Medical Students Form Preventive Medicine Team

University of South Alabama College of Medicine second-year medical student Jason Snider instructs a group of children at the Boys & Girls Club on Cody Road April 29, 2015. Medical students from the USA College of Medicine have formed a Preventive Medicine Team. The team's mission is to provide education and resources on medically relevant topics to the local community.

Second-year medical students at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine have formed a Preventive Medicine Team. The team reaches out to the local community by providing education about the prevention of common diseases such as hypertension, diabetes and heart disease.

USA medical student Jason Snider, a founder of the Preventive Medicine Team, said the team believes that such topics are rarely addressed with traditional education. Therefore, they educate on these topics to help the community better understand and prevent common diseases.

The team also attends local conferences, teaches lessons at USA's Student Run Clinic, and maintains an active outreach program with the local Boys & Girls Club. Topics addressed have included heart disease, hypertension, vaccinations, hygiene, effects of smoking, vitamins and exercise.

Snider says the team's most active community involvement is with the Boys and Girls Club outreach program. The team meets weekly at the local Boys & Girls Club to provide lessons to children between the ages of six and 10. There the team teaches interactive lessons on topics that can be left out of a traditional disease education. “The children are heavily involved and are encouraged to ask and answer questions,” Snider said. “Each lesson involves a teaching component along with an activity demonstrating that lesson’s concept.”

The Preventive Medicine Team is run by medical students that include a mixture of officers and volunteers.

Those active with the team are committed to continuing the community outreach. Recently, they elected officers from the first-year class to take over the Preventive Medicine Team as the second-year students transition into their third year.

Founders: Margot Fortenot, Kyoshi Scissum, Jason Snider
Co-presidents/Development: Mike Marshall and Beth Terry
Liasion to the Student Run Clinic: Amber Souers
Curriculum Head: Thomas Lunsford
Volunteer Coordinator: Yasmine Cargill
Liasion to the SGA: Kyle Duncan