Hofstra North Shore-LIJ Medical Scholars Pipeline Program Serves Up a Summer of Enriching Experiences to 61 High School Students
Hempstead, NY (PRWEB) July 23, 2013 -- A “mini medical school” is just one of the innovative and exciting offerings this year at the Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine’s Medical Scholars Pipeline Program.
Sixty one students are enrolled in the educational and motivational program for academically talented and economically disadvantaged high school students. Now in its fourth year, the Pipeline Program’s ultimate goal is to increase diversity of the healthcare workforce by exposing young scholars to various healthcare professions and give them a competitive edge.
The “mini medical school” element will be facilitated by two second-year medical students now attending the School of Medicine. The class will be based on the cornerstone of the school’s innovative curriculum, Patient Explorations in Active Learning Reason and Synthesis (PEARLS) that uses problem- and case-based learning scenarios driven by the students’ own inquisitive minds.
“The Medical Scholars Pipeline Program gives students a safe and supportive environment in which to learn, explore and grow,” said Dean Lawrence G. Smith, MD. “Our goal is to inspire them to believe in their own strengths and intelligence, because with that, they can achieve anything.”
This year’s Pipeline students come from Benjamin Cardozo, Queens Gateway, Francis Lewis and Excelsior Preparatory high schools in Queens and from Uniondale, Westbury and Hempstead high schools in Nassau County.
For the first time since the program’s inception, seven fourth-year Pipeline students will be participating in the North Eastern Regional Alliance (NERA) summer Med Prep Program and one fourth-year Pipeline student will be participating in the Summer Medical and Dental Education Program at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center. These challenging programs are designed to give the older students an opportunity to further develop key skills and competencies important to success as applicants to and in medical school.
Pipeline students are introduced to the clinical, social and political issues facing the healthcare industry. Topics of learning sessions include the ethics of medical research, health-care reform, medical imaging, sickle cell anemia, heart disease, pediatrics, diabetes, obstetrics, stress reduction, health literacy and cultural competency.
The first-year students take part in exercises to develop leadership and team-building skills, SAT prep and CPR training. Second-year students learn the basics of how to conduct scientific research and they also attend several learning sessions in the medical school’s Structure Lab. Third-year students participate in the mini medical school and complete a clinical rotation at Franklin Hospital, an affiliate of the North Shore-LIJ Health System, while second-year students conduct research projects, mentored by faculty members of the medical school.
The participants rotate through programs held at the school and at various health system properties, including its Center for Learning and Innovation, Patient Safety Institute, The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, and hospitals throughout the New York metropolitan area.
Students are selected for this fully funded program through an application process that includes interviews and recommendations from educators at their high schools. Grants are generously provided by philanthropic sources, including the Gateway Institute for Pre-College Education, Uniondale High School and United Health Care.
The Medical Scholars Pipeline Program is a four-year program that begins with rising high school juniors and continues until they reach their junior year in college.
For more information about the program call Project Coordinator Gina Granger at 516-463-7550.
Carole Trottere, Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine, 516-463-7585, [email protected]
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