Student Internships: Mutual Benefits in Osteoporosis Health Care and Research
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0092-8615i97 Copyright Q 1997 Drug Information Association Inc.
STUDENT INTERNSHIPS: MUTUAL BENEFITS IN OSTEOPOROSIS HEALTH CARE AND RESEARCH ALBERTJ. GIOVENELLA, PHD Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Executive Health Science Associate, Merck Human Health Division, Phoenixville, Pennsylvania
SUSANM. REPMANN Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations, West Chester University, West Chester, Pennsylvania
JOHN
A.
ABRUZZO,MD
Medical Director, Jefferson Osteoporosis Prevention and Treatment Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Health care professionals and teachers speak of targeting a younger population (children and adolescents) in the need for education about building bone health. West Chester University has one of the largest and most sophisticated Schools of Health and Kinesiology (Physical Education) and is developing students who will be future health teachers throughout America. Very often, graduating students have a dificult time in securing a first job because of a lack of related work experience after having to devote their past four years to studies. It would be a great asset if the future health teachers and health professionals could enjoy experience in the areas related to bone health in the form of internships during their course work. A well-planned, well-supervised internship program employing health and kinesiology majors, premedical students, and science majors will allow these students to receive course credit while obtaining first-hand experience with community health care professionals in the care of patients with metabolic bone diseases. The host osteoporosis center; women S health center; Dual Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry (DEXA) center; or research institution will benefit from extra help in patient attention or increase its research output. This will be especially important as a new concentration of osteoporosis education in addition to an increased incidence of the disease place significant stress on the personnel at these centers. Moreover; there is an opportunity to build research and education partnerships between industry, academia, and the bone care centers. The by-product of such relationships would be “real world” educational experiences to enrich the lives of students who are likely to be tomorrow’s teachers. Key Words: Osteoporosis; Youth; Teachers; Internships
INTRODUCTION THROUGHOUT THE CONFERENCE, speakers have agreed that health care profesPresented at the DIA Workshop “Curriculum Development in Osteoporosis,” March 11-12, 19%. San Francisco, California. Reprint address: Albert Giovenella, PhD, Merck Human Health Division, 786 Pickering Lane, Phoenixville, PA 194W2552.
sionals and teachers must start teaching about osteoporosis and about bone health to young people at as early an age as possible. For example, when students memorize the names of the bones of the body, they could be taught about the optimal care of the skeleton at that time also-incorporating some new knowledge! This means comprehensivel
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