Pre-Med Volunteering Opportunity In London (Aug 19)

[anato-me]

Greetings!

 

 

Each year, the Point-of-Care Ultrasound (POCUS) Interest Group at Schulich holds an Ultrasound Symposium for medical students to learn about the use of ultrasound in a clinical setting. However - this post isn't for medical students! No, this post is for pre-med students.
 

In past years, we’ve been fortunate to have pre-med students help us out at the Ultrasound Symposium as patient models. This is exactly what it sounds like – volunteers who act as patients, allowing medical students to learn the basics of point-of-care ultrasound by scanning on a real person. They will be taught by physicians and residents. We’re asking for any students who will be in the London area on Saturday, August 19th, 2017 to consider helping us out. We'd be more than happy to answer questions volunteers may have about medical school in general, and/or ultrasound's role in medicine. Please find details and FAQ below!

 

 

Details

 

What: Volunteer Patient Model for ultrasound scanning at the Western Student Ultrasound Symposium

 

When: Saturday, August 19th, 2017 [approximately 8:00am~6:00 pm, with lunch and breaks included]

 

Where: CSTAR, at University Hospital in London, Ontario, Canada

 

How: Sign-up here! https://goo.gl/forms/yfg8OnsTRytRl1AN2

 

 

FAQ

 

What does being a patient model involve?

Mostly, it involves lying down and following a few simple instructions given by the physicians teaching the sessions, such as rolling on one side or holding a breath. That's about it! We handle all the set-up, clean-up, and organization of the Symposium, so all the traditional volunteer work is taken care of - we just need your help to teach medical students about ultrasound.

 

What’s in this for me?

The inner satisfaction of helping others learn valuable skills! Ok, ok, besides that.

 

You’ll be spending time with physicians, residents, and medical students in a professional setting, learning about an area of medicine – point-of-care ultrasound – that is growing in scope and importance. Being a patient model is one of the best ways to learn the ins and outs of ultrasound. More importantly, if you'd like, during breaks, we can offer patient models instructions in ultrasound scanning, as well as some hands-on scanning time with the machine.

 

We’ll also feed you lunch and give you a fancy certificate for participating!

 

Can I use this on my CV or in my application for medical/professional schools?

Of course! It’s only a one-day event, but we do hope it will be a valuable experience to mention on your application and/or in your interviews. We are also more than willing to serve as a verifier for applications to medical school or other professional schools that require one.

 

Do I have to expose any body parts that I don’t want to?

Absolutely not! This is a PG event – and we intend to keep it that way. Most of the scans are done on the abdomen, so the stomach is exposed and we do ask that all patient models be comfortable with at least that. We do hold a Cardiac workshop as part of the symposium that involves some scanning around the chest, which we try to get more male models to do, though many female models have participated in the past without difficulty. We always give patient models final say – we try to make every scan as comfortable as possible, as we would have for real patients, but all models have the right to refuse to participate in a scan without consequence. Loose-fitting clothing - namely shorts and a T-shirt, plus a sports bra for women - is highly recommended to provide sufficient exposure for those scanning while maintaining privacy for patient models.  We also provide gowns, sheets, and other coverings so that every effort is made to only expose areas necessary for the scan.

 

Is this really a worthwhile experience?

Having been involved with the Ultrasound Symposium firsthand as well as volunteering, it is certainly a unique opportunity to see a very practical part of medicine, one which is still being developed and refined. You'll get an inside look at medical education at the student level. Plus, you get to see CSTAR, which is a phenomenal start-of-the-art training centre!

 

I have more questions. Who do I talk to?

Please feel free to ask a question in the thread below! 

In addition, our sign-up sheet (see FAQ) also has a field for questions.

 

Ok, I’m interested! Where do I sign-up?

Sign-ups can be made here. Please make sure your e-mail is correct – someone from Point-of-care Ultrasound Interest Group will be in touch with you after signing up to provide further details and verify participation.

 

We hope to see you there!

 

 

 

 

 

 

#This post was adapted from an original forum post by "ralk"