On Wednesday, October 21, the Health Professions Club, partnered with Alliance High School and Box Butte General Hospital, attended the Health Professions Symposium at Chadron State College. Leaving bright and early at 6:30 A.M., the club trekked through rainy weather and arrived at the college early. After registering, we sat in the ballroom and waited for the Health Sciences Director, Kristal Kuhnel, to begin the symposium. Health Professions clubs from all around the panhandle were separated into groups to begin one of three activities. My first activity was an advisory group, where we were given information on opportunities such as RHOP (Rural Health Opportunities Program), PHEAST (Public Health Early Admissions Student Track), and were told about what Chadron State College’s health sciences department has to offer.

My second activity was the cadaver lab, my personal favorite! We had the opportunity to talk to anatomy and physiology mentors and ask them questions about their studies and how they have liked matriculating at Chadron State College thus far. Chadron gains access to four cadavers every year in August. Students are not given the cause of death or name of the cadaver. Our group was allowed to touch the cadavers (with gloves, of course) and we were shown the various organs they have preserved in jars, including the cross section of a head. One of the cadavers had a tumor the size of a grape on their kidney. This gross anatomy lab was so incredible and it made me even more excited to continue my anatomy education down the road.

My group’s final activity was a room full of things such as banana sutures, stethoscopes, blood pressure and ear exams. Nursing students from Chadron State and   the University of Kearney showed us how to use a scalpel, hemostat, and suture to heal a self inflicted wound on a banana. We were also able to inject an orange with medication and give each other ear exams.

To close out the day, we were placed back in the ballroom for a student panel composed of three pre-medical students and one pre-dentistry student. They told us about their sleeping and study habits, RHOP, and what they do when they find themselves unoccupied. Hearing what the student’s lifestyle is like gave us an insight into what the program entails and the strains and expectations of a student about to enter the medical field.