May 2025
2024-2025: Year In Review
As we head into the next semester, here’s an update on what we’ve been up to this past year.
Volunteer Training
KDSAP provided two general training sessions with over 120 students in attendance! Volunteers were trained on professionalism and cultural humility, while also learning how to operate our six stations—registration, medical history, blood pressure, BMI, urinalysis, and blood glucose. Before each screening, students were informed of the site's culture and how to properly treat participants.
Free Kidney Screenings
Following the general training, our volunteers were ready to participate in our five in-person kidney screenings! As we reconnected with our community site partners around Philadelphia, we are thankful to Christ & St. Ambrose Episcopal Church (02/01), Free church of St. John (02/22), Chinese Gospel Church (03/02), Opportunities Towers (04/05), and Mt. Zion Baptist Church (04/19) for supporting our mission to provide free kidney screenings and 1-on-1 physician consultations to populations in need!
Health Education
In addition to providing clinical services, we also aimed to provide educational resources to screening participants. Our Health Education committee is present at each screening to inform participants of kidney-friendly recipes and life habits. Our community sites found these resources very valuable! We also hosted several panels to spread awareness about this issue and hear the inspiring journeys of our renowned panelists.
Career Development
We also hosted career development opportunities for our hard-working members. For instance, we hosted as a medical school interview panel, where Perelman Med students provided advice to interested pre-med students about classes, extracurriculars, the application process, and their path to medicine. We also hosted a kidney dissection event, where students got to learn about the parts of the kidney and their functions, followed by the opportunity to dissect a sheep kidney.
We have more exciting events and collaborations with physicians and med students planned for next semester—along with more screenings, of course!—so keep an eye out! Thank you again to all our physicians, community sites, and volunteers for a fantastic semester!
Sincerely,
PennKDSAP 2024-25 Board
Elliot Kim and Aylin Ergin, Co-Presidents
Austin Pothikamjorn, Vice President of Clinical Operations
Yvonne Kuo, Vice President of Finance
Anya Jayanthi, Director of Community Outreach
Kayla Kim, Director of Programming & Physician Relations
Sneha Chandrshekar, Director of Health Education
Jiayi Pang, Director of Marketing & Public Relations