A high school program created by the Harborview Injury Prevention & Research Center, the INSIGHT High School Program is an intensive four week high school program that introduces students to public health, biomedical research, medicine, and injury prevention. The program is open to high school students entering grades 10-12 or recently graduated and provides valuable exposure to the medical and public health fields, emphasizes social justice and highlights health disparities.
The OYPC team had the opportunity to hear from Amy Muma, the Education and Training Specialist for HIPRC.
A Further Look Inside INSIGHT
A collaborative and creative space for students to learn more about public health, INSIGHT helps students understand core public health concepts through the lenses of research and social justice. Students take a deep dive into injury prevention research through various activities and have the chance to present a capstone project on Symposium Day at the end of the four week program. Each year, students are challenged to tackle a public health problem and present an analysis and proposed solution to the problem. Past topics include bike helmet use, first aid bleeding control, distracted driving prevention, and pedestrian safety. This summer, students will contribute to earthquake preparedness and response by building a walking plan with the fewest potential barriers, an approach known as BRISK (Best Route for Injury Support during an earthquaKe).
Through INSIGHT, students increase their exposure to health-related fields, injury and violence prevention research, and health equity. This unique opportunity allows students to get exposure to real local challenges and talk to professionals in the health field while meeting like minded students interested in the same field. The program also includes educational seminars and, in non-COVID times, field trips to locations including the Airlift NW helipad and the Harborview Emergency Department. Many students of the program have continued on to study a health-related field in college and some continue on to medical school. INSIGHT students have used their final symposium project as a major talking point to their college applications.
As the only high school level injury and violence prevention program, it’s evident that the future is in good hands as INSIGHT has given students a chance to connect and gain a greater understanding of their community health systems, health disparities, and how they can contribute positive change in these areas.
Moving Past Hurdles
Leading an educational youth program is a rewarding experience, but it is no easy task – Amy shares with us that youth have a lot of questions, which “is the best part, students have tons of questions and they make the INSIGHT staff better teachers.”
Amy’s favorite part about INSIGHT is getting to know all the students! Although this four week program is able to provide so much for its students, Amy shares that it’s still challenging to find the time to allow for social bonding time, especially online.
Despite COVID’s big hit on so many in-person programs, INSIGHT has been able to adapt to an online platform allowing for more students to participate. By moving to a digital platform, INSIGHT has been able to reach more students nationwide:
“We turned lemons into lemonade when COVID-19 hit so many schools with stay at home measures. We are able to transition INSIGHT to an online platform and attract students not only from the state of Washington, but throughout the US, China and Europe. Our enrollment went from 15 to 100.”
By going completely online, INSIGHT has been able to make the program more personalized for each student, adding a more engaged mentoring component. Each day students meet in a “home room” with their assigned Teaching Assistant. During these daily check-ins, students are able to use this time with their TA through Zoom or Microsoft Teams to learn about the day’s agenda, answer homework Q&A and hear about upcoming social activities. Although going online has allowed for greater accessibility, Amy acknowledges that there are still challenges with maintaining online engagement.
“Students are pretty used to online these days, but it takes a bit of work from the INSIGHT TAs to engage with each student. Engagement requires a bit of social interactions online. We have students from all over the US, and now they are inviting strangers to collaborate. We want to be respectful of their needs at the same time, and try to engage with them in the homeroom – polls, games and stories.”
So what’s next for INSIGHT? Although adapting to being an all remote program has been rewarding in increasing their admissions, Amy explains that Zoom classrooms create a silo learning environment and “we want to change this for a more engaging experience.” Amy intends to strengthen the socializing aspect of the program by adding more opportunities, such as having games and discussions in homerooms.
Hearing from the Youth of INSIGHT
INSIGHT has given students the chance to explore their curiosity and passion in the medical field. Previous INSIGHT students share their experience in the proram:
“I’m a rising junior who had the opportunity to attend this year’s High School INSIGHT program. I would just like to thank you for providing us with a chance to learn about the public health field. Over the summer, the seminars have broadened my perspective on the medical field – it has helped me understand that it is an interconnected field between different specializations and that there are many ways in which we can make an impact. Getting to work with my peers on publishing a policy brief as professional epidemiologists would has been a wonderful chance to understand the work of a professional.”
INSIGHT provides a network where students can connect with researchers and medical professions to follow-up with more opportunities to explore, even after the program ends. INSIGHT builds community by fostering relationships between professionals and students and is committed to supporting past and present students succeed in their own endeavors. One student shares about the opportunity of getting to work alongside (Dr. Curatolo), Michele Curatolo, MD, PhD, Professor of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, University of Washington research pain management after being connected through Dr. Curatolo, a seminar speaker of the program.
“I also just wanted to express a sincere thank you because I never would have had this opportunity if it weren’t for INSIGHT, and I’m really grateful and excited about it! I thought it might be a long shot contacting Dr. Curatolo because he lives across the country…I’ll be able to work with Dr. Colloca and another lab member on a research project this summer/fall! I’m very excited and very grateful.”
Interested in Joining?
INSIGHT has been in operation since 2017 and typically runs during June – July. This year, the program will be online from June 27 – July 22 from 9 am to 2 pm. Applications will be open for the program March 1-June 3, 2022. Enrollment is rolling until the program is filled. This year, INSIGHT is accepting 93 students into the program and has select scholarship opportunities as well.
Check out their website to apply for INSIGHT and to learn more information about the application process!
A BIG THANK YOU to Amy for taking the time out of her busy life to share her stories with all of us as a part of Youth at UW!
To learn more about INSIGHT, visit https://hiprc.org/training/high-school/insight-hs/