{"id":7479,"date":"2013-05-25T10:40:36","date_gmt":"2013-05-25T15:40:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/news\/?p=7479"},"modified":"2015-11-12T08:28:50","modified_gmt":"2015-11-12T14:28:50","slug":"bringing-diversity-to-maternal-and-child-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/news\/bringing-diversity-to-maternal-and-child-health\/","title":{"rendered":"Bringing diversity to maternal and child health"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Jessica Hickman (right), student in the Helen Bader School of Social Welfare, and Pakou Lo, student in the College of Nursing, worked with families and children as part of their experiences in UWM\u2019s Maternal and Child Health Pipeline Training Program. (MCH). (Photos by Troye Fox<\/em>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Growing up as one of eight children in Milwaukee, Pakou Lo had her share of challenges. For a time her family\u2019s pantry was filled with food from WIC, a federal nutrition program for women, infants and children. She was bused to a suburban school, where, as a young first-generation Hmong-American, she didn\u2019t really fit in and was labeled as having a learning disability.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know what it feels like to be vulnerable,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Now a senior majoring in nursing at UWM, Lo is determined to give back to children who feel the same way. And one key to her success: UWM\u2019s Maternal and Child Health Pipeline Training Program (MCH). It\u2019s one of just four federally funded programs in the country \u2013 and the only one in the Midwest \u2013 dedicated to increasing the number of underrepresented students pursuing graduate study in the fields of maternal and child health.<\/p>\n

UWM\u2019s program began in 2006 and was expanded in 2011, when it received a five-year grant renewal from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services\u2019 Health Resources and Services Administration and the Maternal and Child Health Bureau. The program now begins freshman year and includes training through senior year, involving nearly 40 students per year who are majoring in occupational therapy, communication sciences and disorders, pre-physical therapy, social work, nursing, psychology and nutrition.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Jessica Hickman at a WIC (Women, Infants and Children) day care center.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u2018It\u2019s changed my whole life\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Before MCH, Lo says she probably would\u2019ve stopped at her bachelor\u2019s degree. Now she wants to earn her doctorate.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s changed my whole life,\u201d she says. \u201cI really feel that as a higher-degree nurse I\u2019ll be able to give back so much more in research than I would as a BSN.\u201d<\/p>\n

Giving back is what it\u2019s all about.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the main objectives in diversifying the health care workforce is to help reduce health disparities,\u201d says Lora de Oliveira, the program\u2019s co-director and clinical associate professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s especially critical in Milwaukee, which has some of the worst statistics around maternal and child health, including high rates of teen pregnancy and infant mortality, she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very difficult to reach families when you don\u2019t have people who understand their culture and their background,\u201d says MCH co-director Victoria Moerchen, associate professor of kinesiology.<\/p>\n

Creating an internal pipeline<\/strong><\/p>\n

Initially, UWM\u2019s MCH program served only seniors. But faculty soon realized that in order to achieve the pipeline into graduate school, they first had to create an internal pipeline \u201cto identify and mentor students early to support their success in getting into the MCH-related majors,\u201d Moerchen says.<\/p>\n

In addition to Moerchen and de Oliveira, the program includes seven discipline coordinators. For students in the pre-major phase of their degrees, the program offers academic support and mentoring across disciplines.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Pakou Lo is a senior in nursing.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Once accepted into their major, MCH students receive a year of mentored research training that is intended to augment their competitiveness for graduate school.<\/p>\n

In their final year at UWM, selected students receive funding toward the year\u2019s tuition and for attendance at a national conference. Some students are then able to present their research at the conference, \u201cwhich is really impressive in terms of early leadership development,\u201d Moerchen says.<\/p>\n

The senior year cohort includes a student from each of the disciplines, as well as an at-large position that can be filled by a student who is interested in medicine, dentistry or public health. The interdisciplinary dynamic is key.<\/p>\n

The interdisciplinary difference<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWe all see things differently because we\u2019re from different majors,\u201d says Jessica Hickman, a senior majoring in social work. \u201cI never realized how important it was to not only play your role, but actually know the role of others and how they interact.\u201d<\/p>\n

The final year of MCH training is the most in-depth: It includes a weekly seminar on maternal and child health, peer mentoring from graduate students in an MCH program at UW-Madison, mentoring by families of children with disabilities, traveling to the state capitol to learn about advocacy, observing the Care Coordination Clinic at Children\u2019s Hospital of Wisconsin and volunteering with various community organizations.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a very rigorous curriculum from start to finish, but we\u2019ve found that it\u2019s a very valuable experience,\u201d de Oliveira says. \u201cIt really puts students in a position where they\u2019re competitive for applications to grad school and they actually begin to feel ready to take their education to the next level.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for Lo, she hopes to stay on at UWM. \u201cThey have a fantastic Doctor of Nursing Practice program,\u201d she says. \u201cUWM has given me so much, more than I could\u2019ve ever anticipated as a freshman. It\u2019s really taught me who I am.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

UWM\u2019s Maternal and Child Health Pipeline Training Program is increasing the number of underrepresented graduate students in the fields of maternal and child health.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40008,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","uwm_wg_additional_authors":[]},"categories":[174],"tags":[],"section":[122,124],"display_categories":[],"related-coverage":[],"uwmnews-feed":[],"class_list":["post-7479","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","section-campus-community","section-students"],"yoast_head":"\nBringing diversity to maternal and child health<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"UWM\u2019s Maternal and Child Health Pipeline Training Program is increasing the number of underrepresented graduate students in the fields of maternal and child health.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, 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