Five student-led projects will cast wide net for underserved communities
Five teams of UMass Chan Medical School students have been awarded Martin Luther King Jr. Semester of Service Student Awards to implement community service programs. The award program is an initiative that enhances health care education for UMass Chan students as they expand the institution’s impact and reach in local neighborhoods.
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T.H. Chan School of Medicine, Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing students will use the $500 awards to improve pediatric oral health in Worcester, develop and deliver a series of educational lectures on clinical signs and symptoms in black and brown skin, enhance team care and patient privacy in free medical clinics, provide educational support to help Afghan refugees resettle, and introduce health care career-oriented mentorship for middle school girls.
Students will accept awards at the Martin Luther King Jr. Day observance taking place virtually on Monday, Jan. 24.
The 2022 MLK Semester of Service Student Award projects are:
Improving pediatric oral health in Worcester
Project description: Six oral health education sessions at a diaper outreach program will increase awareness about the importance of oral health, actions that can take to improve oral health and the resources to schedule a child’s first dental appointment.
Students: Second-year medical students Fiona Splaine, Ekaterina Skaritanov and Marie McGourty, first-year medical students Jack Hanna and Nadine Kridli, and MD/PhD student Jillian Belgrad
Community partner: Marie's Mission
Setting the Tone
Project description: Developing and delivering a series of educational lectures on clinical signs and symptoms in black and brown skin will create a lasting clinical teaching resource, including distribution of bandages in a variety of darker skin tones.
Students: Third-year medical students Christopher Fay and Jeremiah Hyslip, second-year medical student Christian Keenan, fourth-year medical student Nichita Kulkarni, first-year medical students Zahin Ahmed and Sumayyah Akhtar, and MD/PhD student Webb Camille
Community partner: Family Health Center of Worcester
Moving the Walls: Enhancing interprofessional care and patient privacy in free medical clinics
Project description: Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing students will be integrated into the Worcester Free Care Collaborative, and adjustable walls will be purchased to afford more privacy for medical evaluations and discussions between patients, volunteers, students, and medical providers.
Students: First-year nursing students Angela Patterson, David Runyan, Jillian Steacy, Kourtney Mantyla, Morgan Hill, Jacob Waldman, Casandra Gale, Emily Dillon, Joshan Niroula and Rachel Odillia
Community partner: Worcester Free Care Collaborative
Worcester CARES – Caring for Afghan refugees through educational support
Project description: A K-12 student tutoring program focused on school preparedness will mitigate educational disparities during resettlement while continuing to support the endeavors of community partners, including a patient navigator program and improving access to vaccines and other resources.
Students: Second-year medical student Sayeda Najamussahar Peerzade and first-year medical students Sumayyah Akhtar and Michael Mallouh
Community partner: Worcester Islamic Center Social Services
STEM Start
Project description: A new health care career-oriented mentorship component will be added to the established STEM Start program at Worcester East Middle School, to include a health care fair and mentor panel comprising female professionals in various STEM careers.
Students: Second-year medical students Naomi Stuffers, Annie Ma and Lyle Suh
Community partners: Worcester East Middle School and Worcester Public Schools