In one of the most beautiful parts of the state, a UNMC faculty member and students from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln are spending part of their summer in the Nebraska Sandhills.
Eleven students are engaged in the field epidemiology course at the University of Nebraska’s Cedar Point Biological Station. The course represents a special collaboration between the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and UNMC, said Devin Nickol, M.D., associate professor of internal medicine and assistant dean for interprofessional education.
See a picture gallery from the course here.
The station is a field research facility and experiential classroom in western Nebraska, near Lake McConaughy and the city of Ogallala. It sits in the heart of the western high plains near the juncture of tall grass and short grass prairie, on the south edge of the Sandhills and the North Platte River valley.
“Many past students have gone on to careers in medicine, public health, and other scientific professions at UNMC and elsewhere,” Dr. Nickol said. “This ‘learn-by-doing’ approach is an effective way to transform topics students often find challenging or dry into engaging, active learning experiences.”
He said the course explores how epidemiological principles form the foundation of public health and evidence-based medicine, using a series of daily field exercises and experiments with organisms ranging from beetle larvae to toads.
Emily Franzen of Columbus said the course is beneficial because she is interested in the MD/MPH dual-degree program. “I enjoy field epidemiology because it challenges me with many concepts not taught in a typical lecture-style biology class,” she said. “Being only a three-week long course, the material is intensive and fast-paced, but Dr. Nickol always keeps it upbeat and fun.”