Duke Medical School Student Volunteers to Teach Durham Public School Health Classes

Duke University Medical Center
Thursday, 4 May 2000

Maybe it's their youth, or maybe it's because they're not viewed as traditional "authority figures," but for whatever reason, students from Duke's School of Medicine have connected with high schoolers taking the required health classes at the Durham School of the Arts.

More than 30 Duke medical students have taken time from their hectic schedules of course work, labs and seeing patients to volunteer at this magnet program for ninth through 12th graders. As it turns out, the Duke students are learning how to connect with teenagers and in so doing, are getting a lot out of the experience as well.

"I observed a class and watched as young men and women worked with a class of ninth and 10th graders discussing drugs and how different drugs effect the body," said school principal Ed Forsythe. "The kids were on the edge of their chairs. You could hear a pin drop. It's obvious the Duke students come very well prepared for each lesson, and I think our students respect and respond to that."

Once a week, a team of three to four Duke medical students teaches the health class on topics ranging from substance abuse, sexuality, sexually transmitted diseases, conflict resolution, sexual orientation, racism and violence. The teams use prepared lesson plans, role-playing games and other group activities developed by Dr. Terrill Bravender, head of Duke's adolescent medicine program and faculty sponsor of the program.

"A group of medical students came to me last year with a desire to do meaningful work in the community," Bravender said. "So together, we took a program I had developed in Boston while at Harvard and modified it for use here in Durham. The response from students, administrators and parents has been very positive so far.

"I've been very impressed with the level of dedication of the medical students and their desire to try to make a difference in the community," Bravender added. "This enthusiasm extends from the first-year medical students to the fourth-year students."

The program is referred to as HEY (Health, Education and Youth) Durham, and both Duke and Durham school officials hope that the program can eventually be expanded to include more medical students and more Durham public schools next year.

During a typical class, while the Duke students are inside the classroom, the school's regular health teacher is close by in the hallway in case they are needed. So far, all has gone smoothly.

For Forsythe, the Duke students are a welcome addition that enhances the traditional health curriculum.

"We have a very competent group of health teachers here," he said. "For some topics, however, it brings the subject matter closer to the students' level to see young men and women who are just a little bit older, but who have done their studies. It almost feels like a conversation among peers instead of teaching."

Satish Gopal, a Duke medical student, believes that the closeness in age is a important factor in how well they have been received by the high school students.

"We want to be able to teach them about important health issues, but we don't want to be seen as 'health teachers'," he said. "We want the students to be comfortable and act like they would around their friends. Most of us remember vividly being in high school - it wasn't that long ago. In a lot of areas - music, pop culture - we can still relate to them."

Out of this experience, Gopal, a third-year medical student, is writing a research paper that will help him earn a master's degree in public health. His goal is to determine whether or not programs like HEY Durham have any effect on subsequent behavior of high school students. For Gopal, the experience is also important to a well-rounded medical education.

"Working with adolescents is something we don't get a lot of experience with in our regular medical rotations," Gopal said. "During pediatric rotations, you tend to see sick younger kids, and not many adolescents. Now, I'm getting more comfortable with this group - it's been really invaluable for me."

For Kristine Johnson, another third-year medical student, the experience has also been an important learning experience.

"I've gotten a better sense of how to generate connections with adolescents," Johnson said. "I'm learning ways of talking to them about different diseases or issues without being intimidating. We are dealing with people who are making important decisions that will affect their future - maybe I can help impact their decisions in a positive way."

For those students who may not feel comfortable asking a question or voicing a concern in public, there is a box in the classroom where questions can be dropped off anonymously. The questions are then researched by the medical students and answered in next week's class.

This is the first time that medical school students have been this involved at the Durham school, and Forsythe hopes that the program will continue in the future.

For more information, or to contact Duke University Medical Center, see their website at: www.mc.duke.edu