Thursday, January 11, 2007
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Program Feedback
All students are required to provide program feedback on the what should definitely be kept for next year and what should be changed for next year.
In addition to this feedback, one student offered this response:
JUA was a wonderful experience for me. When we first started out talking about it I was very nervous about going to Boston because I don’t like to be in a place with MILLIONS of people. we got to Boston around 8:30 in the morning put our bags in a room and headed out to the T. this was an experience in its self.. geeze thank goodness we had Mrs. Saxe cause I had no clue how to get around Boston. Our first stop was the science museum where we checked out the X-Ray and Beyond exhibit. We then headed to lunch at a Dominican restaurant which was a great experience we also met mrs. Saxe mom who was great to us. We had 6 interviews and then dinner @ mrs. Saxe’s house YUM!. We went back to the hostel which wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, and hung out. The next day we got to sleep in a little then we headed to talk to a physical therapist, this was my favorite part of the trip because it helped me answer my essential question and it’s the field of work I’m looking to go into . Dymax was the next stop and I didn’t like this as much. Maybe its just because I was tired and had a headache.. but who knows the lab was pretty sweet.. By the end of the trip my points of view have changed about Boston. Now I’m going to go tour BU and Northeastern. YIPEE!! And my parents can’t believe it.. so thank you to Ms. Saxe and mr. Mundahl for everything they did. Once again it was a wonderful experience for you
If I could do it again I probly wouldn’t have taken so many notes and I would’ve checked out everything @ the x-ray and beyond but at the same time I think taking notes helped me focus and not fall asleep. I don’t think there is anything else I would change it was a great time and by the end I think we were all ready to go back
In addition to this feedback, one student offered this response:
JUA was a wonderful experience for me. When we first started out talking about it I was very nervous about going to Boston because I don’t like to be in a place with MILLIONS of people. we got to Boston around 8:30 in the morning put our bags in a room and headed out to the T. this was an experience in its self.. geeze thank goodness we had Mrs. Saxe cause I had no clue how to get around Boston. Our first stop was the science museum where we checked out the X-Ray and Beyond exhibit. We then headed to lunch at a Dominican restaurant which was a great experience we also met mrs. Saxe mom who was great to us. We had 6 interviews and then dinner @ mrs. Saxe’s house YUM!. We went back to the hostel which wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, and hung out. The next day we got to sleep in a little then we headed to talk to a physical therapist, this was my favorite part of the trip because it helped me answer my essential question and it’s the field of work I’m looking to go into . Dymax was the next stop and I didn’t like this as much. Maybe its just because I was tired and had a headache.. but who knows the lab was pretty sweet.. By the end of the trip my points of view have changed about Boston. Now I’m going to go tour BU and Northeastern. YIPEE!! And my parents can’t believe it.. so thank you to Ms. Saxe and mr. Mundahl for everything they did. Once again it was a wonderful experience for you
If I could do it again I probly wouldn’t have taken so many notes and I would’ve checked out everything @ the x-ray and beyond but at the same time I think taking notes helped me focus and not fall asleep. I don’t think there is anything else I would change it was a great time and by the end I think we were all ready to go back
Student Responses to Essential Questions
Below are the responses from students to their essential questions: topics range from how society sees those who are handicapped to the availability of health care to all U.S. citizens.
Sam M: Biotechnology: what is it and how does it work?
My essential question was suppose to be, “What would be the effects having to many x-rays and MRI’s and would it be hazardous to your health?, but once I got down into Boston and talked with the people at Dyax my mind changed on what I wanted to bring out of this experience. While we were there, I decided that I really did want to pursue a career in biotechnology and biochemistry. By talking with them and seeing how excited they were about their work made me want to see more of why and how the industry works. So my new essential question is, What do the employees at a biotechnology firm really do?
The employees at a biotechnology firm do different jobs according to their departments. One department looks out into the medical industry to se what major illnesses are in demand of a drug for treatment. Then once they decide upon an illness the request DNA from people who are infected. Then the DNA decoders come in and work on sorting through and analyzing the strands of DNA to find a common mutation among the infected. Once they know the sequence they give their information to a group of lab workers who use special enzymes and machines. By using these enzymes and machines they are able to create a new substance. This new substance is then washed away of all unimportant cells. The cells left behind are then tested to see if they attack the certain mutation in the DNA and RNA. When this cell “attacks” the DNA and RNA it stops the reproduction of the mutation in the strand of DNA and RNA. By doing this it stops the spread of the illness.
