In a twist on the question “What did you do last summer?” some teenagers might be able to answer that they attended the delivery of a baby or scrubbed up for surgery.
High school juniors will find out this week whether they have been accepted to Future Physicians, a summer program for aspiring doctors hosted by physicians at Good Shepherd Hospital in Barrington.
“The purpose is to give the kids in the program the opportunity to see what medicine is like firsthand rather than what they see on TV,” said Dr. Richard Smith, an obstetrician at Good Shepherd and the program’s founder. “They’ve seen babies being born and they have seen people die. They have scrubbed up for surgery and have been right next to the table, not 25 feet away.”
Ten Barrington-area students are selected each year for the five-week program, in which they observe a doctor’s typical day.
“I saw six live births, three Caesarean sections, went to the ER and scrubbed up for a couple of surgeries,” said Shauna Gardino, 17, of Barrington, who participated last year.
Gardino, a senior at Barrington High School, will attend Northwestern University’s pre-med program in the fall.
Gardino said her experience with the Future Physicians Program broadened her view of what a doctor does and why. She works at the Good Shepherd fitness center and volunteers for several hospital programs.
“In the beginning, I was not quite so sure what I wanted to do,” she said. “Then I saw the doctors and what they did for the people. The ones who were really good did it because they cared about their patients.”
Competition is tough this year–more than 100 students applied for 10 spots. Candidates must supply academic records, two letters of recommendation and two essays. After interviews, the list is whittled to 10.
Some students have changed their minds after the program.
“That’s the point of the program, to open the kids’ minds up and give them valuable experiences so they can decide if this is really for them,” Smith said.
“I have known people that have gone all the way through medical school only to decide this is not what they really wanted.”
This year, the hospital introduced a Future Healthcare Professionals program. Eight students will be chosen from 20 applicants. The four-week session will expose students to careers in nursing; physical, occupational and speech therapies; radiology; and pharmacy.
“This program is a reaction to shortages in certain medical positions, especially nursing and radiology,” said Renee Norberg, manager of clinical education at Good Shepherd.
