Hundreds of children celebrated a daylong look at the Wayne State University School of Medicine this month into their possible future careers as doctors and medical researchers.
The annual Reach Out to Youth event, held Feb. 1 in Scott Hall, aims to expose inner-city children to the science of medicine and careers in medical fields. The event is organized by the Black Medical Association, a School of Medicine student organization.
Celebrating its 25th year, Reach Out to Youth was founded by Carolyn King, M.D., a 1993 graduate of the WSU School of Medicine, and Don Horakhty Tynes, M.D., Class of 1995.
More than 360 children ages 7 to 11 registered for the event, which featured classes on the heart, the respiratory system and diagnostic skills. Each child who attended received a T-shirt and a booklet on the topics they would study during the day.
While the children got practical, hands-on lessons about health care and the science of medicine, their parents heard from physicians and educators on a number of topics. De'Andrea Wiggins, interim director of the school's Office of Diversity and Inclusion, presented "Preparing Your Child for a Career in Medicine - Navigating Obstacles." Dr. Tynes talked about the "History of African-Americans and Medicine."
The real focus of the day, however, was placed on potential future physicians and medical scientists who crowded the classrooms in Scott Hall.
Karen Johnson, a respiratory therapist from Highland Park, attended with her 9-year-old twins, Joshua and Josiah.
"There's not an option," Johnson said when asked whether her twins want to become physicians. "They will become doctors. They know it. They are straight-A students and are great in science."
Joshua said he wants to become a neurosurgeon like his hero Ben Carson, M.D. "I want to help people and it would be fun," he said.
That's exactly the message Reach Out to Youth organizers want the participants to take home.
"Reach Out to Youth is important because it provides children access to an environment that they otherwise would not have access to unless their parents were in the medical field," said event organizer and second-year medical student Adam Milam, Ph.D. "Unlike other programs, Reach Out to Youth is completely free and will always remain free so that all children will have access. Our goal is twofold; to encourage children to pursue an education in medicine and science and provide parents with information on how to get their children into medical school - and to provide children with information about living healthy through exercise and eating a balanced diet.
"The program is important to the children because they get to be a doctor for a day and it sparks a curiosity into how the body works," said Milam, a native of Baltimore who earned his doctoral degree in public health at Johns Hopkins University. "The children were excited to see human organs, to practice clinical maneuvers and learn about healthy eating. One of the students who attended the program for the last three years mentioned how he was able to take information he learned last year back to school and discuss how the brain works with his teacher and classmates."
Reach Out to Youth also is important to the medical students who organize and serve as volunteers. "The program is important to me because it relates to two major public health concerns, obesity and lack of adequate health services in many minority and poverty-stricken communities," Milam said. "The children are not only able to learn why healthy eating and exercise are so important but they were able to connect it with how it then impacts their organ systems and their body in general. By the program targeting students attending Detroit Public Schools, we hope the participants will pursue a career in medicine or science to address many of the medical and public health concerns in their community, like hypertension and diabetes, and many other urban locations."
Mary Hauswirth, a first-year medical student from Utica, Mich., taught clinical sessions, showing her charges how to use a stethoscope, a penlight to study pupil dilation, a hammer to test reflexes and how to interact with a patient as a doctor.
"I think it's really important to reach out to the community, and it's important to show the kids that they have the opportunity to make a difference," she said.
Milam added that the Black Medical Association thanked the volunteers, alumni, school administrators, businesses and hospitals for their support in making the event possible.