Cancer science is everywhere!
Originally Published December 3, 2019
Wonderkids students were immersed in medical-themed subjects this semester. The four units for this semester were orthopedics, pulmonology, audiology, and emergency services. This curriculum was primarily written by Surbhi Bansil and Dieuwertje Kast. The emergency services lessons were written by Nour Abdel-Azim. The curriculum development and supplies were funded by the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center through the efforts of Dr. Martin Kast.
Orthopedics
Students learned about bones in the body, fractures, bone cancer, splints and fixing broken bones and surgical fixes for broken bones. For their fractured bones, students had to engineer and design fixes to their bones to see how they themselves would repair the damage in parallel to how an orthopedic surgeon would.
Pulmonology
Wonderkids students learned about lung anatomy, built lung models out of balloons and 2L bottles, listened to lung sounds in their human body boxes including lung cancer and bronchitis and had to use a stethoscope to diagnose the patient, and placed tracheotomy tubes into stuffed animals. They also “resected” tumors in lung anatomy models using make-shift resection tools.
Thanks to funding from USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center for funding this pulmonology unit and because of their support, these students were able to talk to a real-life doctor Dr. Crystal Marconett who discussed lung cancer at Vermont Avenue Elementary.
Audiology
Students learned all about ear anatomy with 3D printed cookie cutters in the shape of the internal ear structure and pressing them into playdoh. They then labeled the various components with mailing labels and toothpicks. After learning about how the ear is structured, they inserted a play-doh tumor into the ear anatomy. They then acted as surgeons by using a metal grabbed to “resect” the tumors out of the ear anatomy setup. They also learned how sound travels through the ear. The speaker for audiology was Dr. John Oghalai (Department Chair of Otolaryngology- Head and Neck Surgery of the USC Keck School of Medicine), his resident Dr. Buavishya Clark, and an acoustic neuroma cancer survivor named Jennifer Kelley. Ear anatomy models used for Audiology was donated by Carolina Biological Supply Company.
Emergency Services
In the emergency services unit students learn about the different professions in emergency medicine and how they work together to keep people alive. They also learn what to do in case cancer symptoms become emergent. They learn practical skills that are used in all health care settings such as taking vital signs, and they learn how to conduct patient triage to prioritize patients who need more urgent medical attention. By the end of the unit they should have a basic understanding of when emergency services are needed and how people are assessed in those situations. The speakers were students from USC’s Emergency Medical Services of USC group specifically: Caroline Rosanky & Priyanka Dave at Vermont Elementary and Audrey Lam at 32nd St. They were their EMT uniforms and brought their gear bags to their speaking engagements and taught students important basic medical procedures in the fields of emergency medicine. The Emergency Medical Services of the University of Southern California (EMSC) is a student organization consisting of student EMTs that seeks to provide accessible pre-hospital care to Trojans and the USC community. We strive to augment the current emergency health care options at the University and create an opportunity for students to gain first-hand medical experience, serve their community, and develop critical leadership skills. EMSC is staffed completely by student EMTs both at the undergraduate and graduate level.