A significant activity of mine was my Community Health project – briefly, it was an educational activity where I and a group of classmates created an original curriculum driven towards educating lower-income children at the Central Community House. The curriculum in particular was driven towards educating the children about health and wellness. Though the children were young (kindergarten, first grade), we believed it was imperative to provide a comprehensive approach. This consisted of mental health/self-empowerment, exercise, relationships/sharing, hygiene, nutrition, and a brief primer on anatomy.
The video above in particular was one portion of the curriculum I was individually responsible for. In addition to this, I borrowed a mold of my one of my roommates’ teeth and with a short lecture I was able to provide a brief introduction to the importance of dental hygiene.
Before this, I had pretty much no experience interacting with kids as young as this. Especially when it came to teaching something like healthy habits. However, it was very refreshing to see their viewpoints and knowledge base and have a personal hand in helping them improve their lifestyles.
This project culminated in a poster presentation. Initially, our impact was only encapsulated in the kids’ behavior but in the long run, we wanted to see how the parents perceived the impact as well. While we did not have an objective measurement survey for this, we did host a parents’ night following the 8-week curriculum. The results were encouraging, as many parents described their children doing things like pointing out healthier food options, wanting to play and exercise more and in general exhibiting better behavior.
Honestly, our group was floored that in such a short time (approximately 1 hour a week teaching these children) we could have such an immediate impact. It felt incredibly meaningful to have the chance to play a positive role in the lives of these kids, many of whom come from single-parent, low-income homes where it can be difficult to live a normal life. Being able to present the impact was just a cherry on top.
At the end of the day, experiences like this served to help me sharpen my skills when it comes to analyzing information, distilling it into important points and distribute it in a relevant and comprehensive way. Whether it was implementing our curriculum and making it digestible to children or creating a poster highlighting our success, there were many opportunities for growth. I was also able to work with a very different set of the population than I was usually acquainted with, and this has helped to enrich my own learning and sense of patients, which will only continue to help me as I encounter the diversity of patients in practice as a resident and eventual attending.
Interpersonal Communication:
- Effectively prepare and deliver educational materials to individuals and groups.