The way that they explained this made it seem so exciting and it proves my point which I always have to argue with people that you can help and that you can make a different with out being a doctor in a hospital or a surgeon, that there are many more ways of helping with out being in the first line of duty.
To further my knowledge of biotechnology I am trying to see if there is a biotechnology firm with whom I can have an internship with or job shadow people from their firm for each of the different jobs which are in the industry of biotechnology and biochemistry. Unfortunately I am not having any lucky. Dyax and I had emailed each other a few times but I have not heard anything back from them yet about if it possible for me to do this at their firm. I am really hoping to hear back from them soon, whither or not it is going to happen.
I really enjoyed the amazing experience I was able to have and I am very glad we got to interview with so many people. It really was excited and gave me a whole different out look on the medical profession. Thank you Mr. and Ms. Saxe for everything you did!!!
The employees at a biotechnology firm do different jobs according to their departments. One department looks out into the medical industry to se what major illnesses are in demand of a drug for treatment. Then once they decide upon an illness the request DNA from people who are infected. Then the DNA decoders come in and work on sorting through and analyzing the strands of DNA to find a common mutation among the infected. Once they know the sequence they give their information to a group of lab workers who use special enzymes and machines. By using these enzymes and machines they are able to create a new substance. This new substance is then washed away of all unimportant cells. The cells left behind are then tested to see if they attack the certain mutation in the DNA and RNA. When this cell “attacks” the DNA and RNA it stops the reproduction of the mutation in the strand of DNA and RNA. By doing this it stops the spread of the illness.
The way that they explained this made it seem so exciting and it proves my point which I always have to argue with people that you can help and that you can make a different with out being a doctor in a hospital or a surgeon, that there are many more ways of helping with out being in the first line of duty.
To further my knowledge of biotechnology I am trying to see if there is a biotechnology firm with whom I can have an internship with or job shadow people from their firm for each of the different jobs which are in the industry of biotechnology and biochemistry. Unfortunately I am not having any lucky. Dyax and I had emailed each other a few times but I have not heard anything back from them yet about if it possible for me to do this at their firm. I am really hoping to hear back from them soon, whither or not it is going to happen.
I really enjoyed the amazing experience I was able to have and I am very glad we got to interview with so many people. It really was excited and gave me a whole different out look on the medical profession. Thank you Mr. and Ms. Saxe for everything you did!!!
Dana B:Is it possible, over a period of time, to make healthcare available to all Americans?
We had the opportunity to learn about many different aspects of healthcare. If a person does not have insurance they may be neglecting their mental, dental, and physical health. We also learned about physical therapy and the recovery process. Those without insurance may not have the chance to go to a physical/occupational therapist, creating long term heath problems. The problem of obtaining insurance can radiate from one health problem to another.
When presented with this question, nearly all of the doctors and healthcare professionals we spoke with answered with a confident, “No.” Even in states such as Massachusetts that require healthcare insurance for all it’s residents, there are still people who do not have coverage. Healthcare professionals are not allowed to treat patients without insurance; however, the people we spoke with do not see a difference in the number of people they see.
The American people have lived for so long without insurance, they seem to have lost motivation to obtain insurance. Despite any laws that may be put in place there will never be a way to get everybody to want to have insurance. Even though not having insurance may keep people from going to the doctor or the emergency room, most of them don’t see the long term affects on their body.
By educating the American people, they may be more inclined to obtain health insurance. This education is essential to teaching the people the benefits of good healthcare for them and their children. Health education is the key to getting people to help themselves by purchasing insurance. Even though there is much doubt that in the future all Americans will have health insurance, health education may change the views of the people. If motivation to get insurance existed within the American people, then the definite “no” I received when asking my essential question might not be so definite. Insurance companies need to not always think about their profit as much, and learn to think about the benefits their customers might receive when purchasing insurance. If all companies nationwide were required to carry insurance, then unemployment would be the problem. Schools and the government need to take the next step in helping the American people by educating them in how to take care of themselves, and by having insurance they can take care of themselves much better
When presented with this question, nearly all of the doctors and healthcare professionals we spoke with answered with a confident, “No.” Even in states such as Massachusetts that require healthcare insurance for all it’s residents, there are still people who do not have coverage. Healthcare professionals are not allowed to treat patients without insurance; however, the people we spoke with do not see a difference in the number of people they see.
