The center (above) hosting Mt. Sinai’s “MedDOCS” educational program.
By John Tustin
At the beginning of last year, while I was still a freshman, my mom showed me an after-school program called MedDOCs. This abbreviation stands fo: Medical Discovery Of Careers, and the name is very fitting. Of course I was reluctant at first, I mean who wouldn’t be—for who wants to spend their Thursday after-school hours some where other than home, or hanging out with friends? But, in the end, I chose to go to MedDOCs and I liked it. In fact, I liked it so much that I did it 2 more times! If you are at all interested in a career in medicine, I highly recommend this program.
Essentially, MedDOCs is an after-school program developed by “Icahn School of Medicine” at Mount Sinai Hospital. This program exists to teach students currently in 9th to 12th grade, all about specific systems and parts of the body. The program takes place from 4:00 to 5:30 pm on Thursdays for 7-8 weeks. There are 3 different sessions you can apply for:
– Fall session : The cardiovascular system
– Spring session #1 : The pulmonary system
– Spring session #2 : Neuroscience
Each of these sections are held during different parts of the year. To apply to get into Med DOCs, you must go to the following website: https://webcommons.mssm.edu/meddocs/. There is no application fee or exam. Once accepted into a session, you will be assigned to a group hosted by 2 medical students who become your mentors. Each week you will be learning something new about a particular body system, depending on which session you choose.
Most of the time, you and your group will be sitting in a lecture room while your mentors teach; but eventually you will be allowed to dissect an organ related to whichever session you take. Participants in the Pulmonary classes get to dissect a sheep’s lung. Cardiovascular students get to dissect a sheep’s heart, and the Neuroscience section dissects a sheep’s brain. You are also given a chance to ask various medical professionals about their jobs in medicine.
You might still be skeptical … or not, I can’t tell … but this program is indeed free. Any student can apply, and yes, that includes MCSM students. Whether you plan to be a pre-med major in college, or are considering other opportunities in the field of healthcare, it honestly won’t hurt to do MedDOCs. It really only helps. The only thing this program demands is that you show up and participate, so I think it is worth anyone’s time.