Members from Westview’s chapter of Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) attended a workshop held by the American Pacific Health Foundation, learning essential skills to be a medical volunteer, Nov. 1. 

HOSA Meeting Coordinator Micah Nguyen (11) said the foundation made an interesting and engaging event that he enjoyed.

“It was a very fun and informative opportunity. We got hands-on experience and got to collaborate with students with similar passions,” Nguyen said.

The San Diego based foundation grants free health screenings and outreach programs to educate people and inspire medical volunteer work, starting with high school students. HOSA is a medical club at Westview that brings together students with the global health community. Vice President Amogh Sharma (11) said that the club tries to encourage learning and connection.

“[As a club], we try to get HOSA involved with presentations of similar health topics and sometimes hands-on activities, building models, or making cards for people in the hospital.” Sharma said.

HOSA wasn’t the only club attending; others from different health clubs attended, as well as from other schools, reaching many students around San Diego. 

“The Red Cross Club was there, as well as HOSA, and many other clubs and organizations from other schools in the area,” Sharma said. “They were able to teach a big group of people which was exciting to see.”“We went to UCSD, in a grad school classroom,” Nguyen said, “Each station was something different, like teaching us how to take blood pressure and [measure] blood sugar.” 

Vice President Amogh Sharma (11) said that they were able to learn and practice the different parts of a medical checkup through the nonprofit, going to different stations based on different practices. 

“We went through the process for each of their patients,” Sharma said. “One station was giving out this pamphlet that shows medical history and things to screen for, and then the patients take that over to the next few stations. It was like a check-up that you get at a doctor’s appointment, where they check your weight, blood pressure, and height. Then, you go to the station for what you’re screening for. The main thing they taught us was to be careful of Hepatitis B and C because its very prevalent, and how to screen for that. They take their blood, put it in a centrifuge and spin it around in the lab.”

Sharma said that the students learned skills that don’t require a degree or medical school certification to perform. In the future,  they can utilize these skills by working with the Foundation or other similar volunteer organizations.

“They were teaching us what it’s like to be a medical volunteer and what they do, not necessarily like what a doctor does or a nurse,” Sharma said. “It was more about how to volunteer for their nonprofits.” According to Nguyen, the event allowed students to learn about common health practices in a low-pressure environment.

“When you think about becoming a doctor, it can be a little intense and scary to hear because of the expectations and schooling needed,” Nguyen said. “But this was more of something that anyone can do. Any volunteer could help out.

Nguyen said that they were able to learn more about how to prevent health problems. “They showed us the different procedures they do, and had a lecture about Hepatitis B and C and [their] preventability,” Nguyen said. “For hepatitis B, there’s no cure yet. The whole screening process shows precautions to prevent it, because in the earlier stages, you can mitigate it and it won’t be as bad, and C is curable and preventable.”

Nguyen said that the clinic was motivating for him.

“The experience was very engaging and motivated us to looking for more opportunities to participate in activities outside of Westview,” Nguyen said.