‘Hands on’ experience of medicine inspires local teens to think about healthcare
1st July 2008
Leading medical and healthcare university St George’s, University of London welcomed local teenagers for an action-packed “Introduction to medicine” summer school, from Aug 27-29.
Leading medical and healthcare university St George’s, University of London welcomed Wandsworth teenagers for an action-packed “Introduction to medicine” summer school, from Aug 27-29.
The Year Ten students (aged 14-15) lived in halls of residence for the week, and practised clinical skills on the university’s mock wards, from testing reflexes on each other to identifying heart conditions using a “living dummy”. By the end of the school, the students diagnosed actors posing as patients – often having to deliver bad news.
As well as medicine, students learned about other healthcare careers such as physiotherapy and radiography. They acted as pathologists for an afternoon and followed clues to ascertain the cause of death of four case study patients. They tried their hands at prosthetics and learned how to make their own prosthetic fingers.
The aim of the school, which happens every year, is to spark an interest in sciences and healthcare, which may lead on to higher education and a rewarding career.
All activities take place on St George’s university campus, in Tooting, South-West London, which shares a site with St George’s Hospital.
Attendees are selected based on having strong academic potential as well as being from schools where there is less expectation of students going on to higher education, and form part of St George’s commitment to attracting a more diverse cross-section of students, known as widening participation.
Charles Harper, Deputy Principal of Burntwood School in Wandsworth, whose students have attended summer schools in previous years and gone on to study medicine at St George’s, said: “Students at Burntwood School have found the summer schools at St George’s, University of London to be of the utmost value.”
“Attending a summer school not only gives them a real insight into the day to day realities of student life, but furthermore, helps students realise that a place at university is within their grasp.”
Head of Student Recruitment at St George’s, Kenton Lewis, said: “The summer school at St George’s is a fantastic opportunity for us at the university to help support local youth and encourage them to consider higher education.
“Students are encouraged to think about what healthcare jobs really involve, not just academically, but also looking at the practical and emotional aspects of a career in healthcare. It’s always lots of fun, and we look forward to welcoming this year’s students.”
For more information, contact media@sgul.ac.uk or to receive an alert every time we upload a news story, subscribe to the RSS feed here.
Send to friend
Print this page