26 Native American Students Participate in CAIMH Summer Programs

The programs are part of CAIMH's Indian Health Pathway which starts working with Native American students as early as grade school to interest them in science and math and eventually in healthcare careers.

In addition to High School Superstars and Native Americans into Medicine, this year CAIMH introduced a unique program, the Journey Garden Program which taught students science through gardening.

Journey Garden:
Eight American Indian 9th and 10th grade students are learning about science and medicine by gardening.  Taught by American Indian medical student Melvina Bissonette, incoming medical student Nick Austin, alumnus Shannon Wesley, M.D. and Francois Medion, The Journey Garden Program teaches the students how to plant and care for a garden and integrates health related topics such as nutrition and food science, American Indian medicinal plants, and careers in the health professions.  Students also conducted an experiment with earthworms. The class was held at the Fond du Lac Ojibwe School in Cloquet.  Pictured: Journey Garden students work with Francois Medion, a master gardener, at the Fond du Lac Ojibwe School.

High School Superstars:
Sixteen American Indian 11th and 12th grade students participated in CAIMH'S High School Superstar program, an enriched curriculum for academic and pre-professional development for the health professions.  Activities were designed to help students define their goals for the health professions and sharpen their academic skills.  Hands-on learning activities gave participants the opportunity to apply research techniques to gain a better understanding of health problems.  Using medical case studies, students experienced how a doctor assesses a patient's symptoms and makes diagnoses.  One of the new sessions this year was mind mapping, a technique that helps students analyze and problem solve and learn and remember information.

Native Americans into Medicine: 
Two Native American college students participated in CAIMH's Native Americans into Medicine (NAM) program.

NAM participants explore and prepare for careers in the health professions.  Hands-on activities, tours, and discussions include topics on traditional medicine, American Indian case studies, and health disparities in Native American populations.  Students participated in physical diagnosis workshops and received assistance with academic planning and MCAT preparation.  This year participants spent their first two weeks on the medical school's Duluth campus and the remaining four weeks involved online assignments and discussions.

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