By Ron Hickerson, Chief Reporter
In an attempt to reach out to high school and college students that typically fall through the cracks, Georgia Regents University students and staff are seeking to show the possibilities and benefits of going into the medical profession.
Sponsored by the Student National Medical Association and the Office of Diversity Affairs, the university hosted its second “Igniting the Dream of Medicine” conference Saturday, Feb. 23, said Linda James, the director of diversity outreach at the office of diversity affairs and adviser to the SNMA.
The full-day conference provided attendees with hands-on activities and advice on how to get into medical school, she said, and the conference mainly caters to overlooked high school and college students from underrepresented populations, giving them the chance to learn more about medicine and the medical field, which ultimately makes them more competitive applicants to medical schools across the country.
“We do reach out to people who are underrepresented in medicine and that may be underrepresented by race,” said Kimberly Halbur, the dean of the Office of Diversity Affairs. “It may be by being the first in your family to go to college or coming from a socioeconomic background that doesn’t provide access.”
Halbur said her office decided to sponsor this conference when it first began in 2011because it fit perfectly with its mission to diversify the physician workforce, creating culturally confident doctors and doctors who more closely mirror their patient populations.
“We really want to bring high school and college students in to give them an overview of the admissions process,” she said. “And also to provide them with opportunities to network with students and faculty and to gain hands-on experience.”
Aleiya Butler, a second-year medical student and president of the SNMA, agreed with Halbur, saying the conference furthers the goals of the student organization.
“Basically, we go out into the communities and volunteer at high schools and give them advice for how to get into medical school and even college,” she said of the organization’s normal activities.
As for the conference, Butler said both organizations collaborated to decide the types of workshops and activities that would be offered.
“The backbone (of the conference) was set up by the Office of Diversity Affairs of how the day would go, and then they asked us what we would like to see offered there,” she said.
James said the students come in for opening remarks and then go to participate in workshops throughout the day that help them pave their way into medical school. The workshops include how to form action and contingency plans, panel discussions from medical professionals, question and answer sessions, and mock interviews for senior participants.
“We’re trying to work with the students first on motivation … to keep going toward their goal,” Butler said, saying that students frequently become disorganized or lose focus after they enter college, hindering their desired outcomes.
In addition to these workshops, James said, students will be able to tour the university’s medical facilities and participate in interactive labs such as patient simulation labs, suture labs and anatomy specimen labs.
Participants can also interact with medical students involved in different student clubs and activities, getting the medical students’ perspectives on what to expect in medical school. The events of the conference seek to promote the enhancement, exposure, awareness and enrichment of the students who come to the event, James said.
“Some of the people who came through Igniting the Dream have since signed up for our (Student Education Enrichment Program), which is our summer program for high school and college students, and we have some of our SEEP students applying to medical school,” she said. “The goal is to start the pipeline early and to help students understand what the other pipeline options are to keep them interested in medicine and health care.”
This year, Halbur said they expect 200 conference participants, and Butler said she is excited to see how the conference will affect its participants.
“I think that they’ll be motivated and that they’ll have a lot more knowledge, and I also think that we’ll know a lot more about what (the medical school) has to offer,” she said. “In the back of their minds, they’ll think, ‘Wow. This school really does care about informing students and preparing them if they’re interested in medical school. The school cares about diversity.’ And I think they’ll have a good time.”