West Lauderdale students in Health Sciences class put their skills into action Tuesday as they teamed up with Baptist Anderson Regional Medical Center to host the class’s annual health fair.

 

Students offered blood pressure readings, glucose measuring and other health indicator services to teachers, coaches and community members, while nurses from Baptist Anderson provided blood tests such as cholesterol testing at a discounted rate.

 

Health Sciences Teacher Lee Ann Rhaly said the fair, which has been held annually for more than 20 years, gives students a chance to put their knowledge to the test in a clinical setting while providing a service to the community.

 

“It also gives our students an experience of real clinic setting, how to set it up on the businesses and how to manage the patient into the clinical areas that they need to be assessed in to make the patient feel at home and understand what those lab values are,” she said.

 

Georgia Claire Withers, a health sciences student participating in the fair for the third time, said the event is extremely helpful. The clinical experience helps students get an idea if a career in healthcare is truly what they want and tests their knowledge from their lessons.

 

“You get to show people what you’ve learned and be able to do what you’ve learned  to make sure you know it,” she said. “Very helpful.”