Helen grew up in Ames, Iowa. She graduated from Syracuse University in 2008 with a Bachelor of Science in Child and Family Studies and worked as a Lead Teacher at an early childhood education center following graduation. She is a third year dual Medical Doctorate (MD) and Master of Public Health (MPH) student. During her year of MPH training, Helen is working as a Graduate Research Assistant for the Master of Public Health Program. Helen is enjoying learning about all areas of public health and is particularly interested in the fields of pediatrics, maternal and child health and health policy. She serves as Co-President of the Pediatrics Interest Group and as a VP for the American Medical Association-Iowa Medical Society Student Organization at the Carver College of Medicine. She has recently begun volunteering for the Mobile Clinic. Helen enjoys cooking, spin classes, listening to public radio and traveling to visit family and friends around the country. 
I’ve recently returned from my
first trip to the American Academy of Pediatrics National Conference and
Exhibition in New Orleans. For someone
interested in medicine and pediatrics this was an invaluable experience and as
a public health student I didn’t have to look hard to see the involvement of
public health topics and interventions.
On Friday about 100 conference attendees and myself went to a local
charter school managed by ReNEW schools.
We spent the afternoon touching up paintings and cleaning, performing
yard work on the garden and organizing class materials. The school was really cool and I could see that
students there were encouraged to get fresh air and exercise in addition to
learning. To the right are pictures of murals outside in the playground and below is a picture of the garden, which provides some green-space in the middle of the city. 
Another thing I thought was a great idea was that flags were hung up, in the cafeteria, from all of the colleges the teachers at the school had attended. The school specifically enrolls students who are at the highest risk for dropping out of school. These flags symbolize what my coursework refers to as social modeling. One of the schools leaders told us they do this to remind the students that they can go to college too and to keep that idea fresh in their minds.
Saturday
officially began the conference. Included in the many choices of speakers
and discussions to attend were the sessions of the PEDS 21, Pediatrics for the
21st Century Symposium Series. This is
an annual occasion, the theme of which this year was Embracing Every Child:
Combating Health Disparities in Your Practice and Community. Topics included “Childhood Health
Disparities Data and Trends,” “Improving Communications and Health Literacy
With Diverse Populations,” “Reducing Immigrant Child Health Disparities,”
and “Partnering With Community Resources
to Address Social Determinants of Health Disparities.”
In
addition to all of this, other talks summarized new data on childhood obesity and intrauterine determinants. There was
also a group viewing of The Weight of the Nation. There was even a contest for kids to send in
their drawing of a “My Healthy Lifestyle” and the winners were given their
$500.00 rewards at the opening session.
I have also come home with many more insights into the cooperative efforts between medicine and public health and a renewed confidence in our ability to tackle the challenges of the 21st century together.
In this Blog:
American Academy of Pediatrics
ReNEW Schools
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Vaccine Education Center
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