The WashU Minority Medical Association (WUMMA) is an organization of residents and fellows across different departments that work to empower minorities in the medical community through fostering an inclusive environment and supporting the professional and personal development of under-represented minority (URM) medical trainees. IDEAS Committee members Natalia Brito Rivera, MD, Jaime Flores-Ruiz, MD, and Corey Shy, MD, participated in a WUMMA event aimed at educating high school students from underserved communities about a career in the medical field.
Dr. Brito Rivera answered the student’s questions about the process of becoming a doctor. Drs Flores-Ruiz and Shy showed students how to do POCUS looking at the heart, serving as the patients while students were able to practice with the ultrasound devices.
“I mostly enjoyed seeing high school students excited about considering a career in medicine…I think this event is important to promote and provide guidance to this student population on how to work toward a career in the healthcare field if this is something they are interested in.”
Natalia shared, “I mostly enjoyed seeing high school students excited about considering a career in medicine. Also, I enjoyed their insightful questions, such as ‘What do you enjoy most as a doctor?’ and ‘What are the hardest things you encounter as a doctor?'”
The physicians were grateful to be able to give insight to the students and show them what a career in medicine can look like. “I think this event is important to promote and provide guidance to this student population on how to work toward a career in the healthcare field if this is something they are interested in,” Dr. Brito Rivera stated.