One hundred and fifty girls, boys and young people from eighth grade to fourth year of high school at the San Nicolás School, located in the Canal Chacao sector of Quilpué, benefited from a free health and community education operation carried out in that establishment by the Faculty of Medicine from the University of Valparaíso.
Fifty teachers and students from the Schools of Early Childhood Education, Nursing, Speech Therapy, Kinesiology, Medicine, Obstetrics and Childcare and Medical Technology participated in the activity, who provided a series of benefits to the schoolchildren who were duly authorized by their parents and guardians. to take part in them.
Among the procedures carried out, otoscopy and hearing screening, ophthalmological evaluations, screening for visual alterations and preventive examinations aimed at identifying risk factors for highly prevalent diseases, associated with cardiovascular diseases, which are preventable and manageable in time, stood out.
In addition, the students were able to participate in a preventive postural gymnastics workshop, which included exercises for self-care of the spine, and in informative talks on skin protection and prevention and promotion of sexual and reproductive health, in which they were given educational material.
The organization of the operation was in charge of the Environmental Linkage Coordination of the UV Faculty of Medicine, and its staging was supervised on the ground by Professor María Fernanda Valenzuela, from the School of Early Childhood Education, who assessed the possibility of provide this type of benefits to people who usually do not have access to them.
“This operation was added to the activities that our unit had already been carrying out at the San Nicolás School, as part of field work that seeks to contribute to the biopsychosocial well-being of those who are part of that educational community, whose environment was greatly affected by the big fire last February. In line with this, the schools of Kinesiology, Speech Therapy, Medical Technology, Nursing, Obstetrics and Childcare and Medicine proposed expanding this aid, by providing a series of free benefits, which were aimed mainly at girls, boys and young people between the eighth and eighth grades. basic and fourth medium. As a coordination, we are happy to have been able to collaborate and organize this operation, because it also allows undergraduate students to put into practice what they are learning in their respective disciplines,” said Professor Valenzuela.
For her part, the social worker of the San Nicolás School Ivette Jara, who was the technical counterpart of the team of teachers and students that participated in the operation, thanked the Faculty of Medicine for their visit. “These types of initiatives are very positive, since they represent a unique opportunity for our students, and even more than one teacher, to access exams and services for which it is very difficult to get an hour in nearby clinics. This was also made known to us by their parents and guardians, who gave their consent for their children to participate in it. Therefore, we have nothing left but to thank those who made it possible,” she said.
The operation carried out at the San Nicolás de Quilpué School was carried out as part of the permanent community linkage program that the UV Faculty of Medicine has, in whose actions all the schools that are part of this campus participate.
Note: Gonzalo Battocchio / Photos: Matías Salazar
