BU Grad Students Serve Rural Communities
Bluefield University students in the Master of Arts in Biomedical Sciences (MABS) program are volunteering their time to serve healthcare facilities, schools and service organizations in southwest Virginia and southern West Virginia as part of their field seminar in the MABS program.
The Master of Arts in Biomedical Sciences (MABS) program is a graduate-level program delivered in partnership with the Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM). Currently, the program has 90 students. Dr. Emily Lambert, professor and dean of the BU College of Sciences and Health Sciences, teaches genetics, microbiology, molecular cell biology, and immunology in the undergraduate biology program, as well as some courses in the MABS program, including field seminars, which are a requirement in the MAB’s curriculum.
“This course is designed to promote altruism and empathy, as these are personal characteristics of the type of graduate that Bluefield University and VCOM desire to produce,” Dr. Lambert said. “The experiences are designed to expose students to situations and populations where student knowledge and skills can be used to aid others in less fortunate circumstances.”
As part of the field seminars, the students are serving these less fortunate communities by teaching health modules to elementary students that cover a range of topics, including drugs, alcohol, tobacco use, vaping, personal and oral hygiene, fire safety, nutrition and exercise, emotional regulations and respect, good touch/bad touch, bullying, and social media etiquette.
Among the schools and healthcare facilities they are serving: Spanishburg Elementary, Lashmeet-Matoaka Elementary, Stonerise Transitional Living, Bluefield Primary, Carillion Tazewell Community Hospital, Brushfork Elementary, Bluefield Intermediate, Mercer Elementary, Princeton Primary, Melrose Elementary, Princeton Community Hospital (virtual later in March), New River Valley Recovery Center, and Carilion Giles Community Hospital.
“The students performed very well,” Dr. Lambert said. “The program is an eye-opening experience for many of them. Although some are from similar rural communities, others are not. Some students find it hard to comprehend that those in rural Appalachia cannot provide basic needs for themselves and their families.”
Dr. Lambert spoke about the value of the service the students are providing to these communities, noting that access to readily available, quality healthcare is often difficult in rural Southwest Virginia and southern West Virginia. But as much as the students are giving, they are getting back.
“They walk away from the experience having a better idea of what it will mean to be a healthcare provider in these communities,” Dr. Lambert said, “and they grow as servant leaders who want to empower their patients to take responsibility, to have and play an active role in their career.”
In addition to volunteering at healthcare facilities and schools, some of the students volunteered at Feeding Southwest Virginia in Salem.
“(There), they learned about food insecurity and worked to provide donated materials to those in need,” Dr. Lambert said. “Students also visited healthcare facilities in the area to learn some of the pros and cons of that field, especially in a rural Appalachian setting.”
Dr. Lambert said the MABS students will be participating in a poster presentation day for their Health Policy course in April at the Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM) in Blacksburg.