The Adventures in Medicine and Science (AIMS) Program of Saint Louis University placed second out of 160 programs in the 2008-2009 Center for Interactive Learning and Collaboration Pinnacle competition. AIMS is the only program of its kind in the country that gives students of all ages an opportunity to experience anatomy, health and science education in a real tactile way.
Lisa Suggs, AIMS program manager, said that the goal of the program is to educate future health care professionals.
“Everyone can remember the event that sparked their passion in a particular subject, and we get to provide those inspiring events to kids every day,” Suggs said.
AIMS program strives to teach youth about basic anatomy and health care, help high school and college students understand premedical career options, and bring families together through family medical school labs.
The AIMS program possesses a variety of workshops aimed to excite students and health care professionals that are interested in all areas of medicine.
The programs that are offered for middle school students concern basic anatomy and health. With some of the workshops and presentations pertaining to damaged organs, students can see what the effects of certain health practices are. Therefore, good practices can be reinforced in a learning atmosphere, Suggs said.
Ray Vollmer, the program’s coordinator, said that AIMS teaches anatomy so that students can do better in the classroom while learning the power of a healthy lifestyle.
“Giving young people an opportunity to learn more about their bodies and how to remain healthy is very rewarding,” Suggs said.
High school students have been participating in week-long AIMS summer workshops where they can be exposed to real anatomical experiences, such as suturing labs that they conduct themselves, as well as demonstrations from SLU’s medical school professors on the latest techniques in surgery.
AIMS also offers The Incredible Human Body, a program offered to families who can experience the body in 3-D with a state-of-the-art operating microscope and a fully-dissected human cadaver.
The facilities within Young Hall, where the AIMS program is located, are innovative with an auditorium to house large 3-D presentations, as well as several labs each containing a monitor so that as students are physically working with the different specimens, it is easy to follow along with the instructor.
The AIMS program gathered international attention when the virtual anatomy classroom came to fruition in 2002, with the teleconferences reaching to 25 different states and Canada.
These teleconferences are broadcast in several classrooms at once, allowing for the students to correspond with the medical professional doing the demonstration.
Suggs said that the AIMS program exhibits great potential to grow in the coming years, with student attendance increasing significantly as more programs are installed and new innovations are added to the AIMS mission.
“We believe that through AIMS, we advance the mission of the University by inspiring the next generation of medical professionals and raising awareness of healthy living that improves the quality of life for all,” Suggs said.