High School students from Monmouth and Ocean counties attend "Mini Medical School".
This country, and the State of New Jersey especially, is facing a critical shortage of health care professionals and primary care physicians in particular. Our new school of medicine is designed to help ease that shortage by reaching into the community to find and train talented individuals....
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. (PRWEB) October 19, 2017
In a collaboration between the Seton Hall-Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine, Hackensack Meridian Health and Monmouth University, 85 high school students from Monmouth and Ocean counties will graduate from Mini-Medical School on October 23.
Touted as an opportunity to “learn what it takes to have a career in medicine” as well a chance to “get a taste of medicine, without the exams,” 142 students from 23 different high schools signed up for the series of seminars, with 50 plus students consigned to a waiting list.
Dr. David Kountz, an associate dean at the Seton Hall-Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine and co-chief academic officer, Hackensack Meridian Health, led the six-week curriculum, which introduced students to the world of medical care through lectures and discussions with leading physicians, medical practitioners and educators. This is the fifth year of the program, which was awarded a School Leader Award from the New Jersey School Boards Association in 2015.
Reflecting on the importance of community outreach, Dr. Kountz said, “This country, and the State of New Jersey especially, is facing a critical shortage of health care professionals and primary care physicians in particular. Our new school of medicine is designed to help ease that shortage by reaching into the community to find and train talented individuals. Mini-Medical School is one more step in that process, bringing the prospect of a career in the medical professions squarely into the community, where it belongs.”
All of the registered students were allowed to attend any of the lectures, but only those who attended at least five of the six will receive graduate certification. Seminar topics included : “How To Get Into Medical School”; “Sharing the Gift of Life: A Look into the World of Kidney Transplantation”; “Opioid Addiction: The Physiology of Addiction and What Students Can Do To Help Address the Epidemic” (co-sponsored by Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey); “Understanding Some of the Many Great Opportunities in Healthcare – Physician Assistant, Nurse Practitioner, Therapist, Technologist”; and “Every Day Medical Emergencies: Do You Know What To Do in Case of…?”
Dr. Bonita Stanton, founding dean of the Seton Hall-Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine, will give the graduation speech at this year’s ceremony. She noted, “It is vitally important that these young students know the opportunities that await them within the healing professions. There are many important roles to fill as we bring our country’s health practice into alignment with the team and community approach to medicine— and those who have taken this course are one big step further along in that journey.”
The graduation ceremony will be held at Monmouth University, Wilson Hall Auditorium, on October 23 at 7:30 p.m.