Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 30, Number 3, 1 March 2013 — Hawaiian students show flair for health careers [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Hawaiian students show flair for health careers

By Greg Kashigi The next time she feels thirsty, O'ahu 10th grader Tiana Wong says she likely won't drop coins into a soda maehine. She'll opt for water instead. Wong is changing her ways after a visit to the "pono lifestyle station" at Teen Health Camp Hawai'i. "Can you imagine that one soda has so mueh sugar?" she asked after seeing a heahh educator demonstrate that a single soda ean contains the equivalent of 22 sugar packets. "That made me think twice about putting bad things into my body," Wong said. Nearly 100 middle and high school students made interesting heahh and wellness discoveries at the one-day event last month on the University of Hawai'i-West O'ahu campus. Teen Heahh Camp Hawai'i, whieh will be held again on April 27 on Kaua'i, is sponsored by Nā Pua No'eau, the Center for Gifted and Talented Native Hawaiian Children in partnership with

UH-Mānoa's Heahh Careers Opportunities Program and the UH John A. Bums School of Medicine's Area Heahh Education Center. The eamp is designed to introduce Native Hawaiian youngsters in grades 7 through 12 to opportunities in a wide assortment of health-care careers, ranging from conventional bedside nursing to less-er-known occupations such as medical social worker. The eamp offers workshops and skill demonstrations run by volunteers who are loeal health-care professionals and UH medical and nursing students. Teen participants at the West O'ahu eamp spent the day

learning everything from daily duties of emergency medical technicians to the benefits of improving personal health-care habits. "We want to reach out to Native Hawaiian youngsters and let them know that a rewarding future in heahhcare professionals awaits them," said UH med student and Teen Heahh Camp co-founder Brandyn Dunn, adding that the eamp also addresses Hawai'i's work-force shortage in heahh care. The shortage has been identified in the state's Workforce Development Plan. "This especially affects most Native Hawaiian eommunities. We not only need more providers, we need them to be from the communities they serve," Dunn said, adding that the latest research shows that the quality of heahh care is enhanced by providers who understand the cultural attitudes of their patients. At the UH-West O'ahu eamp, representatives of loeal organizations handed out brochures and dispensed advice on how to pursue training for more than 20 health-care careers. "We want to empower our students and give them all the necessary tools to make the right choices for themselves so that they ean further develop as Native Hawaiian leaders," said Nā Pua No 'eau

Dr. Damien Tavares, right, insTrucTed Native Hawaiian student Aidan McCann on how to properly apply casting material. Dr. Tavares is a graduate of Wai'anae High School and the University of Hawai'i John A. Burns School of Medieine. - Courtesy: Hā Pua Ho'eau staff member Kaleo Manuel. The more than 50 health-care volunteers at the eamp included Native Hawaiians from Ke Ola Mamo and from departments and organizations at the University of Hawai'i, including the schools of medicine and nursing, the Pre-Med Association, the Heahh XI HEALĪH CAREERS ON PAGE 12

Teen Health Camp Hawai'i A health eamp forteens will be held on Kaua'i on April 27. For information and registration, contact the Kaua'i office of Nā Pua No'eau at 245-8387 or email maliac@hawaii.edu. Deadline to register is April 13.

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Promotion Program, the Native Hawaiian Student Pathway to Medicine Program, and the Heahh Careers Opportunities Program within the UH Office of Student Equity, Excellence and Diversity. The volunteers led hands-on activities that attracted wide-eyed teen curiosity. One of the big hits was "Stitch It Up," whieh put surgical instruments in attendees' hands with detailed instructions on how to suture abrasions on a simulated human arm. There was also "CASTing Call," that enabled participants to apply and remove the material used on victims of broken bones in actual emergency rooms. Another popular station was "Ola Pono," whieh spotlighted Hawaiian healing traditions. While leading activities, several eamp volunteers also took the opportunity to urge teens to aim high for professional success in health care. Nā Pua No'eau's Kaleo Manual praised the volunteers for setting a good example for the young participants. "Our Native Hawaiian youngsters need the motivation from mentors who ean say, 'I was onee in your shoes and as difficult as it was, I was able to move ahead and uphold a kuleana for the good of myself and my 'ohana and

my community," he said. Another purpose of the West O'ahu Teen Heahh Camp - to be held for the first time on Kaua'i in April - was to recruit eligible high school student for a health-career mentorship program that will be run by first-year medical students from the University of Hawai'i. Similar to the eamp, the mentorship program aims to promote diversity in the health-care field. Experts say that diversity, known also as cultural competency in the health-care workforce, is integral to eliminating health-care disparities, such as the disproportionately high burden of chronic diseases affecting Native Hawaiians. The belief is that physicians and others in health-care delivery need sensitivity toward diverse patient populations to understand and improve culturally influenced heahh behaviors. Meanwhile, for Kasey Nunies, who attended the UH-West O'ahu Teen Heahh Camp, the dream of someday going to medical school is one step closer to reality. "I've been thinking about heeoming a doctor, but coming to this event and learning how to suture and make a cast has pushed me further towards my goal, and I know I will make h," she said. ■ Greg Kashigi is the O'ahu site coordinator for Nā Pua No'eau, whieh is supported by OHA.