Medical student volunteers presenting skin cancer prevention in a school classroom
Excellent Service-Learning Opportunity
for Medical Students
Children and adolescents must limit sun exposure to reduce their risk of developing skin cancer. As a medical student you are the ideal UV&Me sun safety ambassador. School kids can relate to you while you not only expertly educate them, but also motivate them to adopt lifelong sun-protective behavior.
Volunteer to teach skin cancer prevention
Patients undergoing surgery for skin cancer often complain that no one ever told them to stay out of the sun when they were young. Surely that was when most of the sun-induced mutations that triggered their tumor were sustained. To stop the epidemic of skin cancer, kids must be taught that sun exposure is the major cause. But wait. That may not be sufficient. They also need to be motivated to practice sun safety. You are uniquely positioned to accomplish both objectives.
As a medical student you can easily relate to adolescents and children, and they will look up to you as a role model. UV&Me is a dermatology-related volunteer program that offers you the chance to directly interact with school students in your community and create a meaningful impact. UV&Me puts you right into school classrooms, in person or by webinar, where you will have the opportunity to share your knowledge and enthusiasm in teaching and motivating the students to prevent skin cancer by avoiding its major cause, overexposure to the sun.
Service-learning in medical school
Through the UV&Me program, medical student volunteers visit a school classroom, in person or by webinar, to deliver an interactive skin cancer prevention program lasting approximately 45 minutes. We provide an “in-service” program to get you prepared, plus complete presentations for all grade levels. All of our presentations have been reviewed and approved by board-certified dermatologists. Each incorporates age-appropriate discussion of our established curriculum topics, such as:
- Components of solar radiation, including ultraviolet
- Sun exposure as the major cause of skin cancer
- Skin cancer development
- Discouragement of sun tanning
- Sun protection methods and tips
Ready-to-use presentations
Presentations with speaker’s notes are available to chapter members for download from our Resource Library. Our curriculum of skin cancer prevention topics is also on file in the Resource Library.
Please note: when making a UV&Me presentation to school children, chapter members must only use pre-approved materials that have been downloaded from the Resource Library, and they are to be used without alteration unless specifically authorized.
Service-learning components
The UV&Me program is designed to address the three core elements of service-learning: Preparation, Community Service, and Reflection.
- Preparation
To prepare you for teaching, written materials and a PowerPoint presentation are provided in the Resource Library with detailed information on solar radiation, carcinogenesis, vitamin D, and skin cancer prevention strategies. Tips for teaching and conducting meaningful interaction with school children are also made available.
Your chapter’s faculty advisor can be invited to conduct or attend the “in-service” preparation session early in the academic year. - Community Service
This element can be subdivided into Intervention and Interaction. After you have prepared, you will be ready to deliver the intervention in the form of a UV&Me-approved presentation to students in their school classroom. We encourage both in-person and webinar delivery, each of which should provide the opportunity for interaction. This will allow you to engage your audience members in conversation, and to use all your powers of persuasion to motivate the students to prevent skin cancer and premature skin aging by practicing sun safety. - Reflection
You may be surprised to realize how much you learn by teaching. At chapter meetings, members are strongly encouraged to participate in discussions to review their classroom experiences, identify successes and any areas for improvement, and to share those outcomes with members of other chapters through our social media. A valuable added benefit: if you “practice what you preach” you will significantly reduce your personal risk of developing skin cancer and premature skin aging.
Med Students Interested in Dermatology
What’s in YOUR future? If you are interested in dermatology, volunteering with UV&Me is perfect for you. But wait! Whether your interest lies in pediatrics, ophthalmology, internal-or-family medicine, this program provides an excellent opportunity for you to develop expertise that you can share with your future patients about preventing skin cancer, sun damage, and eye damage. Regardless of your future specialty, you will benefit from the experience of delivering presentations, and can enjoy the rewards of an interactive teaching activity in the community.
P.S. For you future pediatricians, there’s a great need for heightened sun safety awareness in elementary schools. Materials for use with this age group, including award-winning educational videos produced by Sun Safety for Kids, are included in our Resource Library.
UV&Me chapters provide public service
Typically at each university, multiple Medical Student Organizations/Clubs/Groups (MSOs) are registered and officially recognized. While a UV&Me chapter typically has members who have an interest in dermatology, the chapter itself is organized not as a dermatology interest group (nor within one), but as a public service group that provides a wonderful opportunity for medical students with all interests to contribute preventive healthcare volunteer work in the community. If you’re looking for a meaningful way to apply the strong humanitarianism within you, UV&Me offers an ideal setting.
After joining you will acquire new scientific knowledge, develop skill in giving presentations, be acknowledged for creativity, and be rewarded with the personal satisfaction of actively and directly serving the school children in your community and beyond. Plus, in case any support is needed, we’re here for you.
Join the existing UV&Me MSO at your university’s medical school. If none yet exists, make yourself the founder of a new chapter! Information and support for starting a new chapter are available in our Resource Library.
Volunteer today!
Getting started
If no chapter yet exists at your med school, Contact Us to register and request access to the password-protected Resource Library. There you will find instructions and tips to guide you in starting a new chapter.
Support
UV&Me Directors are available to provide support to aspiring or established chapter members. We are unable to provide phone or chat support at this time but please don’t hesitate to Contact Us.
The UV&Me organization is a subsidiary of the nonprofit public benefit charity, Sun Safety for Kids, which is directed entirely by board-certified dermatologists. These doctors oversee the UV&Me program and appoint our Support Team comprised of UV&Me Medical Student Directors, Professional Directors (each of whom is a board-certified dermatologist) and our General Manager.
Dermatology Interest Group Association
A big shout out to DIGA for adding UV&Me to their Volunteer Page. Many of our new chapters have been started by med students who discovered us there. Thank you DIGA!