PEDIATRIC INTEREST
GROUP
RESOURCE GUIDE
Featuring ideas from the Pediatrics Interest Groups at
the University of Florida, Florida State University, the
University of Wisconsin, Morehouse School of
PEDIA
TRIC INTEREST GROUP RESOURCE GUIDE
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Part 1: Medical Student Education Talks and Events
Part 2: Advocacy and Community Service Activities
Part 3: Conferences
Part 4: Camping Volunteer Opportunities
Part 5: Funding Opportunities
Part 6: Learning More about the AAP
About this Guide
This guide is meant to serve as a resource for Pediatric Interest
Groups seeking ideas for new talks and events for their group as well
as new opportunities and offerings for their members. We hope that
you find this helpful and that your group and its members benefit
from it. Enjoy!
1. Lunch Lectures: Many schools hold monthly lectures for medical students with guest speakers and a free lunch. Guest speakers commonly are pediatrics residents or attendings, but can also be people in your community with an expertise in a given area. These can be held in lecture halls or classrooms at your school. Funding for this lunch can come from your school’s pediatrics department, state AAP chapter funding, or your school’s student government. You may also want to pair up with another interest group at your school to co-sponsor some of the talks, such as working with the OB/ Gyn Interest Group to arrange a talk about High Risk Pregnancies/Birth Defects. Some topics that have been addressed by various PIGs include:
a. Life As a Pediatrics Resident/ Fellow
b. Youth Violence
c. The Pediatric Developmental Exam (for infants)
d. Recognizing and Addressing Child Abuse
e. Childhood Obesity
f. Panel of 4th Year Students Going
Into Pediatrics: How to Prepare for Residency
g. Common Pediatric Rashes and Skin Findings
h. Muchausen Syndrome by Proxy i. Immunizations and the
Anti-Immunization Movement j. International Adoption k. Careers in the PICU l. Raising a Child with Down
Syndrome
m. Pediatrics Subspecialists Panel n. General Pediatrics Panel o. Common Birth Defects
2. NICU Tours: Coordinate with Division of Neonatology at your medical school to arrange guided tours with one of the neonatologists for groups of first and second year medical students. 3. Shadowing Pediatricians: Offer
shadowing opportunities for first and second year medical students with local physicians in outpatient clinics and inpatient wards.
4. Covering Kids and Families
Roundtable: Coordinate a roundtable discussion with various faculty members, AMA/FMA representatives, etc. to discuss the impact of uninsurance/underinsurance on kids and families, as well as possible solutions. This event can be an evening or a lunch-time event, and also could be set up as a part of Covering the Uninsured Week.
5. Night in the Children’s Hospital: This yearly event at the University of Wisconsin is designed to give medical students interested in pediatrics the opportunity to interact with residents and attendings and spend some time in your school’s affiliated Children’s Hospital. It could also be
performed on the pediatrics wards if you don’t have a Children’s Hospital. The event takes place over one evening, beginning with a large group dinner with residents, attendings, and medical students. Residents then teach small groups of students some of their techniques for examining sick children, neonates, and doing well-child/
developmental exams. These can be demonstrated on real patients or the children of residents/medical students. At the end, there is a tour of the Children’s Hospital for all the medical students. 6. Fourth-Year Electives: Work with the
administration and faculty at your school to help set up a fourth-year pediatrics elective/externship in an international location, such as South Africa or Latin America.
Part 1: Medical Student Education Talks
and Events
PEDIA
• Health ‘N Fun Fair: The goal of this event is to educate elementary school aged children and their parents about common childhood diseases (such as asthma) and health issues (like nutrition, healthy sleep habits, etc.). You can talk with parents and kids, and give out handouts, with some geared toward parents and some written more for a kid audience. You can also have samples of healthy snacks and recipes for kids to make for themselves. Other fun activities to make the event fun for kids include a visit from the local fire department with a fire truck, visits from athletic teams at your school (for example, UF had their Women’s Basketball Team come out), face-painting, a bounce-house/ moonwalk, etc. You can give away prizes or school supplies to the kids. Some locations where you could hold this event are at a local community clinic or a local elementary school. You can advertise through schools,
churches and doctors offices in the area around your target population.
