‘service learning’
BME class repairs medical equipment at 3 hospitals in Guatemala
Mar. 25, 2020—For a class of biomedical engineering undergraduates spring break was about frayed wires, disconnected connectors and malfunctioning monitors rather than sun, sand and surf. A dozen students spent the week in Guatemala repairing medical equipment at hospitals as part of a service learning class taught by Senior Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education Cynthia Paschal, associate...
BME students repair medical devices at Guatemala hospitals during spring break
Mar. 19, 2018—An anesthesia vaporizer that doesn’t deliver enough anesthesia; a rattling infant incubator with a tilted impeller; an infusion pump stuck in permanent “hold” mode; and a room filled with hundreds of medical devices needing attention are not typical spring break fare for university students. But this wasn’t a typical spring break trip. A dozen Vanderbilt...
Guatemala trip offers students ‘engineering in action’
Mar. 17, 2014—Two engineering professors and 12 undergraduates spent their spring break repairing medical equipment at hospitals in Guatemala as part of a biomedical engineering service learning course. The team – students in BME 290 – arrived in Guatemala City March 1 and would travel to Antigua during their week’s stay. In all, they would work at...
Students’ Guatemala trip reveals medical needs
Mar. 24, 2010—Ten biomedical students and their professor spent spring break on a service learning trip where they repaired medical equipment March 8-12. This was the second trip to Guatemala for Associate Professor Cynthia Paschal, who teaches the Service Learning and Leadership course in the biomedical engineering department. “In preparation, we researched the specific machines and instruments...
10 BME students to spend week working in Guatemalan hospitals
Mar. 5, 2010—Ten biomedical engineering students and their professor will spend spring break (March 8-12) in Guatemala City. This is the second trip to Guatemala for Associate Professor Cynthia Paschal, who teaches a Service Learning and Leadership course in the biomedical engineering department. She and 12 BME students spent a week in Guatemala in 2009, also during...
Student’s dynamo-powered otoscope delights doctors
Feb. 24, 2009—In remote locations far from electricity and replacement batteries, a basic piece of medical exam equipment – the otoscope – can be useless. The importance of an otoscope extends beyond the general examination of eyes, ears and throats. Among other uses, it can help doctors see the borders of skin lesions and find infants’ small,...
Paschal’s New biomedical classes are ‘engineering in action’
Feb. 24, 2009—When Cynthia Paschal created a new biomedical engineering service-learning course last fall, she hoped that 15 students would enroll. For the spring 2009 follow-up, she hoped to have 12 students, which would be a manageable number to take on an international project in Guatemala for a week. Then 46 students registered for the fall semester...
12 BME students to spend week working in Guatemalan clinic, hospital
Feb. 24, 2009— Twelve biomedical engineering students, their professor, and a former dean of the engineering school will spend spring break (Feb. 28-March 7) in Guatemala City. Follow them at this blog. The students are currently in Associate Professor Cynthia Paschal’s BME 290F class, Service Learning and Leadership. Paschal and the class will meet Ed White, dean...