Partnership Community Outreach Encourages Both Medical and High School Students

In early March, the MSU College of Human Medicine Detroit Campus organized a community outreach event at University Preparatory Academy High School in Detroit.

“As community assistant dean, I firmly believe that service within our community is a paramount priority,” said Nakia V. Allen, M.D., FAAP, MSU College of Human Medicine Detroit community assistant dean and professor, and Henry Ford Health Undergraduate Medical Education director.

The outreach is part of the Future of Health: Detroit and Henry Ford Health + Michigan State University Health Sciences commitment to provide more support and opportunities for Detroit high school students to pursue careers in health care.

“I truly enjoyed visiting the UPREP High School, as it was a meaningful opportunity to introduce students to the path of becoming a physician, provide guidance, and show them that a career in medicine is within their reach,” said Jacob Agemy, third-year medical student.

The community event brought together 10 third-year medical students and 38 high school students ranging from ninth through 12th grade.

“Today, we learned a lot about how excited local youth are to learn about medicine, how they can make an impact in the future, and how much intuition they already have about the work of the doctor,” said Zane Berry, MSU College of Human Medicine third-year student.

For the high school students to participate in the event, they had to show an interest in a career in health care.

“We let the students take the reins and act as the physician, which made it fun for everyone,” said William Mann, MSU College of Human Medicine third-year student. “All the students were fully engaged and locked in, which made the experience great for everyone!”

Through case studies in GI, neurology, dermatology, infectious disease and orthopedics, the MSU students presented to the high school students the comprehensive approaches to patient care while emphasizing the impact of social determinants on health outcomes.

“Our patients are not only recipients of care, but also invaluable educators,” said Allen. “Engaging with them outside the traditional hospital and clinic settings is of critical importance to our students' learning, fostering a deeper understanding of the social determinants of health and cultivating a more holistic approach to patient care.”

After receiving an overwhelming amount of positive feedback on the community outreach, the MSU College of Human Medicine Detroit campus plans to hold in the near future more pre-med and interprofessional collaborations with high school students.

As MSU student Abena Osei expressed, "I truly enjoyed interacting with the students, helping them improve their critical thinking skills, and celebrating their already established medical knowledge!”