Med school plunge

Would-be medical students and people who are interested in the health profession can plunge into the medical school experience in a program called Mini-Med School hosted by Boston University and the Smithsonian Associates. For the second year in a row, participants in the program can learn about innovations in the medical fields through an eight-part series of medical research lectures and hands-on laboratory classes. While BU is the only school in the state that offers such a program for the medical professions, other similar outreach programs exist for other fields.

This program allows students who are considering medical school to conduct actual experiments and research and understand their importance. Because the academic track to medical school is so lengthy and extensive, the course may help to show some students that they would not be willing to endure the long hours to pursue a medical career. On the other hand, it may encourage other students who may not have had aspirations of attending medical school to consider practicing medicine. Exposing potential students to what they should expect in medical school would promote the profession and bolster the number of doctors and nurses in the future.

These classes also will help the general public to understand more about how medical professionals conduct research. Unlike other professions such as engineering, everyone has a connection to health care issues. Learning more about how medical professionals conduct clinical experiments and evaluate new medical research will enlighten the program’s participants about what goes into establishing new practices and treatments. The public would not be able to learn about these innovations through any other venue.

The program offers a great service to the public and medical professionals by helping to eliminate the mystery surrounding medical research and enhance the knowledge of its participants on medical practice.