June 10, 2009

Witnessing open-heart surgery, observing as real doctors examine patients and discussing treatment options for a variety of diagnoses, is all part of what area high school students can look forward to this year. Beginning in June, five teenagers from Masterman High School will experience what it’s like to be a doctor during Mini-Med Discovery Days. This is the newest edition to Drexel University College of Medicine’s Mini-Med School®.

Discovery Days is a highly competitive, year-long learning experience for high school students entering their junior or senior years and interested in a career in medicine. Students will start June 24, with intense daylong sessions throughout the summer months. Once their regularly scheduled classes at Masterman resume in September, they will attend the program during weekly afternoon hours. They will finish on May 31, 2010. The participants are hand picked by high school administrators based on academic achievement, future goals and immediate need.

This program is funded by the Kal and Lucille Rudman Foundation, with scholarships in the name of Philadelphia Fire Commissioner Lloyd Ayers’ daughter Jenna, a Masterman graduate. She is currently a pre-med student at Harvard University.

“We are thrilled to expand our popular Mini-Med programs by engaging motivated and talented teens throughout the year. We’re especially grateful for the support of the Rudman foundation for making this new program a possibility,” says David Stein, MD, associate professor of surgery and director of the Mini-Medical School program. Discover Days, like the Mini-Med Summer Camp®, exposes teenagers who see a future for themselves in medicine to interactive clinical, educational, and research experiences in the medical field.

Drexel University College of Medicine Mini-Medical School offers six distinctly different medical education programs. All programs are open to community members interested in expanding their medical knowledge.