Southern Vermont AHEC’s MedQuest program exposes Vermont high school students to medical professions
Southern Vermont AHEC’s MedQuest program is introducing students to careers in healthcare with workshops led by current med school students and opportunities to shadow working clinicians
BENNINGTON, Vt. —
A new program is giving high school students an early introduction to careers in medical fields and allowing them to observe healthcare professionals in action.
Southern Vermont high school students are getting a close-up look at careers in healthcare this week thanks to the MedQuest Summer Day Program, hosted by the Southern Vermont Area Health Education Center (AHEC).
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Close to 20 high schoolers will be on site at the Southwestern Vermont Medical Center through Wednesday, participating in hands-on learning workshops and shadowing clinicians in different specialties at the Bennington hospital.
“I’m really excited that we got to choose. Because then I can tailor it to my interest and I want to be a child psychologist so I can look into pediatrics and be like, wow, like, this is what I want to do,” said Emma Anderson, an incoming senior at the Burr and Burton Academy.
Medical students from the UVM Robert Larner School of Medicine will also be teaching the students and serving as their mentors during the program.
“We help with the programming. So, we’ve all designed our own lectures and group activities,” said program mentor Daron Forohar.
Forohar said his path to med school was full of doubt. Now, he hopes to help others through the process.
“Sometimes having a mentor is really nice to make people feel welcome and not so lost. So that’s my goal,” he said.
AHEC staff said as the medical industry deals with labor shortages, getting students real experience early so they understand what jobs look like in practice, not just on paper, is key.
“They’re not only just learning about what health careers are, but they’re actually seeing it modeled, which I believe is a really important part when you’re trying to show what a career can actually look like,” said AHEC Southern Vermont Program Director Alysia Straw.
AHEC will run the program next week with a new group of students in Windsor, Vermont at the Mount Ascutney Hospital and Health Center.
