Mississippi Quality Improvement Initiative II, Learning Session III Conference
There was a great amount of information at this conference. Clinics from all over Mississippi came to this meeting to share some of their success stories as well as programs they were doing to combat the high rates of health complications in Mississippi. There was one presentation I really enjoyed because the way they set it up was like a basketball game. I was so engaged in their presentation especially when they spoke of many of their patients’ success stories.
Tougaloo College
Dr. Thompson’s Alma Mater, Tougaloo College, was beautiful! The first thing I noticed was that it was a very small school that had a great emphasis on greek life. As we drove into the campus, we passed stones with greek letters imprinted on them. Then, Dr. Thompson showed us plaques that engraved many memorable sorority and fraternity members’ of the university located on stones in the middle of campus. Of course she and her husband were one of the many memorable alumni.
The graduation ceremony of Tougaloo College was most fascinating to me! It was only held outdoors, with rows of parents and friends placed facing the center of campus. Graduates would walk on sidewalk paths that lead to the center with the sound of drums everywhere. It sounded so magical and cultural! I’m graduating this May and I would love to experience such a special graduation ceremony. Nevertheless, I’m still very excited to be graduating!
Aftercare Program Nutrition Education
The children at the Aftercare Program were so great! We were actually only assigned with the 3rd, 4th and 5th graders. I was glad it worked out that way because these older children were definitely much easier to handle. Leslie and I worked together to implement our lessons. We previously prepared lesson plans that were suitable for all ages as well as engage these kids in the activity. The kids loved the activities! They were also so knowledgeable about the MyPlate and the types of food that belonged to each food group. I was so impressed that some kids named some foods that I would not even think of!
DPP Curriculum at Church
After a nice long drive to Raymond, we finally arrived at Dr. Thompson’s house, which was only 2 minutes away from the church! (That’s so convenient) She lived in such a rural place! All I saw on our way there was just plain flat land. There weren’t many tries nor hills. This was a part of Mississippi we haven’t seen because we have been in the city for past week. Now I wonder what the Delta looks like!
The church was filled with music and joy when we entered. I’ve never gone to church before so I did not know what to expect. Everyone seemed to have so much fun! Afterwards, Dr. Thompson’s husband facilitated for the Diabetes Prevention Program at the church. They were on their last lesson for the whole curriculum, lesson 16. He was a great facilitator! He really engaged his audience and I was surprised on how many questions the kids had! They were really absorbed into the subject and were so curious about everything! I really loved how he brought in tubes of sugar to show the hidden amount that was actually in a variety of everyday foods, such as a can of coke, a Hershey bar and even a slice of apple pie! I was most surprise about the amount of sugar in a slice of apple pie. After the lesson, the church members went to a corner where Dr. Thompson was, to be weighed. The purpose of this was to evaluate the effectiveness of this program through the participants weight gain or loss. I was glad to hear that most participants did lose weight!
There was a great amount of information at this conference. Clinics from all over Mississippi came to this meeting to share some of their success stories as well as programs they were doing to combat the high rates of health complications in Mississippi. There was one presentation I really enjoyed because the way they set it up was like a basketball game. I was so engaged in their presentation especially when they spoke of many of their patients’ success stories.
Tougaloo College
Dr. Thompson’s Alma Mater, Tougaloo College, was beautiful! The first thing I noticed was that it was a very small school that had a great emphasis on greek life. As we drove into the campus, we passed stones with greek letters imprinted on them. Then, Dr. Thompson showed us plaques that engraved many memorable sorority and fraternity members’ of the university located on stones in the middle of campus. Of course she and her husband were one of the many memorable alumni.
The graduation ceremony of Tougaloo College was most fascinating to me! It was only held outdoors, with rows of parents and friends placed facing the center of campus. Graduates would walk on sidewalk paths that lead to the center with the sound of drums everywhere. It sounded so magical and cultural! I’m graduating this May and I would love to experience such a special graduation ceremony. Nevertheless, I’m still very excited to be graduating!
Aftercare Program Nutrition Education
The children at the Aftercare Program were so great! We were actually only assigned with the 3rd, 4th and 5th graders. I was glad it worked out that way because these older children were definitely much easier to handle. Leslie and I worked together to implement our lessons. We previously prepared lesson plans that were suitable for all ages as well as engage these kids in the activity. The kids loved the activities! They were also so knowledgeable about the MyPlate and the types of food that belonged to each food group. I was so impressed that some kids named some foods that I would not even think of!
DPP Curriculum at Church
After a nice long drive to Raymond, we finally arrived at Dr. Thompson’s house, which was only 2 minutes away from the church! (That’s so convenient) She lived in such a rural place! All I saw on our way there was just plain flat land. There weren’t many tries nor hills. This was a part of Mississippi we haven’t seen because we have been in the city for past week. Now I wonder what the Delta looks like!
The church was filled with music and joy when we entered. I’ve never gone to church before so I did not know what to expect. Everyone seemed to have so much fun! Afterwards, Dr. Thompson’s husband facilitated for the Diabetes Prevention Program at the church. They were on their last lesson for the whole curriculum, lesson 16. He was a great facilitator! He really engaged his audience and I was surprised on how many questions the kids had! They were really absorbed into the subject and were so curious about everything! I really loved how he brought in tubes of sugar to show the hidden amount that was actually in a variety of everyday foods, such as a can of coke, a Hershey bar and even a slice of apple pie! I was most surprise about the amount of sugar in a slice of apple pie. After the lesson, the church members went to a corner where Dr. Thompson was, to be weighed. The purpose of this was to evaluate the effectiveness of this program through the participants weight gain or loss. I was glad to hear that most participants did lose weight!