Kids with psychological/bodily disabilities take pleasure in day at Shreveport Aquarium as a part of annual Camp Tiger hosted by LSU Health Shreveport med college students

SHREVEPORT, La. (KSLA) – The twenty fifth annual Camp Tiger hosted a big day of enjoyable for campers Tuesday (June 9) on the Shreveport Aquarium.

The camp is hosted annually by first- and second-year med college students at LSU Health Shreveport serving as counselors. It’s particularly designed for teenagers and youths with psychological and/or bodily disabilities. The free camp is held June 8-12.

Joel Penalber, a first-year LSU Health Shreveport scholar and Camp Tiger counselor from Hammond, Louisiana, mentioned this system drew him to the varsity.

“I had been to Shreveport like a few times just to the med school and met some really great people. And when I heard about Camp Tiger, it just further interested me in the school,” Penalber mentioned. “Everything they do is really community-based. And they have a really good time trying to help people. And it just further drew me to LSU Shreveport.”

Building expertise and confidence

Organizers say the purpose is to offer campers per week the place they’ll simply be children whereas future physicians be taught firsthand learn how to look after sufferers and households in northwest Louisiana. Organizers say it provides campers per week of enjoyable and independence whereas med college students get hands-on expertise caring for teenagers with completely different wants.

Omar Ibrahim, a second-year LSU Health Shreveport scholar and Camp Tiger counselor, mentioned the expertise has helped him develop.

“It’s going super smooth. I’m less anxious about it. The whole time I was wondering, Oh, don’t let the kid run off too far. And I was always just trying super hard to make sure not that the kid wasn’t trying to hurt himself or anything like that. But I have a better grasp of it now. I can have a lot more confidence in my skills to look after him. It comes like second nature,” Ibrahim mentioned. “And I get to look over the first years and just be able to calm him down and say there’s going to be some mishaps and some oopsies, but we’ve got your back. Don’t fret. Everyone makes mistakes. This is your first time trying to take care of somebody else or look after somebody. So this is a very great exposure into what you’re about to get into in the future.”

Students say the week at Camp Tiger helps them construct confidence, compassion, and real-world expertise they’ll carry into their medical careers.