Health Science Connection
for K-12 Educators 

Preparing Montana's Students for Careers in Healthcare
In This Issue
MedStart Summer Camp Coming Soon
Health Science Teacher Training has been Funded
H.Y.P.E. Camp
Superior Elementary Science Fair
Hands on Health
Hunting for Health
School - to - Work Spotlight
Career Days
R.E.A.C.H.
Career Spotlight
AHEC Basics
MedStart 2012
Med Start Logo
We have a little over a week left until our Billings, Bozeman, and Missoula MedStart Camps!
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Issue # 35

June 2012

 Connecting Students to Health Careers
      
Greetings!
It's  Summertime
 
School is out and it's officially summer! Welcome to the June addition of the newsletter. 
 
Here is an inspirational quote to leave this school year behind:
 
"A teacher affects eternity:
he can never tell where his influence stops."
Henry Adams
 
 

MedStart Summer Camp Coming Soon 

 

    Med Start Logo

The students have been selected and are ready to go! We are just a week away from the start of our MedStart Summer Camps happening in Bozeman, Billings, and Missoula! The Great Falls camp in right around the corner as well. To see the full list of students who have been accepted into MedStart click here.

 

MedStart Summer Camp is an AHEC funded program designed to encourage current sophomore and junior high school students to pursue their interest in a variety of healthcare careers.  MedStart is completely free of charge to the students.

  

      There will be 4 camps during the summer of 2012:

  • Billings - MSU-B Campus: June 24-29, 2012
  • Missoula - U of M Campus: June 24-29, 2012
  • Bozeman - MSU Campus: June 24-29, 2012
  • Great Falls - University of GF Campus: July 8-13, 2012

 

 

 For more information, please contact Bergen Morehouse, South Central Montana AHEC Assistant Director 406.683.2790 or [email protected]

 Teacher Training 

Health Science Teacher Training has Been Funded!

  

In the May newsletter it was expressed that the Health Science Teacher Training would not be funded for this year. But for this newsletter that is not the case. We can all thank the National Medical Library for providing the funding for this year's training! Here are the details:

  • It will be the week of July 23rd-27th in Missoula.
  • Everything, yes EVERYTHING, is free.
  • Reimbursement for mileage and dinners.
  • Lodging, breakfast, lunch, and curriculum will be provided

Please call 406-994-6986 for more information.

 Native H.Y.P.E. Camp 

North Central and Eastern AHEC have partnered with the Indian Health Service to support and plan the Native H.Y.P.E. camp.  Native H.Y.P.E. is a leadership program for American Indian students in Montana, Wyoming or closely surrounding areas. Approximately 40 middle school students, entering 6th - 8th grade, will be selected to participate in Native H.Y.P.E. from July 31st - August 3rd on the MSU-Northern campus in Havre, MT. Each student selected will be provided meals and lodging during the entire program. Transportation may be available and details will be provided to students who are accepted to participate. Parents are invited to attend the entire program.

Native H.Y.P.E. will promote healthy decision making, positive peer communication, healthy relationships, culture and tradition, physical activity and focus on empowerment. Native H.Y.P.E. will also explore healthcare through exciting hands on experiences led by current healthcare professionals.

 

Superior Elementary Field Day-Science Fair

 

  

On May 16th, Western Montana AHEC was invited to participate in the Superior Elementary Field Day-Science Fair.  In the morning, Superior students competed in a fun run and field games. After lunch 3rd-5th grade classes circulated through classrooms; taking part in stations from AHEC's "Eye,"  "Guts," and "Bones & Muscles" In-A-Box.  SpectrUM Discovery Area provided the use of Anna Bodies (half torso model) for the event.  Pictured: Superior students use stethoscopes from the "Guts" box to listen to lunch rumblings.  A fourth grader checks an eye model using the ophthalmoscope.

 

 

Hands on Health

Hands on Health Traveled Across North Central Montana in May!

 The North Central office coordinated with SpectrUM to bring Hands on Health to the following communities within the North Central region during the month of May:

         Chester, May 7th

         Havre, May 8th

         Fort Belknap- Hayes & Harlem, May 9th - 10th

Liberty Medical Center

Hunting for Health 

Liberty Medical Center held their annual Health Fair on May 30th in Chester, MT.  This year North Central AHEC coordinated a Health Fair Scavenger Hunt with LMC to help make learning about health even more fun!  The health fair was a great success!

School - to - Work Spotlight

 

My name is Sierra Bell.  I was born in Great Falls, Montana and I was raised in the little town of Fairfield. I am child number 7 of eight children. I am a senior at Fairfield High School. I am a School-to-Work Assistant Program Coordinator of the North Central Montana AHEC.  I am so thankful for this apprentice opportunity.  In the near future I will be working on getting my Phlebotomy license in Billings then attending the nursing program at Brigham Young University- Idaho for the fall semester. This has been an amazing experience to help me transition from school to the work force so I know what to expect. I would like to thank five people who have made this experience worthwhile for me and those people are; Kailyn Dorhauer, for teaching me about the REACH program hands on, Morgan Greely, for getting me started with everything, Cindy Louoma, my school councilor for getting me interested in the School-to-Work program, Lorin Tacke for checking up on me and taking an interest in my future, and most of all Jody Haines, who worked with me every day and showed me the ropes of the whole business and how everything worked.  To these people I say thank you for your time and effort, I will think of you as I go on in life and strive for success.

