Fourth-year medical students Michael Duggan, Jonathan Liau and Ahmed Noreddin, are heavily involved in community outreach programs.
We sat down with them to talk about some of the programs they are passionate about, like Miracle League, Luke’s House, Health Schools, Habitat for Humanity and Medicine in Motion.
Jonathan shares his experience with The Miracle League, which works to remove the barriers that keep children with mental and physical disabilities off the sporting fields and lets them experience team sports like basketball, baseball, and soccer.
“You can help coach a team or partner up with a child to become their buddy,” Jonathan said.
“It is an opportunity to learn how to interact with kids with disabilities while developing deep and meaningful relationships.”
Another program that Jonathan is involved in is Luke’s House, a community clinic that provides educational services and free healthcare to the Spanish speaking community in New Orleans.
“As a volunteer medical student, you perform a complete medical history and physical exam in Spanish, provide basic health services, and communicate a plan of care with an attending physician,” Jonathan said.
“Luke’s House is currently underway to be integrated into Medicine in Society (MIS) rotation during the 4th year of the UQ-Ochsner MD program.”
Ahmed explains that Healthy Schools promotes lifestyle modifications by developing monthly newsletters for kids and parents.
“We volunteered to man tables where we teach kids about various topics like DNA and memory via interactive activities to get them interested in the STEM fields.
“Another wonderful experience was the screening of athletes at the youth Special Olympics for healthcare and developmental needs”, Ahmed said.
“We assisted with physical exams and reviewing medical history for high school athletes needing clearance for sports.
“We also organised social get together at a local brewery with networking between students and raise money for a camp that benefits children with oncological and hematological diseases,” Ahmed said.
Students also work with Habitat-Nola generally in the East Nola neighborhoods to build foundations, install flooring, and do other duties.
Michael explains that Medicine in Motion is the only current student interest group with chapters at both The University of Queensland and Ochsner Clinical School.
“The mission of Medicine in Motion is to address medical burnout by building community through fitness and philanthropy.
“We raised $2200 for Inala Wangarra in Brisbane in 2020, and more than $400 for Heart n Hands in 2021 and 2022,” Michael said.