High School students explore health and science at VGCC
A group of 21 high school students from across the region attended the 2014 Mini-Medical School, organized by the Wake Area Health Education Center (AHEC) in partnership with Vance-Granville Community College. The camp was held in June at VGCC’s South Campus, located between Butner and Creedmoor.
This was the college’s first time hosting a Mini-Medical School, which is an intensive, week-long day camp that uses computational science (computer simulation) and hands-on activities to study key aspects of medicine. Topics include anatomy and physiology, biochemistry, pharmacology, cardiology, epidemiology, medical genetics and genomics. The course was taught by Becky Brady, a registered nurse and chemical engineer.
Students not only had a chance to learn about training for careers in the medical field, but they also became certified in CPR and Youth Mental Health First Aid during the course of the program. The youth mental health training was the first of its kind ever held in the state for 16-to-18-year-olds and even received a visit from N.C. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Aldona Wos.
The rising eleventh and twelfth graders who completed the school included: Ally Eaton and Patric Mason, both from J.F. Webb High School in Oxford; Maria Cardeno from Cardinal Gibbons High School in Raleigh; Tucker Howard from Green Hope High School in Cary; Amari Lynn from Raleigh Charter High School; Kayla Turner from Knightdale High School; and Mila Alston, Destiny Foster, E’Laysia Groomes, Stephanie Gutierrez, Kadaisha Hargrove, Niyah Henderson, Angela Kearney, Asia Kearney, Jocelyn Kearney, Latela Privett, Majesta Richardson, Leiya Silver, Asia West, Amber Williams and Dyami Wortham, all from Warren County High School.
Also on hand for the camp were faculty members from VGCC programs that prepare students for medical careers, including Nursing , Medical Assisting , Radiography , Pharmacy Technology , Human Services Technology , Emergency Medical Services and Occupational Healthcare .
Wake AHEC serves nine counties in central North Carolina from its office in Raleigh: Durham, Franklin, Granville, Johnston, Lee, Person, Vance, Wake, and Warren counties. AHECs are located throughout North Carolina and are affiliated with the North Carolina Area Health Education Centers Program at the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill School of Medicine. The mission of the statewide AHEC Program is to meet the state’s health and health workforce needs by providing educational programs in partnership with academic institutions, health care agencies, and other organizations committed to improving the health of the people of North Carolina.
Above: Students at the Min-Medical School pose for a group picture in a classroom at VGCC’s South Campus. (photo provided by AHEC)
Above: Bobby Austin, head of the VGCC Radiography program (right), talks with Mini-Medical School students in his program’s lab at the college’s South Campus. (VGCC photo)
Above: VGCC Pharmacy Technology students and program head Dr. Erica Fleming (center) talk with Mini-Medical School students in a classroom at the college’s South Campus. (VGCC photo)