The American people have lived for so long without insurance, they seem to have lost motivation to obtain insurance. Despite any laws that may be put in place there will never be a way to get everybody to want to have insurance. Even though not having insurance may keep people from going to the doctor or the emergency room, most of them don’t see the long term affects on their body.
By educating the American people, they may be more inclined to obtain health insurance. This education is essential to teaching the people the benefits of good healthcare for them and their children. Health education is the key to getting people to help themselves by purchasing insurance. Even though there is much doubt that in the future all Americans will have health insurance, health education may change the views of the people. If motivation to get insurance existed within the American people, then the definite “no” I received when asking my essential question might not be so definite. Insurance companies need to not always think about their profit as much, and learn to think about the benefits their customers might receive when purchasing insurance. If all companies nationwide were required to carry insurance, then unemployment would be the problem. Schools and the government need to take the next step in helping the American people by educating them in how to take care of themselves, and by having insurance they can take care of themselves much better
Julie R: The Rehabilitation needed for a patient with vertebrae damage
Even though sitting in a wheel chair might seem easier to live your life you have to keep your head on straight and work towards your goals so you can go back and lead your normal life, Should the patient be paralyzed the process for rehabilitation is lengthy and requires commitment. because Commitment from the patient its self is one of the only ways you can success because the therapist can only help you if you're willing to help yourself and Physical therapy and family support are two important things that help the patient in there success.
While visiting the physical therapist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital I hoped to find the rehabilitation process for a soldier who encountered vertebrae damage during the war and later was temporarily paralyzed from the surgery. Janice started off by saying how rare it is for this to happen and that they mainly see school aged children. Sam asked if they had seen people from the war but we learned that war victims are treated in three own war hospital. Janice ended up telling us that to help this partially paralyzed person it would take a long term commitment. The entire family has to be willing to commit and go through some type of stabilizing therapy. The hospital would then evaluate you after a while they might need to do another surgery to help stabilize the patient. Herniated disks sometimes occur and this can cause pressure with the fluid around the spinal cord which causes great pain and could temporally pause therapy until an MRI can be taken to see if therapy could do more damage than its worth. The patient would need to be in a rehab center seven days a week with a minimum of four hours of therapy per day. She then went onto explain to us how the insurance is working with therapy. There is something called the manage care system which is dominate and it’s important to work with your goals they have a sixty day benefit. This is the amount of time you have to reach your goal. If you reach your goal you’re allowed to stay and if you’re not successful with reaching your goal then you are released from the program or you can continue the program with no insurance.
Following the trip was over the knowledge that I hoped to gain was something to help my cousin but I ended up being a little confused. After hearing from the physiologist and the folks at dymax Stressed about there finding of new medicine, even if the disease or sickness was small and rare. Well what about my cousin where there was a 1 in 300,000 chance of something going wrong with the surgery. This is a little of his story, after the surgery he’s blood pressure rose sky high and he developed hematoma and they had to make a 10 inch incision down his back to clean out his vertebras when they stitched him back up he couldn’t feel anything below his neck. Slowly he has regained feeling but other trams have happened to set him back such as herniated disks, insurance and other medical dilemmas. So I guess the thing that bothered me the most was that the “doctors” are willing to finding new medication for patients of rare cases but what about someone that might not be able to be fixed with medication like my cousin Brian or a school mate Gardner? It’s very frustrating to watch your friends and family suffer.
