Keith Valentine was amazed by what he saw on his middle school’s field trip to the Wayne State University School of Medicine. Valentine had the opportunity to use an ultrasound machine for the first time, guiding the wand over a friend’s neck to hear and see on the screen the movement of the carotid artery.

“It was awesome. It was interesting seeing his heartbeat. Being able to see your heartbeat and your muscles? This is something interesting that I like,” Valentine said.

The eighth-grader was one of 135 children from three Detroit Public Schools who came to the medical school April 3 to participate in Go Out and Love Science, or #GOALS, in collaboration with the Ascension Foundation and Ascension Community Impact. 

Students from Golightly Education Center, Hutchison Middle School and Amelia Earhart Middle School attended the one-day event, participating in six hands-on activities to inspire a love for science and medicine, from the use of ultrasound machines to learning how to suture a cut and more.

The foundation’s #GOALS initiative is designed to expose sixth, seventh and eighth grade students to health care careers through hands-on activities and small-group interaction with medical students and professionals. They included School of Medicine Dean Wael Sakr, M.D., who encouraged them to consider a career in health care.

“On behalf of the entire medical school, as someone who is honored by being responsible for the school, I welcome you to Wayne State University School of Medicine. I can tell you there is really an exiting day ahead of you,” he said.

The students rotated through six activities set up in Scott Hall. In addition to ultrasound and suturing, the stations included trying out hands-only CPR training, learning about the brain, performing a science experiment called “Elephant Toothpaste” and playing The Game of Life. The latter showcased the variety of career options the health care field has to offer, from doctors to nurses, physician’s assistants and pharmacists. The goal is to get them hyped about careers they might not have thought of, said WSU Assistant Professor of Oncology and of Pharmacology Heather Gibson, Ph.D., ’11.

She volunteered at #GOALS last year and was eager to return. “It’s great to interact with the kids and maybe expose them to career paths that they might not have known about it,” she said. “This is a medical school. This is where they would be.”

The Ascension Foundation was established in 2021 to address root causes of health disparities in the United States by focusing on social determinants of health. In 2022, the foundation created #GOALS (Go Out and Love Science), a one-day, interactive and inspirational program for middle schoolers to explore potential health care careers, that has reached nearly 2,000 children. This was the second consecutive year WSU hosted the program.

“We want to make sure everyone understands there is a place for them,” said Stacy Garrett-Ray, M.D., M.P.H., M.B.A., senior vice president and chief community impact officer for Ascension, who traveled from Baltimore to participate in the event.

Research shows that an early love of science is the pathway to creating the next generation of doctors, an especially important fact given the projected shortage of primary care physicians in particular, Dr. Garrett-Ray said. An early interest in science propels students throughout high school, college and into medical and other health schools.

“I think about the experiences I had as a young person,” she added, knowing at a young age that she wanted to be a primary care physician after job-shadowing her parents’ physician. “If we don’t make a difference and plant the seeds in our youth, we’re going to be in trouble as a nation.”

Learn more about the Ascension Foundation’s commitment to expanding the health care workforce pipeline, including #GOALS, at https://youtu.be/0W7AFfd2a-s