Career Days 

 What Works Best for Montana Kids

   

Congratulations go out to all middle school and high school staff members who have been taxed with planning and coordinating Career Days at their schools.  Planning a Career Day presents unique challenges: recruiting guest speakers, reserving rooms within your facility, interfacing the event with a normal school day, and preparing students to actively participate in the event.  Montana AHEC K-12 Program Coordinators have had some wonderful experiences taking part in numerous Career Days throughout Montana.

 

Special kudos goes to Teri Cable in St. Ignatius, who with her students plans a virtual life experience day for the high school Career Day.  Students do not attend presentations until the afternoon.  In the morning, they visit multiple stations set up throughout the school where, after a pseudo interview process, they find a job, get an apartment, and buy a car.  Their ability to purchase items is based on the score they receive in their interviews. 

 

Toni Sexton at Seeley Swan High School gets a pat on the back for planning a Career Day which ran from 9-12 without a hitch.  Her trick: prepping students and having staff members available in each classroom to assist presenters.  Staff members not only provide extra copies, pens and unanticipated materials, but they act as an instant resource for what topics/fields students have already covered in their classes, as well as prompt students to ask questions. 

 

Counselor Sheri Erhardt from Sentinel High School in Missoula moves 280 juniors through 80 stations and a guest speaker circuit in 3 hours.  That, in itself, is astounding.

Career Days are a time commitment; time which teachers and staff somehow find to create a positive experience for students.  There are great resources online, but your best resources are right here in Montana.  Call and ask, "What works?" 

 

 

 

R.E.A.C.H.

 

Teton Medical Center 

On April 25th, 61 middle school students participated in R.E.A.C.H. at Teton Medical Center in Choteau, Mt.  The 7th and 8th grade students from Power, Dutton/Brady, Greenfield, Choteau, and Bynum middle schools were able to explore various healthcare careers and take part in hands-on activities such as testing blood glucose, preparing tourniquets, and measuring limb range of motion. 

 

Broadwater Health Center and Deer Lodge Medical Center 

The South Central MT AHEC sponsored two REACH camps during the month of May. On  May 1st, 34 students from Three Forks and Townsend participated in REACH at Broadwater Health Center. On May 3rd, 19 students from Powell County High School participated in REACH at Deer Lodge Medical Center. Students sutured on pig's feet, performed an endoscopy on "gummy bears", withdrew blood from synthetic arms, and even back boarded each other with the ambulance crew!  

Career Spotlight: Forensic Toxicologist 

 

Forensic toxicologists perform scientific tests on bodily fluids and tissue samples to identify any drugs or chemicals present in the body.

As part of a team investigating a crime, a forensic toxicologist will isolate and identify any substances in the body that may have contributed to the crime, such as:

  • alcohol
  • illegal or prescription drugs
  • other chemicals
  • poisons
  • metals
  • gases, such as carbon monoxide

Working in a lab, the forensic toxicologist performs tests on samples collected by crime scene investigators. They use highly sophisticated instruments, chemical reagents and precise methodologies to determine the presence or absence of specific substances in the sample.

The work requires patience and the ability to follow specific steps to achieve reliable results. The forensic toxicologist must document every step of the process, and take care to follow rules regarding chain of custody for physical evidence.

The field of forensic toxicology has grown to include drug testing for employers and traffic enforcement officials, testing of animal samples for wildlife criminal investigators, testing for "date rape" drugs and performance-enhancing substances.

Forensic toxicologists also work on cases involving environmental contamination, to determine the impact of chemical spills on nearby populations.

Investigators rely on the forensic toxicologist to make reliable conclusions about the impact a specific amount of a specific substance would have on a specific individual. Often, this requires the professional to form an educated opinion based on science and experience.

If asked to testify in court, the forensic toxicologist must be prepared to justify that opinion and to explain complex methodologies in terms a jury can understand.

 

 

 
Text courtesy of explorehealthcareers.org:

 

  Explore Health Careers

Explore Health Careers Logo 

AHEC - The Basics 

This E-News is being sent to you by the Montana Area Health Education Centers (AHEC's) in order to open a dialogue among educators about Health Science Education for K-12 students of Montana. Through this newsletter we intend to:
 
  1. Build a shared resource of activities, materials, and lesson plans to draw on in teaching the health sciences 
  2. Highlight the cross-curriculum nature of the health sciences 
  3. Build an interest in and awareness of health career paths for students in the state of Montana

 

Please contact us with your comments, ideas, questions or projects you'd like to see highlighted in future issues of this e-newsletter. And thank you for the work you do every day to inspire and support Montana kids!

Montana AHEC
Sincerely,
 

Montana AHECs (Area Health Education Centers)