Throughout the fall semester, many students from OUWB gained hands-on medical skills for the first time at Corewell Health William Beaumont University Hospital (WBUH) in Royal Oak and Corewell Health Beaumont Troy Hospital.
The experiences came through clinical skills nights that aim to bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and real clinical practice, said Reem Fawaz, M2, vice president, Pediatric Interest Group (PIG).
“Early clinical exposure can be intimidating, especially since not every student comes into medical school with significant clinical experience,” she said. “These events allow students to work on these tangible skills in a low-stakes environment while working in teams with their peers and the residents and attendings.”
Here’s a brief overview of each of the three skills night events.
PIG Skills Night
At the PIG Skills Night OUWB students learned how to successfully perform various procedures, including intubation, catheterization, laceration repair, suturing, placement of an intraosseous line, lumbar puncture, and more — essential procedural techniques for patient care.
Physicians and residents, such as Ahmed Ali, M.D., OUWB ’24, generously volunteered their time to teach students these important foundational skills in the Marcia & Eugene Applebaum Simulation Learning Institute (SLI) at Corewell Health William Beaumont University Hospital (WBUH). As students rotated from one station to the next, they learned more about specific interests and challenges that lie within the scope of pediatrics.
Andrew Vaniddekinge, M2, president, PIG, quickly latched onto the specialty as an M1. He reminisced about the first time he participated in a PIG Skills Night.
“Getting in the hospital, meeting residents, and doing things with your hands … rejuvenated me. It just gave me an energy boost and reminded me of why I'm working so hard,” said Vaniddekinge.
After finishing the third station, Lauren DeSantis, M2, spoke to the importance that skills nights bear.
“At this point in medical school, we spend a lot of time in the books studying and learning all these various conditions, but we haven't had a ton of hands-on experience yet,” said DeSantis. “That is why it is nice to attend events like this. We are doing procedures as we would like in the future.”
Derm Skills Night
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| Students practiced punch biopsies, shave biopsies, cryotherapy, and more. They trained using oranges. |
The Derm Skills Night at Corewell Troy was hosted by the Dermatology Interest Group (DIG) and Family Medicine Interest Group (FMIG). Students practiced punch biopsies, shave biopsies, cryotherapy, and more. They trained using oranges.
Janee Hitaj, M2, president, DIG, said a primary reason for the session was to help students understand the frequent overlap between dermatology and family medicine.
The other is to simply provide students in their preclinical years, exposure to some of the basic procedures they will soon see as third- and fourth-year medical students.
“We’ll see skin cancer almost every day when we rotate, so getting this exposure as soon as possible is important,” she added.
OGIG Skills Night
The organizers of the OB-GYN Interest Group (OGIG) Skills Night set up stations for practicing C-section suturing, ultrasound, pelvic exams, uterine aspiration/abortion care, contraception administration, and more.
Also held in the WBUH Applebaum Institute, faculty and residents guided the conversation on obstetrics and gynecology while demonstrating skills that are crucial to the field. Kurt Wharton, M.D., professor, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, demonstrated how to use a manual vacuum aspiration when cleaning the uterus for instances such as miscarriage.
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| At the OGIG Skills Night students practiced C-section suturing, ultrasound, pelvic exams, uterine aspiration/abortion care, contraception administration, and more. |
“Throughout my medical journey, I had a lot of people who were kind and patient, went out of their way to guide me, and offer advice and criticism. I feel like I need to pay it all back, because otherwise I wouldn't be where I am today,” said Wharton.
Anna Vanderlaan, M2, shared the value she finds in these events.
“I like that OUWB offers skill sessions like this that give us materials to practice, because it's valuable time to discuss the future with residents and clinicians, and to practice real-life skills. That way, when we get to the clinical rotations, we know what we really want and feel confident,” said Vanderlaan.
Claire Baguley, M3, led a discussion about educating patients on contraception. As a clinical skills coordinator for the interest group last year, her interest in women’s health grew. Stepping up to teach her peers, she knew the takeaways would be important no matter what path students take in medicine.
“Whether or not they're going to do OB-GYN or focus on women's health in the future, half of their patients will probably be women. Knowing what things to look for, what medications patients might be taking, and things like that are important to understand,” said Baguley.
Betty Judah, M2, president, OGIG, felt inspired by past skills nights, motivating her to host future ones.
“Our predecessors in the upperclassmen before us held a really good event, and it was also what piqued a lot of our interests in the field. And so, we were inspired to also participate in a way that could be passed on to the next class as well,” said Judah.
For more information, contact Andrew Dietderich, senior marketing specialist, OUWB, at [email protected].
To request an interview, visit the OUWB Communications & Marketing webpage.
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