SU Montgomery (Fall 2009) On October 19 - 20, the student break room at South University/Montgomery was transformed into a mad scientist’s laboratory complete with costumes, test tubes, and spooky music.  The occasion was a celebration of Health Professions Week.

Linda Reynolds, Program Chair for Medical Assisting; Joanne Rice, Program Director for Physical Therapist Assisting; Faith Berryman, Clinical Coordinator for Physical Therapist Assisting; and Laura Saucer, Program Director for Nursing; decorated the break room and provided students with an opportunity to perform an “autopsy,” view the results of multiple “sense”-ational science experiments, and create their very own “cell.”  The science projects were designed to show the students how our senses can be fooled, and cells were made of cookies and candy.  The autopsy patient was a model from the PTA lab with multiple toy “causes of death” suspended in old, cold spaghetti, combined with a potion that, when the participating students returned after washing their hands, fluoresced under a black light if any “autopsy” germs remained. This lesson in hand-washing was the perfect introduction for short presentations by physical therapist assistant students who educated attendees about the current and past flu epidemics, including the history of flu, prevention and treatment, as well as presentations related to fitness, stress reduction, and nutrition.

Students and faculty, dressed as mad scientists, crazy nurses, and other spooky health professionals, raced sticky eyeballs and played a match-the-“ologist” game.  Do you know what a hoplologist or a cynologist studies?  We do!

Dr. Joanne Rice, Laura Saucer, Linda Reynolds, Anna Pearson and Faith Berryman prepare to perform their first autopsy.

Stephanie Winston creates a winning cell and gets to eat it too.

PTA students, Candi Helton, Oona Joseph and Zenita White pose with Faith Berryman and President Biebighauser before presenting at Health Professions Week.

Dr. Half-Cracked and student Jarita Huffman discusses what went wrong during a skullotomy.

Tonika Alexander and Brittney Payne - Medical Assistants “At The Heart of Healthcare”