AMITA Health Annual iBody Seminar Offers More Than Dissection
(Hinsdale, IL) - Rebekah Tanurdzic, 19, knows students like some parts of AMITA Health Adventist Medical Center Hinsdale's iBody interactive seminar more than others.
"Most campers will say either the dissections or seeing surgeries are their favorite parts," Tanurdzic said. She attended the seminar this June, and plans to attend Walla Walla University in Washington this fall. "It is such a blessing to be able to witness doctors changing lives, nurses healing sick patients, learning how your body works, and working with amazing equipment and staff."
The 9th annual offering of the immensely popular nine-day seminar was chock full of opportunity for high school and college students (participants must be at least 16) to learn about the human body and the changing field of medicine.
Some of the highlights included:
• Learning from nursing specialists in oncology, intensive care, neonatal intensive care and surgery,
• Observing a total knee replacement, coronary artery bypass and other surgeries through a live video feed,
• Dissecting a bovine heart and other bovine organs,
• Hearing from physicians, nurses, therapists and staff in a variety of specialties and settings, including cardiovascular surgery, emergency medicine, family medicine and orthopedics.
"The enthusiasm for this seminar is more evident than ever," said Katie Weibel, seminar director and executive director of nursing professional practice. "This year we had several college students attend. Among our counselors were two medical students and a pre-med student who returned to help after attending the seminar in the past."
The forerunner to the iBody seminar was first offered in 1995 at the Robert Crown Health Education Center in Hinsdale, where it is still a part of the curriculum. An expanded version was first offered in 2009 at AMITA Health Hinsdale.
This year, campers also met in small groups to tackle the topics like diagnosis of ADHD, diagnoses among babies born prematurely, Alzheimer's and dementia, organ transplants, bio-terrorism, cancer myths, vaccinations, prosthetic limbs, and bio-technology.
"The most wonderful thing is understanding that the medical field is all about people," Tanurdzic said. "The love we have for one another and the will to help each other is what drives those in the health care."
After the seminar, one mother sent a thank you note to Weibel.
"You and your program have changed my child for good," she wrote. "She comes home excited, impressed, and more convinced of her interest in medicine. It brings joy in my heart to see her so passionate. What a gift to our future health care professionals."
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About AMITA Health
AMITA Health (www.AMITAhealth.org) is a joint operating company formed by Adventist Midwest Health, part of the Adventist Health System in Altamonte Springs, Florida, and Alexian Brothers Health System, a subsidiary of St. Louis-based Ascension. Headquartered in Arlington Heights, Illinois, AMITA Health is the third-largest health system in the state, encompassing nine hospitals and an extensive physician provider network of more than 3,000 physicians. AMITA Health's mission is to extend the healing ministry of Jesus by delivering the most efficient, highest quality, faith-based care possible.