Pocono News Section

Medical Students Offer Helping Hands at L.L.W.S.

Medical Students Offer Helping Hands at L.L.W.S. - Wednesday, August 20, 2008 at 5:24PM EST

Reported by: Jeremy Deebel
Wednesday, Aug 20, 2008 @ 05:24pm EST
South Williamsport, Lycoming County-

Working alongside professionals in their field, about 60 E. M.S. and physician's assistant students from Penn College are helping out here at the Little League World Series.

With hundreds of ballplayers and thousands of fans roaming the complex, the extra help is in high demand. Penn College senior Katherine Ordonez said, "It's very important to have the people that are trained and can take care of the kids right away. If anything emerging happens, we are right on it."

Ordonez is a native of Colombia who's happy to put her skills to good use. She explained, "I personally speak Spanish. I just had a patient who spoke Spanish. He didn't know any English, so that was very rewarding for me to be able to use my skills to help him."

Cultural awareness and community involvement are two key components of the physician's assistant program at Penn College. Volunteering here at the Little League World Series certainly satisfies both of those standards.

Penn College senior Sylvia Graczyk added, "It also helps with our physical exam skills, history taking, and just basically enforces the stuff we've learned and want to do."

In addition to treating the usual scrapes, bumps, and bruises, medical staff here have also worked with victims of heart attacks and other serious conditions.

It's valuable experience that these students will carry with them in the real world. Graczyk noted, "How many people can say, I volunteered, I helped kids from all over the world. It's something I'll always remember."

The Penn College students will continue volunteering their time at the Little League International Complex for the rest of the week.