Touro pediatric students hold ‘mini med school’ for Vallejo youth

VALLEJO – Students from Touro University California’s Pediatrics Club held a “Mini Med School” at Vallejo Charter School on Friday afternoon to teach fourth graders about the body and the importance of healthy habits — and maybe even get a few of them interested in a healthcare career. 

Mini Med School is a community outreach initiative where Touro medical students teach kids through interactive, hands-on stations. The Pediatrics Club has held similar events at Napa schools, but this was the first time the club held one in Vallejo. 

Club President Marius Corwin said the location was fitting, considering Touro and Vallejo Charter are both on Mare Island. 

“I wanted to really take advantage of the unique opportunity that we have here, having a medical school and an elementary school with less than half a mile in between,” said Corwin.

He said that the event focuses on fourth graders because they’re old enough to begin to understand higher level concepts, but still young enough to feel excited by hands-on activities. He added that they opened up fifty slots for the event, and it filled up immediately; he hopes to one day bring Mini Med School to all schools in the Vallejo City Unified School District.

Touro medical students stood at each station to teach the kids about issues like sugary drinks, why you should wear sunscreen, and the importance of mental health. 

In one area, kids practiced yoga or did jumping jacks before listening to each other’s heart rates with a stethoscope.

“We’re teaching them how to protect your heart. You’ve got to exercise, you’ve got to eat well,” explained Touro student Jane Tran. “Preventative health is very important, so just exposing them to all of this is very good for them while they're in their formative years.”

At another table, they played with oobleck, a squishy substance that the pediatric students used to explain how osteopathic doctors might apply pressure to different body parts to relieve pain. 

“We're teaching the kids about what fascia is, and essentially we're describing it as a spider web that lays under our skin,” said Touro student Parnit Jhutty. The oobleck is supposed to mimic fascia, and it becomes more elastic the more it’s played with. “So it gives them the idea that it’s important to keep our bodies moving, so our fascia doesn't really get stuck and harden, which can be the source of pain.” 

“We were a little nervous about whether this would translate for them,” Jhutty said. But the instructors were pleasantly surprised to see how much information the students absorbed, even when the subjects were more complicated. “They know a lot more than we ever thought they would know. They’re getting the message,” Jhutty said. 

Vallejo Charter School Principal Janice Lubin said the event perfectly dovetailed with the school’s focus on STEAM — science, technology, engineering, arts, and math — and fostering pathways to college.

“It gives the students exposure to maybe some medical careers that they may not have thought about,” Lubin said. “They need to know that these are the possibilities for them. I want them to have the world at their fingertips, and to know what’s available to them as a student, as a person in Vallejo, as a person of color.” 

According to a KFF analysis of 2023 Association of American Medical Colleges data, the physician workforce is still less diverse than the American population, with Black and Latino people particularly underrepresented in the field. But studies show that addressing that disparity can lead to better health: a patient is more likely to seek out care, and trust their doctor, if the doctor looks like them. 

“Maybe the young people are looking at our student doctors and thinking, one day I want to do that, I want to be a doctor in my community,”  said Touro University Provost Dr. Tami Hendriksz. “One of our big goals at Touro is to be able to graduate healthcare workers who do reflect the communities that they serve. That's where we see some of the best health outcomes.”

Touro student Christianne Castro grew up in Vallejo, and she said it was especially meaningful that they held the event there.

“Growing up in a low-income community, I recognized that there were a lot of things that these kids might be missing,” Castro said. “Literally 20 minutes away, like in Benicia or American Canyon, there's such a difference in what education they might get. So I really wanted to give back to my community because it's important that these kids see themselves in these higher education positions.” 

Castro’s station focused on emotional regulation, teaching the students breathing techniques and how to properly voice their feelings.

“These conversations should happen as early as they can,” Castro said. “Being aware of their emotions, where they can give space to them, and how they can regulate themselves is important because later on, as life gets really hard, it's hard to work through that if you don't have that foundation.” 

For fourth grader Luna Valentina Castillo Herrera, the impact the Touro students made on her that day was huge. 

“I really want to be a doctor,” she said. “I like how we got to learn how to save ourselves and save other people.”