World Health. Local Impact.
On World Health Day 2022, celebrated on April 7, the World Health Organization is focusing global attention on urgent actions needed to keep humans and the planet healthy and foster a movement to create societies focused on well-being.
At the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, we are focused on helping to improve the health and well-being of our local communities. Through school-wide initiatives and student-led projects, we are making a difference in our part of the world on a daily basis.
Here are some highlights of how our students are leading the way for improving health and wellbeing in the community.
The VTC Public Health Club has been very busy lately with several local initiatives.
- They have partnered with the Virginia Harm Reduction Coalition to assist with resources, coat drives, and programs to assist those with housing instability and opioid addiction.
- They organized vaccine training sessions with clinical faculty to be able to assist the Virginia Department of Health and the Bradley Free Clinic with vaccine drives.
- They organized training to do Hepatitis C testing so they will be able to assist the Virginia Hepatitis Coalition with testing initiatives.
- VTC Public Health Club members also participated in naloxone overdose prevention training which they have been utilizing in their work in the community.
The VTC chapter of the student national medical association implemented the #MedDOCs program for high school students, in the hopes to empower the future generation to pursue careers in health care.
The #MedDOCs programs focus on cardiology in the fall, and neuroscience in the spring.
The refugee and immigrant medical association has a history of helping local community members through health fairs, food drives, and fundraisers for school supplies. They also worked with the Bradley Free Clinic to assist parents in the refugee and immigrant community to obtain vaccinations and immunizations for their children to allow them to enter school.
Other Club and Organization Initiatives
The VTCSOM Chapter of the Medical Student Pride Alliance partnered with the Obstetrics and Gynecology Interest Group to provide an information session on transgender-affirming OBGYN care.
The Turning Point Club at VTC has developed and delivered several mental health and wellness programs for its residents and are looking to expand offerings based on constituent needs.
The Medical Society of Virginia, including VTCSOM representative Miles Thomas, worked on having Medicaid eliminate preauthorization requirements for Hepatitis C treatment.
The Nutrition in Medicine Club worked with assistant professor Kris Rau to deliver Bodies and Bites, an educational program for elementary school students.
Individual contributions
In addition to the student club initiatives, several of our students are engaged in initiatives on their own. Here are just a few ways in which our students are serving in the local and regional community.
- M2 Stephanie Hamlin helped organize a "colon crawl" 5K for colon cancer awareness week recently.
- M2 LB Canary organized a 5K run/walk with the Lungevity Foundation for lung cancer awareness month.
- M2 Shaylynn Fahey volunteers with local EMS and is involved in an initiative at Carilion to address gun safety.
- M1 Paula Lewis is spearheading an initiative to have medical students serve as patient advocates in the emergency department, to provide support to people visiting the ED.
- Several students volunteer on weekends with Planned Parenthood.
- M2 LB Canary recently joined the board of RAM House. She also serves on the Rural Health Congress.
- MD/PhD student Kenneth Young serves on board of Roanoke Diversity Center.