ENHP Welcomes UHSSE Students for Hands-on Learning

Assistant Professor Barbara Crane put the UHSSE students through a ball-catching activity to demonstrate the role that vision plays in a motor task.

The College of Education, Nursing and Health Professions (ENHP) continues to build on its partnership with the University High School of Science and Engineering (UHSSE) by facilitating a Spring Seminar Series focusing on science and health-related studies for students in the junior and senior classes at UHSSE.

Over the course of two weeks, students from each class will participate in three separate seminars to learn more about science and health-related study. UHSSE students and faculty will be integrated into classes with University students in physical therapy, participate first hand in learning experiences in a station-format in health sciences, and have the opportunity to learn how experts are addressing public health issues such as obesity and smoking. Coordinators of each of the Seminar Series are: Catherine Certo, Department of Physical Therapy; Peter Kennedy, Department of Health Sciences; and Katherine Lewis, Department of Nursing.

The Department of Physical Therapy was the first to welcome UHSSE students into its classrooms and labs last week. As high school seniors whose curriculum focuses on mathematics, science, technology and engineering, it was not surprising that the students came academically prepared. However, they may not have expected to be jumping on a force plate in the Human Performance Lab. That is just what Kevin Ball had them do to understand the application of physics in measuring body force and torque in the course of dunking a basketball. Barbara Crane put the students through a ball-catching activity to demonstrate the role vision plays in a motor task. One student, who never dropped the tennis ball when he could keep his eye on it, found it much more challenging when Crane blocked his vision by placing a cardboard barrier under his chin to prevent him from seeing his own hand. She went on to describe the brain-body processes that allow a baseball batter to determine what kind of pitch is coming at him and the velocity of the pitch. In another lab, Janet Gangaway had students practicing techniques used in the removal of unhealthy tissue from a wound in order to promote healing -- a process called debridement. Students worked on pigs’ feet, as pig skin is very similar to human skin.

Seminars taking place this week and next will include hands-on activities such as listening for breath sounds on mannequins hooked up to breathing devices, positioning "ghosts" (radiologic technologists’ term for their mannequins) for optimal imaging, examining pre-made blood cell slides, and learning about our pre-professional programs in pre-podiatry, pre-osteopathy, pre-optometry, and pre-chiropractic that build on our health sciences major. Katherine Lewis and Anne Marie Buonocore will be presenting the field of public health and careers in nursing.

Suzi D'Annolfo, ENHP school partnership coordinator, has worked closely with Eric Rice, principal of UHSSE, and ENHP Dean Ralph Mueller throughout the year to create learning opportunities for students and faculty at both schools. UHSSE is an "early college model" that is focused on getting students integrated into the college experience through courses and other opportunities in order to expose them to the higher education options available to them.

Mueller, D'Annolfo and Rice are excited about this opportunity to get so many UHSSE students right on campus participating in these meaningful learning experiences designed to expand their horizons, ignite some new thinking, and energize their futures. Dean Mueller is looking forward to the partnership flourishing and expanding in the future.

“Now that UHSSE is on campus,” says Mueller, “we are opening a new chapter in collaboration, as originally envisioned. I whole-heartedly thank those high school and college individuals who made these seminars a reality. Separately we are good organizations – together, we can become great!”