Health care academy campers get hands-on experience with medical helicopter

Health care academy campers get hands-on experience with medical helicopter

A medical helicopter landed on the campus quad Tuesday morning, but not because there was an actual emergency. Campers at Lipscomb’s HCA/TriStar Health Care Academy watched as the Air Evac chopper flew over the Burton Health Sciences Center and soon got to take a look inside. “They are all interested in a health or science career of some sort,” said Laura Ward, who oversees the Health Care Academy and serves as director of admissions and student affairs for the College of Pharmacy. For camper Ashley Nicholson, the summer program provided her with an experience to learn about the medical career field. “This camp will help [me] pursue [my] goal of becoming an OBGYN or cardiologist,” Nicholson said. Ever since they arrived on campus on Sunday, the 22 campers started learning about experiences in pharmacy, nursing, nutrition and exercise science. On Tuesday the campers first learned critical skills like CPR, EKG and AED, then were thrown into real-life situations where they put those new skills to use. Three journalism camp students were recruited to participate as the “victims,” portraying injured hikers for the simulation. In the scenario, the “victims” were attacked by allergen-inducing yellow jackets and had injured their necks and wrists in the process of escaping. They also attained severe lacerations and suffered from an insulin shortage due to diabetes. Each group was dedicated to treating one victim, with an instructor to help guide the group. “If there is anything that can kill him [the victim], find it and fix it in four to six minutes,” instructor April Ezell said. Out of all the camp activities, the helicopter drew the most attention around campus. The...
Pharmacy students spend summer conducting research

Pharmacy students spend summer conducting research

While it’s a quiet campus during the summer months, there is action galore in the College of Pharmacy, where students are conducting research for a variety of projects. One of the projects is studying the drug that is used to treat the genetic disorder which causes some cases of obesity. Five percent of the overweight people in the United States suffer from a genetic disorder that causes severe obesity. These people have receptors in their brain that are “broken,” causing the body to store nutrients as fat. Rising junior Georgia McCartney is a dietetics major helping with the research for this drug. “Learning about research and using my understanding of obesity has helped me see dietetics in a new way,” McCartney said. “I can understand obesity in not only terms of food, but in a person’s genetics.” McCartney said she hopes to further her career in dietetics by helping people practice healthier cooking. Students majoring in pharmacy, bio-chemistry, dietetics, pre-med and more are gaining experience to further their careers. Senior Lincoln Shade aspires to be a doctor and is working on the research for a liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry with green tea catechins. “Doing research will not only be a resume builder but a good way to gain valuable experience,” he said, adding that he even participated by drinking more green tea. Shade is one of many students conducting summer research. What was once five has grown to be over 60 students working on research projects this summer. “I want to grow the undergrad population that come into the program along with the grad students in the future,” said Scott Akers, Pharmacetical Sciences...

Lumination Newscast, Oct. 20, 2011

This week, Ariel Jones and Michael Fox fill you in on everything from the Second Harvest concert to a person from the White House being on campus. Also, Nellie Collier will give you the latest in the entertainment world, Hunter Patterson will give you a weather update and Caitlin Selle will fill you in on all the latest sports news. Please upgrade your...