Community Members Invited to Take a Seat at Midwestern University's Mini-Medical School

Community members can learn about current topics in healthcare at Midwestern University's Mini-Medical School. The Mini-Medical School will be held from 6:30 to 8:15 PM on February 21st, February 28th, March 7th, and March 14th at the University's campus located at 555 31st Street in Downers Grove.

Each lecture is presented by a healthcare professional at Midwestern University which is the home of the Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine, the Chicago College of Pharmacy, the College of Health Sciences, and College of Dental Medicine-Illinois. Mini Medical School welcomes students from the community of all ages (adult, college, and high school) who are interested in learning about interesting and important healthcare topics. Topics to be covered include:

• A Tour Through Your Armpit: The Contents of the Axilla and Their Role in Upper Limb Function – Learn more about the axilla, or, as it is more commonly known – the armpit. The axilla is a relatively small region of the body, but one that is vitally important as nearly all of the nerves and blood vessels that supply the shoulder, pectoral region, and upper limb pass through it.

• An Introduction to Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine in Family Medicine – Gain a better understanding of osteopathic manipulative medicine (OMM) in addition to osteopathic philosophy and principles. Several osteopathic medicine techniques will be introduced that can be applied in everyday family medicine. Take-home exercises that can be taught to patients to complement OMM techniques will also be presented.

• Overserved? An Interactive Medical School Case – A 19 year-old female presents to the ER with chief complaints of severe headache, nausea and vomiting. In this interactive “paper patient” case format used in our medical physiology course, attendees are the physicians and will generate a differential diagnosis and work through this patient's complaint as details of the patient history, physical exam and laboratory tests are revealed in a step-wise manner.

• Going with the Flow: An Infectious Diseases Perspective of the Gastrointestinal Tract – The lecture will focus on infections and immunity of the stomach, upper and lower gastrointestinal tract. The process of stomach ulcer formation will be discussed in addition to the common foods and their associated gastrointestinal disturbances. Topics in health protection, as they relate to diarrheal disease will also be presented.

Participants will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis and are able to register for individual dates. The cost of the entire program is $25; a single session is $10. Individuals interested in attending the Mini-Medical School can register by visiting the program's website at http://minimed.midwestern.edu or by calling 630/515-6048. A complete schedule of speakers and topics is available on the website. Please e-mail questions to minimed@midwestern.edu.