Nearly 100 students from the courses of Occupational Therapy, Kinesiology, Nutrition, Speech Therapy, Dentistry, Nursing and UC Medicine arrived, for the first time, to the Cultural Center of the Municipality of San Joaquín to develop an unprecedented health operation for the residents of the commune.
In the initiative – which focused on people over 55 years of age – the risks of falls, balance and hearing were evaluated. In addition, workshops on healthy eating, chronic diseases, and oral health were developed; mental, digital literacy, among others. “This allows us to move towards preventive health, where communities play a fundamental role in collective care,” commented Carola Alveal, in charge of the Disability and Inclusion office of the Municipality of San Joaquín, who participated in the coordination of the event.
The 100 seniors who participated were enthusiastic amidst the activities. “People told us ‘I didn’t know that oral cancer existed’, ‘I didn’t know that dentists saw these things’, ‘thank you very much for teaching us how to check ourselves’,” said UC Dentistry student, Monserrat Soto, after carrying out a workshop with their classmates and teachers. “Seeing how people laughed, and at the same time raised their concerns and learned, was very satisfying,” he added.
“Here academic knowledge is applied to real contexts, improving the health and well-being of the population, strengthening the sense of social responsibility in students and teachers, ensuring that the education provided has a tangible and positive impact” – Bernardita Severin, UC academic
Students from all majors at the UC Faculty of Medicine were supervised by 14 volunteer teachers, collaborating under a multidisciplinary perspective. “Here academic knowledge is applied to real contexts, improving the health and well-being of the population, strengthening the sense of social responsibility in students and teachers, ensuring that the education provided has a tangible and positive impact,” said the academic and manager. of Linkage with the UC Occupational Therapy Environment, Bernardita Severin.
“This shows the great contribution we are to the community” – UC Dentistry student, Monserrat Soto.
According to the teacher, the initiative arose from the same degree after a course with Service Learning methodology identified needs in the population near the San Joaquín UC campus, where mainly older people live. “With these spaces, students get closer to the challenges and problems of the community, understand them and observe the importance of the role played by different professionals,” commented the director of UC Undergraduate Nursing, Noelia Rojas, after participating in the operation.
From the Municipality of San Joaquín they assured that the link between the public organization and the UC Faculty of Medicine “is positive from different areas, on the one hand, from the socio-community perspective, which manages to deliver various health services by specialists who often “They are difficult to access in primary care,” said Carola Alveal, who hopes to continue generating spaces for collaboration between both institutions.
From the Municipality of San Joaquín they assured that the link between the public organization and the UC Faculty of Medicine “is positive from different areas, on the one hand, from the socio-community perspective, which manages to deliver various health services by specialists who often They are difficult to access in primary care.
For Bernardita Severin, activities like these promote the public commitment of students and teachers, bringing the discipline closer to people. “Public health problems are addressed from a practical and collaborative perspective. They become agents of change, promoting health and well-being at the local level, strengthening the link between the university and society.” “This shows the great contribution we are to the community,” said UC Dentistry student, Monserrat Soto. “Everything worked very well, and it was motivating to see all the races working for the same goal: to bring health to people who need it,” he added.
