Press Release

October 25, 2006
Contact: Kaylyn Kendall Dines
973-972-5000

Medical and Dental Students at UMDNJ Aim
To Make a Difference in Lives of Youth

PISCATAWAY — Youth are invited to attend the free Student Doctor for a Day program at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey on Saturday, October 28, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The event, which is being held on National Make a Difference Day, will take place at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, 675 Hoes Lane, in Piscataway.

National Make a Difference Day, an annual observance that was established by USA WEEKEND Magazine, encourages people to find ways of helping their neighbors and friends. The theme of the UMDNJ event is “Let Health Bloom.”

The event will provide educational, yet fun, opportunities for youth to explore health careers. Interactive activities will allow youth to become student doctors for a day while interacting with current medical students from the UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and dental students from the UMDNJ-New Jersey Dental School.

Youth will rotate from one station to another where they will take part in medical activities, watch an ultrasound video of a fetus and identify bones from a skeleton. First aid and CPR training will also be offered and the youth will be able to take home a potted plant that they have decorated in honor of a friend, neighbor or family member. Information will also be provided on how to apply to medical and dental school. Each participant will receive a free
T-shirt and a stethoscope.

To register, call Sarah Kelly at 732-235-7633. Ms. Kelly can also be reached by e-mail at kellysw@umdnj.edu.

The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) is the nation’s largest free-standing public health sciences university with more than 5,500 students attending the state's three medical schools, its only dental school, a graduate school of biomedical sciences, a school of health related professions, a school of nursing and a school of public health on five campuses. Annually, there are more than two million patient visits at UMDNJ facilities and faculty practices at campuses in Newark, New Brunswick/Piscataway, Scotch Plains, Camden and Stratford. UMDNJ operates University Hospital, a Level I Trauma Center in Newark, and University Behavioral HealthCare, a statewide mental health and addiction services network.