• Visiting with Pediatric Patients: Groups of medical students can take trips to visit pediatric patients at your school’s hospital or other hospitals in your area. Some hospitals have special guidelines for the content and number of people allowed to visit in the pediatric wards, so you will need to verify these. Some ideas for these visits include dressing up in costumes at Halloween, doing holiday-themed arts and crafts like Valentine’s Day cards, and reading stories to the children.
• Participating in Charity
Fundraisers: Get together a group of medical students from your school to participate in local or national
fundraisers such as the March of Dimes Walk for Babies. Depending on the fundraising rules at your school, you can hold various events, raffles, bake sales, etc. to raise money for your team. One specific fundraising idea that was used by students at FSU was a “Dime Walk” around campus. Students walked around with jars collecting money, visiting offices of
faculty and staff asking for donations. Many people had loose change in their desk drawers that they were willing to donate. You can then send the
proceeds to your local March of Dimes chapter, or use it to fund a team of students for the Walk for Babies.
• Collaborate with Local Public Schools: There are several volunteer opportunities that can be created or taken advantage of through your local public school district. These include making classroom presentations on nutrition or hand-washing/hygiene and participating in school clean-up/
renovation projects. You can contact individual schools, participate in projects through undergraduate
organizations who work with the public school system, or contact the county school board directly to find out about wide-scale projects that your group could help with. One such project that took place in Alachua County, Florida was a district-wide Flu Mist
administration program in fall 2006. Medical students were enlisted to go out to the elementary and middle schools in the morning to help school nurses administer the vaccines.
Part 2: Advocacy and Community Service
Projects
PEDIA
• Blood Drives: Medical students can work with their local blood bank to bring a bloodmobile to campus if there aren’t already established blood drives taking place. Encourage donations from students, faculty and staff, possibly even by designing a contest that encourages classes to compete for the number of donations they can give.
• Community Health Fair: Work with the other interest groups and medical student organizations at your school to plan an annual health fair at a large, central location like your local
shopping mall. Each group can design and host a booth providing information and give-aways to people passing by. The Pediatric Interest Group can host a booth giving information about common childhood illnesses and providing fun games and activities for kids attending the event.
• Health Insurance Sign-Up: Visit local stores and festivals and set up a table with information about local health insurance programs (some counties have their own local programs) and your state’s SCHIP program for children. You can provide pre-printed applications and help people apply.
• Medical Students For Kids: This is a year-long mentoring program that is conducted at Ohio State University’s Medical School. The program is aimed at providing outreach and role models
to area elementary schools, promoting interest in a medical career among the elementary school students, and sharing knowledge to help them become healthier kids. Medical student volunteers are matched up with an elementary school student mentee, and they visit their mentee once a week, usually for an hour. While meeting with the elementary school students, medical students play games, read books, and help their mentees with homework. Once during the year, med student volunteers will bring in their white coat and
stethoscope and teach their mentees about some of the aspects of the physical exam. Other activities are conducted with the elementary school students as a part of the program, including a First Aid workshop, a holiday party, and an end-of-the-year party. The end-of-the-year party is held at the OSU Medical School campus, and it allows the elementary school students to get a glimpse of the daily life of a medical student. They get to tour some of the school’s facilities and are each treated pizza, a t-shirt, and an age-appropriate book. Medical student volunteers meet once a month with the program’s faculty advisor for lunch and a discussion of a chosen topic in pediatrics. For more details, contact Ann Singer at [email protected]
Part 2: Advocacy and Community Service
Projects
PEDIA
AAP National Conference: This conference
is held every year in a different city. Medical
student members of the AAP are eligible for
FREE conference registration. Activities at
the conference include a medical student and
resident poster session, a full day of medical
student and resident programming,
informational workshops and seminars,
receptions and social events, and an
exhibition hall with information and samples
from vendors. Students can attend for some
or all of the days. Many schools will give
medical students an excused absence to
attend this conference, and it is a great
opportunity for students of all years who are
interested in a career in pediatrics. For more
information about the conference, visit
www.aapexperience.org.
