May 2024
2023-2024: Year In Review
As we head into the next semester, here’s an update on what we’ve been up to this past year.
Volunteer Training
KDSAP provided two general training sessions with over 120 students in attendance! Volunteers were trained on professionalism and cultural humility, while also learning how to operate our six stations—registration, medical history, blood pressure, BMI, urinalysis, and blood glucose. Before each screening, students were informed of the site's culture and how to properly treat participants.
Free Kidney Screenings
Following the general training, our volunteers were ready to participate in our six in-person kidney screenings! As we reconnected with our community site partners around Philadelphia, we are thankful to Holy Cross Baptist Church (10/21), Masjid Al-Jamia (11/11), Guru Nanak Sikh (12/3), Chinese Gospel Church (3/16), Opportunities Towers (3/31), and Why Not Prosper (04/27) for supporting our mission to provide free kidney screenings and 1-on-1 physician consultations to populations in need!
Health Education
In addition to providing clinical services, we also aimed to provide educational resources to screening participants. Our Health Education committee is present at each screening to inform participants of kidney-friendly recipes and life habits. Our community sites found these resources very valuable! We also hosted a dialysis and organ transplant panel to spread awareness about this issue and hear the inspiring journeys of our three invited panelists.
Career Development
We closed off the year with some career development for our hard-working members by hosting a medical school interview panel. Our four invited Perelman Med students engaged interested pre-med students in conversation and provided advice regarding classes, extracurriculars, the application process, and their path to medicine.
We have more exciting events and collaborations with physicians and med students planned for next semester—along with more screenings, of course!—so keep an eye out! Thank you again to all our physicians, community sites, and volunteers for a fantastic semester!
Sincerely,
PennKDSAP 2023-24 Board
Olivia Ong and Stephanie Yoon, Co-Presidents
Faith Ryu, Vice President of Clinical Operations
Elliot Kim, Vice President of Finance
Nikita Patel, Director of Community Outreach
Aylin Ergin, Director of Programming & Physician Relations
Yvonne Kuo, Director of Health Education
Jiayi Pang, Director of Marketing & Public Relations