Web Links:
http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos080.htm
http://www.aota.org/
http://www.spine.org/articles/spinalfusion.cfm
While visiting the physical therapist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital I hoped to find the rehabilitation process for a soldier who encountered vertebrae damage during the war and later was temporarily paralyzed from the surgery. Janice started off by saying how rare it is for this to happen and that they mainly see school aged children. Sam asked if they had seen people from the war but we learned that war victims are treated in three own war hospital. Janice ended up telling us that to help this partially paralyzed person it would take a long term commitment. The entire family has to be willing to commit and go through some type of stabilizing therapy. The hospital would then evaluate you after a while they might need to do another surgery to help stabilize the patient. Herniated disks sometimes occur and this can cause pressure with the fluid around the spinal cord which causes great pain and could temporally pause therapy until an MRI can be taken to see if therapy could do more damage than its worth. The patient would need to be in a rehab center seven days a week with a minimum of four hours of therapy per day. She then went onto explain to us how the insurance is working with therapy. There is something called the manage care system which is dominate and it’s important to work with your goals they have a sixty day benefit. This is the amount of time you have to reach your goal. If you reach your goal you’re allowed to stay and if you’re not successful with reaching your goal then you are released from the program or you can continue the program with no insurance.
Following the trip was over the knowledge that I hoped to gain was something to help my cousin but I ended up being a little confused. After hearing from the physiologist and the folks at dymax Stressed about there finding of new medicine, even if the disease or sickness was small and rare. Well what about my cousin where there was a 1 in 300,000 chance of something going wrong with the surgery. This is a little of his story, after the surgery he’s blood pressure rose sky high and he developed hematoma and they had to make a 10 inch incision down his back to clean out his vertebras when they stitched him back up he couldn’t feel anything below his neck. Slowly he has regained feeling but other trams have happened to set him back such as herniated disks, insurance and other medical dilemmas. So I guess the thing that bothered me the most was that the “doctors” are willing to finding new medication for patients of rare cases but what about someone that might not be able to be fixed with medication like my cousin Brian or a school mate Gardner? It’s very frustrating to watch your friends and family suffer.
Web Links:
http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos080.htm
http://www.aota.org/
http://www.spine.org/articles/spinalfusion.cfm
Collin B: Appropriation of Funds in Biotechnology
Essential question: Are biotech niacin spending too much time on finding cures for extremely rare diseases instead of concentrating on finding cures for diseases that affect millions of people all over the world.
When I was on the junior urban adventure or J.U.A finding the answer to my question I was glad to hear some of the things I did. I was also surprised how many different professions there are they deal with medicine. Not only did I learn the answer to my essential question I found a profession I might be interested in now which is a physical therapist.
On the junior adventure we visited physical therapist, dentists, nutritionist, and biotech niacin. When we went to one of the biotech facilities and we got to actually talk to some people that work in the biotech labs. When I asked them about my questions they told me many things I didn’t know prior to my research on the topic. From what I knew on the subject of biotechnology was that they could clone DNA which ultimately clones animals and plants. Also they deal with creating vaccines to eliminate the rarest of diseases. What I didn’t know was that biotech niacin do not deal with rare diseases as I thought. Biotech facilities do concentrate a lot on rare diseases and finding cures to every individuals specific needs. What surprised me the most is when I found out that biotech niacin’s also do work on finding cures to major diseases and cancers like aids and leukemia. The reason why biotech places do not talk as much as the major illnesses rather than the specifics ones is because they are advancing farther in the specific diseases and rare ones than the ones that affect mass millions of people.
Biotech niacin’s are working everyday on solving the biggest mysteries of the disease world. Someday they will find a cure to all cancer and aids. While doing so they will be also finding cures to the racist of the diseases and eventually making it possible to examine an individual and finding out what that person exactly needs to become healthy again without any extra unneeded supplements in the medicine they receive.
When I was on the junior urban adventure or J.U.A finding the answer to my question I was glad to hear some of the things I did. I was also surprised how many different professions there are they deal with medicine. Not only did I learn the answer to my essential question I found a profession I might be interested in now which is a physical therapist.
On the junior adventure we visited physical therapist, dentists, nutritionist, and biotech niacin. When we went to one of the biotech facilities and we got to actually talk to some people that work in the biotech labs. When I asked them about my questions they told me many things I didn’t know prior to my research on the topic. From what I knew on the subject of biotechnology was that they could clone DNA which ultimately clones animals and plants. Also they deal with creating vaccines to eliminate the rarest of diseases. What I didn’t know was that biotech niacin do not deal with rare diseases as I thought. Biotech facilities do concentrate a lot on rare diseases and finding cures to every individuals specific needs. What surprised me the most is when I found out that biotech niacin’s also do work on finding cures to major diseases and cancers like aids and leukemia. The reason why biotech places do not talk as much as the major illnesses rather than the specifics ones is because they are advancing farther in the specific diseases and rare ones than the ones that affect mass millions of people.
