CampMed Offers Area Students Firsthand Look at Life as Physician

CampMed Offers Area Students Firsthand Look at Life as Physician

For two days this week, UToledo's Health Science Campus hosted 30 rising ninth graders from 18 communities across northwest Ohio, each getting hands-on experience on what it takes to become a physician.

CampMed, a free two-day science and medicine camp hosted by UToledo's College of Medicine and Life Sciences, returned June 2 and 3 for its latest group of students.

Now in its 28th year, the program was created in 1998 to cultivate interest in science and medicine among students who might not otherwise have exposure to those fields. Priority is given to prospective first-generation college students, those from underrepresented rural or urban communities, and students who are financially or educationally disadvantaged.

"We bring together students who share a common interest," said Courtney Combs, director of the Ohio Area Health Education Centers program. "They may be the only students in their schools who are interested in this field. Here they're around like-minded kids."

Students were assigned to teams guided by rising second-year medical students and attended sessions led by physicians, professors and staff, experiencing diagnostic, treatment and laboratory settings firsthand. Highlights included time in the Lloyd A. Jacobs Interprofessional Immersive Simulation Center, where students practiced clinical skills using state-of-the-art technology, including hands-on sessions on how to set casts, intubate patients and properly perform CPR.

"I really liked learning about the life-saving activities," said Lorelei Clapp, a student from Seneca East High School. "It's good to learn how I would react to some of these experiences. I think I've gotten more interested in the medical field through this camp."

At the conclusion of the program, parents and teachers were invited to campus to hear students present what they learned through critical thinking and laboratory experiences.

CampMed is supported by UToledo's College of Medicine and Life Sciences and the UToledo/Ohio Area Health Education Centers program, with funding through the Health Resources and Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.