UIW’s aspiring healthcare professionals embody the UIW Mission by taking seriously their responsibility to not only learn how to provide excellent healthcare, but compassionate care. Their continued efforts to better the communities they serve will have a profound impact on UIW health professions students and their future patients for years to come.