Biotech niacin’s are working everyday on solving the biggest mysteries of the disease world. Someday they will find a cure to all cancer and aids. While doing so they will be also finding cures to the racist of the diseases and eventually making it possible to examine an individual and finding out what that person exactly needs to become healthy again without any extra unneeded supplements in the medicine they receive.
Spencer C: Stopping the Spread of Disease in Third World Countries
Essential question: Is it pratical to use our countries money to help give vaccines to people in third world countries, and would this stop the spread of disease not only in the third world counties but in our country two?
When my group visited Dyax we ask many questions including this one and the response they gave me to me question was that this would be extremely effective but also it would be very expensive. Even through the world is not perfect the there should be much larger of funding to give to making vaccines I wish that we could stop the spread of disease in the world but it would cost a lot of money. It is much important to spend money on creating cures for disease than to make bombs. If we used the millions of dollars we spend in a single day to research find cures for those deadly diseases. Life is a beautiful gift and it should be saved not destroyed and that is why we should spend money on giving aid to create vaccines for people in third world countries.
The favorite part of the JUA trip was to me when we went to the Dominican restaurant. The fried papaya was the greatest fried food I have in a long time. I think that the next I see a Dominican restaurant. The service at that restaurant was indefinitely better than any restaurant I have been to except Burger King. The people in the Dominican side of town are very nice. I think that as far as foreign food goes that is easily the best. I liked the Goya juice I got at the restaurant and when I went home I bought 6 the second day I got back home on holiday break.
Since JUA the career path that I was thinking of perusing was being a nutritionist. The reason I would want to be a nutritionist is because instead of only being able to help people with a specific problem you are able to help all people because eating s something that every body does. Almost every body in the world needs nutritional help because if you don not eat healthy than you are not health and if you are not health than you are more prone to getting sick. And that is why I want to be a nutritionist so I can help people.
When my group visited Dyax we ask many questions including this one and the response they gave me to me question was that this would be extremely effective but also it would be very expensive. Even through the world is not perfect the there should be much larger of funding to give to making vaccines I wish that we could stop the spread of disease in the world but it would cost a lot of money. It is much important to spend money on creating cures for disease than to make bombs. If we used the millions of dollars we spend in a single day to research find cures for those deadly diseases. Life is a beautiful gift and it should be saved not destroyed and that is why we should spend money on giving aid to create vaccines for people in third world countries.
The favorite part of the JUA trip was to me when we went to the Dominican restaurant. The fried papaya was the greatest fried food I have in a long time. I think that the next I see a Dominican restaurant. The service at that restaurant was indefinitely better than any restaurant I have been to except Burger King. The people in the Dominican side of town are very nice. I think that as far as foreign food goes that is easily the best. I liked the Goya juice I got at the restaurant and when I went home I bought 6 the second day I got back home on holiday break.
Since JUA the career path that I was thinking of perusing was being a nutritionist. The reason I would want to be a nutritionist is because instead of only being able to help people with a specific problem you are able to help all people because eating s something that every body does. Almost every body in the world needs nutritional help because if you don not eat healthy than you are not health and if you are not health than you are more prone to getting sick. And that is why I want to be a nutritionist so I can help people.
Gardner S: The Handicapped and Society
Question: Handicapped people are often looked down upon, what are some ways that people in the community and in the medical community can improve awareness towards people with handicaps?
In my trip to Boston with my JUA group, I was thinking of my essential question the entire time, but I could not find a real answer to it, even after visiting the OT/PT lady, and the Body Worlds exhibit. Although they told us all about what they did and how to get there, that did not help me solve my question. I then turned to myself and asked how I, as a person with a handicap, could work with people to increase awareness about my condition, and others which affect the lives of millions. My answer was simple: Get out there and do something. Even if you do something only within your community, such as organizing a special needs groups where people with mental handicaps can have fun and be taken care of, or just a group where people come to mentor young people with handicaps, you are helping increase awareness.
