At the Girls’ Science Discovery Day at the University of Vermont College of Medicine on May 14, brains were a particularly big hit. Hosted by the College’s chapter of the American Medical Women’s Association (AMWA), the annual event drew about 110 seventh- and eighth-grade girls from middle schools across Vermont to the College of Medicine, where they learned about such topics as blood-clotting, neuroanatomy, and how to perform physical exams from medical student and faculty volunteers.
Participants in the UVM College of Medicine's Girls Science Discovery Day participate in a hands-on experiment looking at blood clotting on May 14, 2016. (Photo: Andy Duback)
At the Girls’ Science Discovery Day at the University of Vermont College of Medicine on May 14, brains were a particularly big hit. Hosted by the College’s chapter of the American Medical Women’s Association (AMWA), the annual event drew about 110 seventh- and eighth-grade girls from middle schools across Vermont to the College of Medicine, where they learned about such topics as blood-clotting, neuroanatomy, and how to perform physical exams from medical student and faculty volunteers.
McKenzie Kelley, 14, and her classmates at Mount Anthony Union Middle School in Bennington said they most liked the chance to see and touch real organs in the “Parts is Parts” workshop in the gross anatomy lab. “In class, we learn about the brain, and it’s cool to see what we learn about right up close,” she said.
Standing at a specimen table in the anatomy lab, medical student Sarah Manning ’17 pointed out the darkened area of one lobe of a brain to the group of teens surrounding her.
“I would say this is probably a car accident or something else where there was head trauma,” Manning said.
At the next table, one girl wondered about the blockage in the valve of a diseased heart as she held it with purple gloves.
“It just got sicker and sicker and bigger and bigger,” explained Ellen Black, Ph.D., assistant professor of neurological sciences and director of the College’s first-year Human Structure & Function course, as she showed them the thickening walls inside the heart’s chambers.
“We wanted to give the girls an opportunity to explore their interest in science through hands-on workshops and experiential education,” said first-year medical student Samantha Magier, who serves as co-president of the UVM AMWA chapter.
Girls thinking about careers in science and medicine might not recognize that women – as much as men – are pioneering that work, she said. “We really want that perception and notion to be transformed.”
Allison Lanthier and Olivia Scher, both 13 years old and classmates at Orwell Village School, experimented with making blood clot inside test tubes of platelet-rich and platelet-poor plasma. The deficient plasma took much longer to clot, they learned.
“It was cool to make the clots,” Lanthier said, adding that she wants to become a physical therapist to connect her loves of science and sports.
In the “Say ‘Ahhh,’” workshop, attendees learned from a medical student how to conduct a physical exam on a Standardized Patient played by another medical student. In one exam room, medical student Chantal Mendes ’19 presented with severe abdominal pain, and the visitors asked questions – guided by Mendes’ classmate Caroline Linehan ’19 – to discern the problem.
“Could it be appendicitis?” guessed Abby Blanchard, 13, of Glover Community School.
Linehan confirmed Blanchard’s diagnosis, showing some specific steps – palpitation of the stomach and movement of the psoas muscle – that typically indicate severe inflammation around the infection.
“It’s pretty cool, right?” Linehan said to the girls. “We can find out so much from such a simple test.”