Teens get hands-on introduction to health and science careers at annual expo

Visiting students learned about a career as a physician assistant by trying their hand at suturing a mock wound

More than 1,500 college and high school students from throughout South Texas learned how to intubate manikins, start an intravenous (IV) line, immobilize a patient as paramedics do, administer visual acuity and respiratory function tests and much more at the 2011 Health Professions Fair & Science Expo held this past fall on the UT Health Science Center San Antonio campus. Through these hands-on experiences, students were exposed to a wide range of health-related and biomedical professions. “I thought it was a great way to expose a lot of students at once to everything the Health Science Center offers,” said Irene Chapa, Ph.D., director of the Office of Recruitment and Science Outreach. “It was also a great opportunity for our Health Science Center students to really put their knowledge into practice by teaching.” Faculty and students from all six schools at the Health Science Center participated.