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University of Iowa medical students tap into kindergarten ‘senses’

Jan. 14, 2017 4:00 pm
IOWA CITY - Peering into a plastic model of a giant ear drum, a group of Iowa City kindergartners earlier this month clamored to answer questions about hearing and tuning forks and whether it's good to blast music in your car.
'No!” the mostly 5- and 6-year-olds uniformly chimed enthusiastically.
After the kids at Weber Elementary - 3850 Rohret Road SW in Iowa City - finished learning about their hearing, they moved through stations dedicated to touch, taste, sight, smell and germs as part of a partnership with University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine students.
The university students spent more than an hour Jan. 6 teaching the kindergartners about their 'super senses” - benefiting both the kids and their mentors.
'Having the skills to be able to interact with children comfortably I think does aid someone who is pursuing pediatrics,” said first-year medical student Tarek Karam, who said he's interested in pediatric oncology.
After modeling use of his stethoscope on several children and testing their hearing with a tuning fork, Karam said he appreciated a chance to show off his skills to a captive audience.
'It's a little bit more fun to show them than my parents,” he said. 'They all want to try everything. It's really cool.”
The feeling is mutual, said Myrna Duff, the Weber kindergarten teacher who organized the event.
'They enjoy it,” Duff said of her students. 'They really do.”
The Weber staff about a decade ago learned the university makes medical students available for school visits, and Duff said they take advantage annually - working the experience into their health unit.
'This ties right in,” Duff said, noting the staff's ability to work in lessons gleaned from the medical students for the rest of the year. 'We retouch on it.”
Students take away not only foundational education about how their bodies work, but the UI physicians-in-training provide practical lessons - like hand washing and the importance of doctor visits.
'They're really good at engaging them and doing hands-on activities,” said Sarah Williamson, another of the Weber kindergarten teachers. 'They're going to retain a lot of what's being taught.”
Duru Akgun, a 5-year-old kindergartner, said she liked how the medical students used an ultraviolet light to show them the germs on their hands. After instructing the kids to wash while singing their 'ABCs,” the medical students then rechecked for dirt with the special light.
Duru noticed an improvement.
'There are germs all over us,” she said. 'We have to wash our hands to get them off.”
That type of experiential learning is the goal, said first-year medical student Kyle Anderson.
'It's great for us because we're able to see what we're doing all the learning for,” he said. 'To be able to come out in the community and show the community what we're learning and really get an idea of the kind of patients we're hoping to see someday - it's motivating.”
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University of Iowa first-year medical student Sarah Eikenberry talks to kindergartners about parts of the eye at Weber Elementary School in Iowa City, Iowa, on Friday, Jan. 6, 2017. Carver College of Medicine students talked to kindergartners about parts of the eyes and ears, the importance of hand washing and showed them how a stethoscope, a reflex hammer, a tuning fork and a blood pressure cuff works. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)
First-year medical student Hillary O'Brien (left) shines an ultraviolet light on the hands of kindergartners Mert Ince, (second from left) Chris Minor (second from right) and Aya Mahmoud (right) as they learn about germs and hand washing at Weber Elementary School in Iowa City, Iowa, on Friday, Jan. 6, 2017. Carver College of Medicine students talked to kindergartners about parts of the eyes and ears, the importance of hand washing and showed them how a stethoscope, a reflex hammer, a tuning fork and a blood pressure cuff works. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)
With her eyes closed, Weber Elementary School kindergartner Afraa Guama points to the side of her head where she can hear the hum of a tuning fork as classmates look on during a presentation on the senses by University of Iowa medical students at school in Iowa City, Iowa, on Friday, Jan. 6, 2017. Carver College of Medicine students talked to kindergartners about parts of the eyes and ears, the importance of hand washing and showed them how a stethoscope, a reflex hammer, a tuning fork and a blood pressure cuff works. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)
With her eyes closed, Weber Elementary School kindergartner Jada Wiltz raises her hand to indicate the source of the hum of a tuning fork as first-years medical student Tarek Karam (right) looks on during a presentation on the senses by University of Iowa medical students at school in Iowa City, Iowa, on Friday, Jan. 6, 2017. Carver College of Medicine students talked to kindergartners about parts of the eyes and ears, the importance of hand washing and showed them how a stethoscope, a reflex hammer, a tuning fork and a blood pressure cuff works. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)
First-year medical student Tyler Abarca to about some common instruments used by doctors to kindergartners at Weber Elementary School in Iowa City, Iowa, on Friday, Jan. 6, 2017. Carver College of Medicine students talked to kindergartners about parts of the eyes and ears, the importance of hand washing and showed them how a stethoscope, a reflex hammer, a tuning fork and a blood pressure cuff works. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)
First-year medical student Kyle Anderson (right) explains how a reflex hammer works to Weber Elementary School kindergartners Mueen Targio (left) and Brigham Price (center) as a group of medical students give presentations on the senses at school in Iowa City, Iowa, on Friday, Jan. 6, 2017. Carver College of Medicine students talked to kindergartners about parts of the eyes and ears, the importance of hand washing and showed them how a stethoscope, a reflex hammer, a tuning fork and a blood pressure cuff works. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)