OhioHealth Hosts the Dublin Medical Academy With the Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine – Dublin
This month, the Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine – Dublin, in conjunction with OhioHealth hosted the Dublin Medical Academy, which is an immersive weeklong summer camp that aims to foster an interest in medical and health professions for high school students.
During the camp, that is held once every year, the students participate in a series of thematic, interactive, hands-on, and clinically relevant learning activities guided by faculty, medical and physician assistant students, and other healthcare professionals.
“The Medical Academy summer camp serves approximately 50 students in grades primarily 11 through 12,” said OhioHealth External Affairs Manager, Andy Hardy, “Students from various schools in Delaware, Franklin, Fairfield, Union, Marion, Mercer, Licking, Cuyahoga, and Scioto Counties and school districts have participated in this program.”
Armin Rahmanian, OhioHealth President of Dublin Methodist Hospital, had a chance to speak to the high school students during the camp.
"Spending time with the students filled me with a great sense of optimism that our future is extremely bright and I am thankful to OUHCOM leadership for their partnership in ensuring our students are well prepared for the future,” Rahmanian said.
The program aims to attract diverse, first-generation students from rural, suburban, and urban communities with a variety of backgrounds and experiences to build a pipeline of future medical and health professionals in Ohio.
“Having the students work alongside medical students and healthcare professionals is beneficial for them to not only to learn more clinically, but also to learn the personal side of healthcare. It is a team effort of people, all ages, all backgrounds, life experiences and perspectives.”
William Burke, DO, previously the Vice President of Medical Education at OhioHealth Doctors Hospital, became the dean of the Heritage College’s Dublin campus in July 2013. Conversations for an outreach program between the university, Dublin City Schools and OhioHealth began in 2014 and it was officially launched in 2015, continuing to grow.
“The idea of a medical exploration camp developed as a way to give back to the community for its support of the creation of the Heritage College’s Dublin campus, to provide an additional way to engage our medical students, faculty and staff, and to create awareness of osteopathic medicine and the variety of healthcare professions available to interested learners,” said Dr. Burke, “From an initial small two-day experience for 20 students from four local highs schools, to now, this program has grown to a four-day camp with students from over thirty high schools and home-schooled students as well.
Three students from the University are selected through a competitive process to become Medical Academy Scholars to lead in the Dublin Medical Academy. It helps them connect with the community they will someday serve, strengthen their own content mastery, and develop and hone their leadership, communication, and planning skills.
“We have seen more and more medical and physician assistant students showing an interest in being active leaders in the Medical Academy,” said Dr. Burke, “I have been incredibly impressed with the dedication our students have for community service and their desire to meaningfully engage while managing a challenging and time-consuming medical school curriculum.”
The camp is free for the students due to funding provided by OhioHealth and the University.
“Research is showing that in order to reach students that may not have been exposed to careers or role models in the medical field, starting early to introduce them to the various disciplines that comprise healthcare teams is beneficial,” said Dr. Burke, “The Medical Academy allows the participants to learn more about the variety of careers available in healthcare, to learn more about the different entry pathways to these careers, to assist them in contemplating their futures and the opportunity to interact in a non-threatening learning environment.”
In continuing the longstanding relationship between OhioHealth and the University, OhioHealth has provided key partnership support for the academy including a monetary investment in the program, medical content experts from a range of disciplines to actively engage in activities with students, supplies to facilitate interactive experiences, and administrative support to continue to grow and expand the program.
“OhioHealth’s associates volunteer with service organizations, we serve on boards, and our children attend the schools,” said Hardy, “OhioHealth is more than just brick and mortar in the communities we serve.”
OhioHealth will host a career fair in the fall for the students who completed the Medical Academy. In the winter, the high school students will have the opportunity of visiting one of OhioHealth’s stimulation labs to experience how OhioHealth's physicians and associates train.
PHOTO COURTESY: Anna Schneider
