Fifteen high school students are on the Gonzaga campus this week learning about the brain.
Spokane medical students from the University of Washington have given up part of their summer to inspire the next generation of medical students.
“We’re running a week long camp called Camp Neuro, and that is a way for high school students to learn about medicine, neurology and neuro-science field in general," Sara Knauft, the head counselor of Camp Neuro Spokane, said. “Throughout the week they have done a pig brain dissection, they learned how to suture, they learned how to do a basic history and physical like a doctor would do when they see a patient and they’re learning different neurologic tests.”
This year, Spokane is one of the 30 cities nationwide hosting a Camp Neuro. The camps are put on by medical students going to school in the host city.
The curriculum taught by the medical students is approved by the parent organization. Heather Johns is a camp counselor and second-year medical student.
“We have a few things we are required to do under their terms," said Johns. "But a lot of the other stuff is really just recommendations. So they give us previous camp’s itineraries and what they talked about, and then we really just build the curriculum around that.”
Many of the students are from the Spokane Area. Some have come from as far away as Washington DC. Natalya Hall, an 18-year-old senior from Eastlake High School, comes from Seattle. Hall wants to be a neuro scientist, and experiences at the camp have helped her shape goals for her future.
“I think it put me on more of a researcher’s path, rather than a doctor or a physician," said Hall. "It’s not quite fun thinking about dissecting a brain or doing a suture. And I’m more of a researcher than anything else.”
Camp Neuro Spokane wraps up Friday evening.