School Health Interdisciplinary Program (SHIP)
Residents serve as Team Leaders for longitudinal, school-based projects. Each resident is assigned to an elementary, middle or high school. Starting in fall 2009, the resident, along with a group of students from various health-related disciplines, will conduct an assessment of his or her school's learning/service needs. The resident and students will then develop and implement a project that helps meet these needs. These projects will become permanently established in the schools. Each year, additional residents (as well as health science students) will rotate in to participate in the school program, adapt it as needed, and direct the students who are involved.
Sample projects include: teaching science in an interactive and engaging way; teaching about health promotion and disease prevention; and providing screening services (e.g., dental, blood pressure, nutritional status) for students and families.
Longitudinal school-based projects allow residents to convey (and thus integrate) their knowledge in new ways, to teach in a simple and clear manner, to relate more comfortably with children and youth outside the hospital setting and to recognize the impact of the social and economic environment on children's health and learning. Residents learn management and leadership skills, engage in team and community (rather than individual) learning and participate in continuous quality improvement.
- Objectives
- Resources
- Sample projects
- Evaluating Your Community Based Program
This type of project is critical for public schools in order to increase students' skills in, interest in and awareness of science/health topics and careers. Such knowledge will increase students' future earning capacity, will increase the number of students from diverse backgrounds in science and health careers, and ultimately will help reduce disparities in health outcomes. In the short run, direct improvement in students' and families health status may also be realized. Residents and health science students also provide valuable role models for public school students and help youth feel that they, too, can become successful professionals.
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