, in partnership with USF Youth Experiences, hosted its first Mini-Med School camp, an immersive one-week program designed to give rising 11th and 12th grade students an inside look at life as a medical student.
Across five days, students practiced clinical skills, explored medical concepts and learned from USF Health faculty, staff and current medical students about what it takes to pursue a future in healthcare.
Throughout the week, camp attendees experienced the rigors of medical school firsthand and were introduced to core concepts in medicine, including the science of human organ systems and their associated chronic diseases. They also took part in interactive simulations designed to imitate real-world healthcare scenarios, with sessions focused on surgery and trauma, emergency medicine, diagnostic medicine and CPR.
The Mini-Med program aims to move beyond traditional classroom instruction by not only introducing students to the fundamentals of medical biology, but by also pairing hand-on learning with an emphasis on the personal and professional skills needed to succeed in healthcare. Sessions focused on emotional intelligence, communication, compassion and the importance of understanding both personal values and patient perspectives.
Shirley Smith, instructor and director of the Morsani College of Medicine Office of Student and Community Engagement, said the camp is a chance to nurture the dreams of local kids and adolescents hoping to pursue careers across the healthcare spectrum, while also giving them tools to prepare for college.
鈥淲hile students may be interested in medical careers, if they aren鈥檛 set up to be successful upon entering college, then they won鈥檛 have access to the proper pathways,鈥 Smith said. 鈥淥ur program has really focused on communicating with compassion, understanding your own values and bringing those values into healthcare. It mirrors what we teach our medical students. To understand patient perspectives, students must have a better understanding of their own.鈥
For one participant, 17-year-old Julia Gordon, the week was both eye-opening and reassuring. Gordon hopes to become a physician one day and said she was 鈥渆ncouraged to see that the medical field is filled with knowledgeable and compassionate people doing their absolute best to help their patients.鈥 She added that the experience strengthened her interest in medicine by showing her a side of healthcare she had not seen before.
鈥淏efore attending the camp, I had never experienced the hospital or healthcare environment as anything other than a patient,鈥 Gordon said. 鈥淢y goal of being a cardiothoracic surgeon is stronger than ever, and thanks to USF, the path to get there has never been clearer.鈥
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