COM Students and Faculty Present NARCAN Activity to 250 High School Students

The Growing Health Leaders Annual Health Career Conference was held on March 31, 2023, to introduce Fresno area high school students to medical careers.

Over 250 high school students were bused from their home schools to the Fresno City College for an all-day learning experience with hands-on, interactive activities.

Representatives from the California Health Sciences University College of Osteopathic Medicine (CHSU-COM) organized a NARCAN® activity presented by third-year CHSU medical students, Saloni Patel, Varsha Swamy, Volodia Muradyan; Joseph Pool and Stephanie Garcia Martinez; Substance Use Navigators from the California Bridge Navigator Program and Community Medical Centers; and Francisco Ibarra, PharmD, Emergency Medicine Clinical Pharmacist at Community Regional Medical Center and Adjunct Assistant Professor at the CHSU-COM.

The CHSU medical students spoke about their journey into medical school and how they expect to practice medicine when they are licensed physicians. The CHSU activity discussed the roles of doctors, pharmacists, and substance use navigators to help a patient during an opioid overdose and how NARCAN® can save lives in those situations. The medical students also helped inform the high school students about the different forms and types of opioid drugs. They shared about how these powerful drugs can be beneficial in healthcare when used properly and how the opioids, like fentanyl, work within the body.

“It was wonderful to be able to connect with these students and help guide them on their education journeys,” said Varsha Swamy, OMS-III. “Substance abuse is rife in the Central Valley and opioid overdoses are consistently increasing in frequency, especially among the younger age groups. By teaching these high school students about the social and medical perspectives of opioid abuse, we can help them enter their planned healthcare careers with an early understanding of this important topic.”

The activity featured a video of a Fresno native who is currently in recovery. This video was created by the Fresno District Attorney Lisa Smittcamp and her team.

“The students listened to a first encounter about a Fresno-based teenager’s drug journey, which I felt was very important to hear for the families of Central Valley,” said Saloni Patel, OMS-III. “It felt gratifying and fun to give back to the students to hopefully inspire a spark of love for medicine, as my mentors have continuously done for me.”

The presentation cautioned on how dangerous and deadly opioids are when too much is taken, when someone becomes addicted and “tolerant,” which leads them to take more and more for the same effect. Fentanyl can also be mixed into other drugs, without the user knowing, making the drugs much more dangerous than expected. In addition, illegal opioid drugs can take many forms, like in candy, bars, powders, pills, or made to look like a different less potent drug. Children, teenagers, and adults alike should be cautious and never take candy, food, drugs, or “medicine” from anyone except trusted people like parents or health professionals.   

The CHSU activity ended with the high school students learning to administering NARCAN® using an empty demonstration dispenser to mannikins.

“These events are great for the community because as more people become aware of how opioids work and how to diagnose an overdose, more lives can be saved,” said Volodia Muradyan, OMS-III. “The community can be better protected through these outreach programs. With the city providing NARCAN® at every corner, we need to educate everyone in order to prevent overdoses.”