Members of the general public turned out in large numbers on Saturday to participate in the American Medical Student Association (AMSA) Health Fair’, an activity organized every semester by students of the All Saint’s University School of Medicine.
The activity is also a major aim of the AMSA equipping medical students to allow them to be more efficient in their practice.
Coordinator of the AMSA, Joseph Akpore, told Dominica News Online (DNO) that at least six health stations had been set up to accommodate patients and other members of the public.
“Today we have six health stations, we get to take your history to find out whether you have any previous illness, whether you have been treated for any other problem and find out how we can help you to maintain your stable health,” he explained.
“We also have the blood pressure section where we use that to take your blood pressure measurement to find out whether you are hypertensive and what you could do about it, and if you are already hypertensive, how we will help you…” he said.
According to Akpore, an obesity section is also set up which he said is “very important.”
“This is a section whereby we measure your weight related to your height and find out if you are obese, pre-obese or normal,” he stated. “If you are normal we advise you to keep to it because we know obesity can lead to so many complications in one’s health.”
In addition, Akpore indicated that there was also the Blood Glucose Section, “which is the blood sugar section, that section will help us to measure your blood glucose to find out if you are diabetic or if you are prone to being a diabetic and how you could be able to manage it, and if you are getting there how you could be able to prevent it.”
A special area was also set up for visual testing, “to see if you actually have a normal vision or at risk to having a bad vision.”
Meantime, President of AMSA, Balogun Olutola told DNO that he expect more people to show up to be a part of the activity.
“We are expecting to get more people and we are sure we are going to get more people because from previous experience the first two hours we get few people, and the ones that come go back and tell people what we are doing,” he noted.
He urged sponsors who already came on board in the past to continue to provide their support to the activity.
Sponsors who supported the activity this semester include: Jolly’s Pharmacy, FLOW, HHV Whitchurch and Company Ltd, Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH), Fine Foods Inc and Dominica Brewery and Beverages Limited.
Thanks to you guys,I got a full check up,i have always been feeling tired , thirsty for the past month and thanx to the upcoming Doctors at all saints who check my blood sugar and took my history,and referred me to my family doctor who diagnosed me wet diabetes….now I can be more mindful of wat I eat n live a healthy lifestyle..
What an absolutely marvellous idea. Well done to the students and those offering this service
Thanks for the great work guys. Your hard work and sincere care for the public’s health is really appreciated. God bless all who came together to make this activity successful. Also may God bless the members of the public who took time to make use of this opportunity for health checks.