The bike trek is a fundraiser for the local AIDS facility of your choice. To start, select a course, a date, and a time. The bike trek should offer multiple distances (i.e., 30 miles and 60 miles) in order to accommodate participants who are less expert riders. Each rider needs to pledge a minimum of $100. To help defray your expenses charge a $15 registration fee.
Publicity and corporate sponsorship are essential. Local businesses can also assist. For example, ask one of your community's restaurants to supply the riders with their post-trek meal. As the event takes place on a public road, you must purchase insurance. In addition, you will also need to check with local authorities to get the necessary permits. Finally, do not forget T-shirts for riders and volunteers, they will appreciate the recognition and advertise the event for the next time it is held.
This program is a lot of work but keep in mind an efficiently run program with 100 participants can raise $8,000 to $9,000 for this AIDS benefit.
This program brings home the risks of HIV infection for the practicing physician. You can achieve maximum impact by having a physician who contracted HIV from a needlestick address your group. Although the risk is statistically small, the presentation will increase awareness of this problem in many clinical settings.
Dr. Patricia Wetzel of Fort Worth, TX is an HIV positive physician who travels the country speaking on this issue. Other speakers and materials are available through the AMA Physician's Health Foundation.
You should follow up on the interest this program will generate by scheduling a needlestick procedures clinic the following day. The clinic can be taught by a nurse practitioner or other appropriate professional at your school. As strict adherence to and understanding of these protocols is critical to your safety, practice beyond that in the curriculum is warranted. An excellent handout for your program is the AMA-MSS Advisory Panel paper, "Occupational Exposure to Body Fluids" (copies available by calling the DMSS).
Junior high school students are the focus of this AIDS community education project. Training sessions need to be scheduled for medical students so they can become comfortable with the material and how to present it. Once you develop a small pool of trained student presenters, it is necessary to make formal contact with the your local school district. Given the highly personal nature of AIDS epidemiology, you should work with the school district to develop a contact form which teachers can use to guide you in determining how explicit your remarks should be. Your contact form also needs to include the following:
Number of students you will address. Length of the presentation and available slots. Grade level of the class. Name, title and phone number of your teacher/contact. Address and directions for the school.
You can now assign pairs of trained medical students to a classroom (usually 25-35 students). The AIDS epidemic and how to prevent infection can be comprehensively taught in two sessions of one and a half hours each. If you are allowed less time, truncate accordingly.
You can vary your program by including a video presentation and by using teaching props appropriate for this age group. Videos and handouts are available from a variety of sources, such the American Red Cross's AIDS Education Office. Any presentation should address the following topics:
The biology of AIDS - the definitions and epidemiology, and an explanation of basic immunology. Treatments available for some opportunistic infections.
Preventive measures and allaying popular misconceptions. Detail given should vary with the exact age of the children, especially with regard to specific sexual practices.
An experienced AIDS educator should be available through your faculty or in your community to train the medical student volunteers. Recommendations and materials, AIDS: Medical Students Respond, are also available directly from the DMSS. Once you get started, students who have taught before in the program can assist in orienting new presenters.
Evaluations need to be comprehensive. Audience knowledge of AIDS and related issues will be tested before and after the presentations. Finally, a questionnaire needs to be mailed to the teachers and the principals for feedback on the program.
In this program groups of medical students to go into local high schools to provide health education about HIV infection. You can start by contacting the school board in your area to determine if your presentation fits with existing health or human biology curriculum requirements or if you can present to those with parental permission to receive sexuality education. In seeking an invitation to speak on AIDS, always be sensitive to the topic's nature.
You can also initiate your AIDS education program by building on an existing relationship with students at a local school. On way to do this is by tutoring on a regular basis. You will become familiar with the students and establish your credibility with both the students and their teachers. As a medical student, you should eventually be invited to speak on some health care topic and AIDS is a logical choice.
The presentation works well with groups of 8 to 20 high school students and should cover the following points:
You should remember to prepare a handout which summarizes the core of your presentation. The presentation can be done in 45 minutes to an hour. The presenting group should designate one student as group leader to:
Assure the teacher is contacted to verify the date and time. Make travel arrangements and obtain directions to the school. Lead the presentation.
If educational materials are not available to you locally, you can obtain them from the DMSS or the CDC's National AIDS Information Clearing House.
Target Audience: High school students.
Participating Groups: The AMA-MSS chapter.
Budget: Approximately $200 to cover reproduction of flyers and handouts and travel and meal costs for participating medical students.
Funding Sources: AMA-MSS Policy Promotion Grant.
School: University of California at Los Angeles/Riverside Biomedical Sciences Program Riverside, CA
University of South Carolina School of Medicine Columbia, SC