DES MOINES, Iowa — Local medical students will be putting their skills to the test as they put on a free health fair for older adults on Saturday.
Des Moines University, central Iowa’s only medical school, is giving its students a chance this weekend to get first-hand experience helping adults 50 and older with any health concerns.
The Des Moines University's Geriatrics Club will host the 50 and Better Health Fair from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday at the DMU Clinic and Olsen Center.
"So, the 50 and Better Fair, essentially, is an event kind of made by the students, for the students and for the community,” Geriatrics Club vice president Sabrina Chu said. “It's a great way for students to use the skills that they learned, you know, studying in the textbooks and actually applying their skills and meeting people outside in the community who are 50 and older."
Chu said this kind of learning is vital for a robust medical community.
"It's important as med students to get more exposure to a wide variety of demographics, body types, age, sex, and getting to know what different wants or needs that people might have," Chu said.
Some services available will include vision, balance, foot and ankle screenings, blood pressure checks, reflex exams and osteopathic medical treatments.
DMU staff and faculty love the opportunity to see their students cultivate their skills.
"It's really important for them to learn to do that to kind of develop some bedside manner, things like that getting outside of the classroom and interacting with adults in our community and hearing from them what health concerns they have, maybe things they want to see in their doctor someday,” said DMU community relations manager Hanna De Geest.
For the younger generations, the 50 and Better Health Fair also serves as a reminder.
"As our populations grow older, I think it's important to learn how to take care of ourselves. Because if we're lucky to have enough birthdays, we're going to be at that age as well and we want to see all the milestones that we have in our lives," Chu said.
The 50 and Better Health Fair is free and registration is not required.