Rebecca Adams was born with a ventricular septal defect, a common heart problem present at birth in which a hole occurs in the wall that separates the heart’s lower chambers.

As a child, Adams attended the Wayne State University School of Medicine’s Future Docs, an annual event that offers children ages 6 to 12 the opportunity to explore the world of medicine, medical science and public health through a day filled with fun and education.

“I distinctly remember asking a medical student at the organ table to point out my VSD on a human heart. I wrote about this moment in my medical school personal statement because it truly piqued my curiosity of congenital anomalies,” Adams said.

Now in her final year of medical school at the School of Medicine, she is applying for Obstetrics and Gynecology residencies.

She also is on the roster of medical students who have signed up to help at this year’s Future Docs, to be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. March 8 at the School of Medicine in Detroit. It features 18 hands-on medical and science workshops, including Brain Blast, Wind Your Way Through DNA, Heart Rocks, Ultrasounds like Fun, What’s in the Water, Saw Bones and Eye Explorer, as well as a photobooth, face painting, lunch and more.

Attendees can find Adams at both the finger-casting station, hosted by Aesculapians Honor Society, of which she is co-president, and helping out at the pregnancy and placenta station.

“Throughout high school and college, I volunteered as a cuddler for babies with neonatal abstinence syndrome in the neonatal intensive care unit. This impactful experience supporting these babies, as well as discussing with their mothers all the challenges of postpartum and the stigma of drug abuse during pregnancy, solidified my decision to pursue a medical career,” Adams said. “However, I would not have been as motivated to pursue medical volunteering positions without the excitement that Future Docs provided me at such a young age. I would say that it fast-tracked my passion for medicine.”

Adams attended Future Docs in 2007, 2008 and 2009 with her youngest sister Isabelle, now a first-year School of Medicine student; her oldest sister, Hannah, a second-year resident in Chicago; and her brother Noah, a third-year medical student at Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine. The siblings were brought by their father, John Adams, M.D. ’88, a neonatologist.

“This formative experience felt like an invisible string tying me to Wayne State, where not only would my medical interests be supported, but also my desire to serve my Detroit home would be celebrated. Future Docs is a prime example of how Wayne State strengthens the surrounding community, and I am so grateful to be graduating from a medical school that embodies service,” Rebecca Adams added.

The event has been presented by the WSU Medical Alumni Association since 2003. First-year medical student Saihaj Deol attended Future Docs as a child in 2010 and 2011. Her mother, Bibban Bant Deol, M.D., completed her residency and fellowship with the school, and is an assistant professor of Internal Medicine.

“I had known about Wayne State before attending Future Docs as a child, however the Future Docs event solidified my admiration for the school. I knew when I grew up that I wanted to go to medical school at Wayne State because of the quality of care and education I received at the Future Docs event. I remember everyone being really kind and passionate about learning, which made me excited about what a future in medicine could look like at the School of Medicine,” Deol said. “My mom is a physician and I have looked up to her all my life. She is a testament to what it means to be a physician with how she cares for her patients and her knowledge of medicine. I was eager to go to Future Docs as a kid because I wanted to get a better idea of what my mom does at work. The event definitely exposed me to what being a physician entails. I learned a lot about different medical fields and the importance of health. As I grew up, I gained a lot of experiences in health care that helped me determine that I wanted to be a physician. Future Docs was my first exposure to some of the nitty-gritty of medicine, and my later experiences, where I could better understand what was happening, solidified my desire to go to medical school.”

Children also will receive a backpack, medical-themed goodies and a commemorative T-shirt. Deol still has the shirt she received in 2011.

“It says, ‘Be nice to me, I'll be a doctor one day,’” she said.

Registration is $15 per adult and $30 per child for Medical Alumni Association members, and $20 per adult and $35 per child for nonmembers.

Space is limited. Registration closes Feb. 21. For more information, contact Sydney Balk at sydneybalk@med.wayne.edu