JACKIE: Kids are great, aren’t they?

I just got back from participating in one of the cooler things that Emory med students do (in my humble opinion, of course). As a member of YSEP (Emory SOM’s student run Youth Science Enrichment Program), I went to an elementary school in town to teach a class of fifth graders about the body. The premise was that we all (the class) worked for the “Human Body Corporation” and our company, like all companies in our glorious economy, needed to cut back on the number of workers it employed in order to save some money. So, the class split into 6 groups and I assigned each group an essential body part. Each group had to come up with a list of reasons why their assigned body part was absolutely necessary for the functioning of the Human Body Corp and therefore could not be laid off. (The premise seemed a little sophisticated for fifth graders if you ask me, but hey, who knows with kids these days.)

I have to tell you, I felt uplifted and inspired watching the kids brainstorm everything they knew about the human body, and then try to come up with reasons why their part was needed for the body to work. I know, I know- such a dorky med student thing to say- but when you spend so much time surrounded by people who have dedicated their lives to serving the human body, you forget that the average kid thinks it’s pretty fascinating too. When I briefly explained to them how each part worked, I was speaking with this super enthusiastic tone. Who knew that talking about the lungs oxygenating the blood could be so exciting!

Anyway, it was one of those moments you cherish during the day in, day out of medical school- one of those moments when you remark to yourself, “Huh- this stuff is pretty sweet.”