Part 3: Conferences
PEDIA
• Hole in the Wall Camps (such as Boggy Creek Camp in Florida): These camps are located across the country and
internationally. They offer a place for children with serious or chronic illnesses to come and enjoy time at camp. Each camp has a unique facility and menu of activities, and all welcome volunteers. Many undergraduate pre-medical students volunteer or work for a summer at one of these camps, as do some medical students. There are year-round weekend programs, so even if you don’t get a summer break, members of your PIG may find that they are able to spare a couple days to volunteer at one of these amazing camps. For a list of all the camps in the Hole In the Wall Camp Association, visit http://www.holeinthewallcamps.org/ camps.cfm.
• Diabetes Camps (such as The Florida Camps for Children and Youth with Diabetes): All over the United States, there are summer and weekend camps for children with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. Many of these camps have spots for staff/ volunteer counselors and welcome medical students who are interested in volunteering. You will learn a lot about the day-to-day management of diabetes in pediatric patients, get hands-on
experience treating the kids at the camp, and have a great time too! For a list of diabetes camps by state, visit http:// www.diabetescamps.org/uscamps.php.
Part 4: Camping Volunteer Opportunities
PEDIA
• State AAP Chapter Funding: Some state AAP chapters give funding each year to the PIGs at medical schools in their state. For example, in Florida, the UF PIG submits a request letter each fall detailing their planned projects and meetings for the year with projected costs and the state provides $250 to put towards these
projects. Contact your state chapter to find out if this opportunity is available and how to to apply for funding.
• Pot Luck Dinner: Have students bring in potluck dishes, and then charge students, faculty, and staff $5 per plate during your lunch hour. You can also host a featured speaker during the event. Proceeds can be used to benefit the Peds Interest Group, or to benefit a charity of your choice.
Part 5: Funding Opportunities
PEDIA
• Pediatrics 101
• Information about General Pediatrics Careers
• Information about Pediatric Subspecialty
Careers (there are 27 medical and surgical
subspecialties in peds!)
• Residency information
• Advocacy Resources
• Clinical Case Presentation information - submit
a case today! (please see page 8 for more details)
• Educational Resources
• National Conference and Exhibition Info
• Pediatric Interest Group Resources
• Medical Student Subcommittee information
• AND MUCH MORE! We will be continuing to
add new information frequently, so visit often!
www.aap.org/ypn/ms
Visit Today! Visit Often!
PEDIA
TRIC INTEREST GROUP RESOURCE GUIDE
Part 6: Learning More about the AAP
Your Medical Student Home on the AAP Website
Apply to be a member today!
Membership is only $16 per year.
You can find the short application
PEDIA
TRIC INTEREST GROUP RESOURCE GUIDE
This resource guide has been developed by the 2008
American Academy of Pediatrics Medical Student
Subcommittee. The Subcommittee would like to
acknowledge and thank Cary Smith for her outstanding
work as the lead author of this guide.
If you would like to contribute to the next edition of this
guide, please send your contributions for consideration to
Bridgette Mathis at [email protected].
2008 AAP Medical Student Subcommittee
Paola Dees, MD
Pediatric Intern, University of South Florida
Florida State University College of Medicine, Class of 2008
Sherita Holmes, Med 4
University of Florida College of Medicine
Keith Pasichow, Med 3
Mount Sinai School of Medicine
Ann Singer, Med 4
The Ohio State University College of Medicine
Cary Smith, Med 3
University of Florida College of Medicine
Anna Volerman, Med 4
Boston University School of Medicine
Dan Schumacher, MD (chair)
Pediatric Chief Resident
American Family Children’s Hospital
University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health
