THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, September 18, 1996 TAG: 9609180438
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY REBECCA MYERS CUTCHINS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH LENGTH: 48 lines
Portsmouth Family Medicine and Cradock Middle School have begun an adolescent mentoring program to give medical residents a better understanding of adolescent health issues and to improve the health of the adolescent population.
Called AIM, which stands for Adolescents in Medicine, the two-year program pairs six second-year residents with six seventh-graders from Cradock Middle School.
An open house to kick off the program will be held from 6 to 7 p.m. Thursday at Portsmouth Family Medicine, 2700 London Blvd.
``We're going to teach these students basic doctoring skills, so to speak,'' said Viki Lorraine, an assistant professor at Eastern Virginia Medical School who came up with the idea.
``The best way to have a kid understand the effects of smoking is to let them see hearts and lungs,'' she said, ``or to get them excited about exercise
``If everything goes well, I would really hope that medical schools all over the country would do this.''
In the first year, students will learn the significance of blood pressure and the role it plays in cardiovascular health; the effects of obesity on the heart, and the role that cholesterol, diet and family history play in heart disease; and how exercise and stress - and alcohol, cigarettes and other drugs - affect one's health.
In the second year, students will continue their coat-tailing experience, with emphasis on developing skills to become effective peer counselors. Students will learn about risk-taking behavior, substance abuse, school problems, depression, suicide, eating disorders and conflict resolution.
The program is being administered as part of a federal grant. Resident mentors will not only provide opportunities for adolescents to develop and nurture an interest in medicine but also will serve as positive role models.
Program organizers hope students who graduate from the program will be able to act as peer counselors in high school.
``If it really works well, we can train these kids to go out in their communities'' to monitor their neighbors' health, Lorraine said.
``I can't wait to look back a year from now to evaluate it,'' she said. ILLUSTRATION: DETAILS
For more information about the AIM program, call Viki Lorraine at
446-7400.
KEYWORDS: ADOLESCENTS IN MEDICINE by CNB