Two OUWB students recently provided in-person first-aid training to a local school district offering popular summer camps for more than 800 metro Detroit youth.
Rising M4 Lucas Nelson and M3 Amy Halder provided the training last week to counselors for the camps operated by Bloomfield Hills Schools.
The district offers camps for youth, starting at age 3, at the Bowers School Farm and Johnson Nature Center. According to the website, the camps were full by mid-March.
To prepare counselors for the surge of campers, Halder said she and Nelson drew on their medical school education and experience as the founders of OUWB’s First Aid First program (a chapter of Wayne State University School of Medicine’s First Aid First).
“It felt great to be out there engaging with the community,” said Halder.
“We had an opportunity to present valuable information to an engaged group of camp counselors and it was wonderful to communicate health information in a non-clinical setting.”
Halder said the overall goal was to elucidate rapid response to common situations including: allergies; minor bumps, cuts, scrapes; heat-related issues such as dehydration, heat cramps, and possible heat stroke; low blood sugar; and emotional health basics.
The counselors were very engaged and receptive of the training provided by Halder and Nelson.
“They really did ask very astute questions and were able to directly apply a lot of the concepts we discussed to the nuances of running a day camp,” said Nelson.
In just one example, a counselor asked how to differentiate the nuances between an allergic reaction shortness of breath versus a heat stroke shortness of breath. Another counselor asked about how dosages of epinephrine (via EpiPen) vary between children and adults.
“The counselors really cared about the well-being of the kids they're going to be with this summer and we were happy to play a small role in providing them with some tools to address common health concerns,” said Halder.
Nelson added that he believes the session was more valuable because it was held in person.
“One thing you lose in a virtual setting are the side-conversations and anecdotes that participants often don’t feel are important enough to share with the entire group but in reality, contribute meaningful ideas to the discussion,” he said. “Question-and-answer sessions are also able to flow much more naturally in an in-person setting.”
For more information, contact Andrew Dietderich, marketing writer, OUWB, at [email protected].
To request an interview, visit the OUWB Communications & Marketing webpage.
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