In my two years on the mountain biking team, Coach Elkin has always reinforced the motto: “Begin Within”; I believe that this has to do with everything in life, not just mountain biking. Increasing awareness about people with handicaps has to begin with handicapped people, showing them that they are not the only ones. Many handicapped people at one point or another believe they are the only ones that have their condition, and often feel depressed and lonely. They have to take the initiative to search for other people like them and KNOW they are not alone.
Because of their conditions they might not get out of the house a lot, which is a factor that does not help increase awareness, along with what I said in the first paragraph, people have to get out of the house and do something. If that person simply goes to a basketball game and helps the team out in some way, they are increasing awareness through showing other people that they are capable, and not “cripple”. Many people simply do not understand the conditions that these people suffer from and are therefore afraid or unwilling to get to know the people with these conditions. If people do not ask about these conditions they will never know or truly understand.
As far as the medical side goes, a lot can be done, a lot of it just takes initiative of large groups of people. The individual needs to take initiative and petition and fundraise to increase awareness within the medical world, because many people are mostly focused on the large or more common handicaps. There needs to be more awareness within the medical world about the small or uncommon for something to be done about them. An advertising campaign in the Paralympics or the Special Olympics can increase awareness about other disabilities to people already active in the community. It ties back to the individual having increased awareness because as soon as there is a fundraising or charity campaign towards it, they may become interested in it, and therefore try to do something about it, which creates a positive cycle of increased awareness.
The same can happen but in a negative manner, and this obviously works against the purpose of this entire essay. If a person really believes that handicapped people cannot do anything, his ideas may be spread to other people, and this is the total opposite of the truth. In the end, it’s all comes down to the handicapped person himself/herself. If he or she does not ‘go out into the spotlight’ people will never truly understand.
In my trip to Boston with my JUA group, I was thinking of my essential question the entire time, but I could not find a real answer to it, even after visiting the OT/PT lady, and the Body Worlds exhibit. Although they told us all about what they did and how to get there, that did not help me solve my question. I then turned to myself and asked how I, as a person with a handicap, could work with people to increase awareness about my condition, and others which affect the lives of millions. My answer was simple: Get out there and do something. Even if you do something only within your community, such as organizing a special needs groups where people with mental handicaps can have fun and be taken care of, or just a group where people come to mentor young people with handicaps, you are helping increase awareness.
In my two years on the mountain biking team, Coach Elkin has always reinforced the motto: “Begin Within”; I believe that this has to do with everything in life, not just mountain biking. Increasing awareness about people with handicaps has to begin with handicapped people, showing them that they are not the only ones. Many handicapped people at one point or another believe they are the only ones that have their condition, and often feel depressed and lonely. They have to take the initiative to search for other people like them and KNOW they are not alone.
Because of their conditions they might not get out of the house a lot, which is a factor that does not help increase awareness, along with what I said in the first paragraph, people have to get out of the house and do something. If that person simply goes to a basketball game and helps the team out in some way, they are increasing awareness through showing other people that they are capable, and not “cripple”. Many people simply do not understand the conditions that these people suffer from and are therefore afraid or unwilling to get to know the people with these conditions. If people do not ask about these conditions they will never know or truly understand.
As far as the medical side goes, a lot can be done, a lot of it just takes initiative of large groups of people. The individual needs to take initiative and petition and fundraise to increase awareness within the medical world, because many people are mostly focused on the large or more common handicaps. There needs to be more awareness within the medical world about the small or uncommon for something to be done about them. An advertising campaign in the Paralympics or the Special Olympics can increase awareness about other disabilities to people already active in the community. It ties back to the individual having increased awareness because as soon as there is a fundraising or charity campaign towards it, they may become interested in it, and therefore try to do something about it, which creates a positive cycle of increased awareness.
The same can happen but in a negative manner, and this obviously works against the purpose of this entire essay. If a person really believes that handicapped people cannot do anything, his ideas may be spread to other people, and this is the total opposite of the truth. In the end, it’s all comes down to the handicapped person himself/herself. If he or she does not ‘go out into the spotlight’ people will never truly understand.
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