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Members of the Emergency Department, along with a number of supporters from other departments, have been busy hosting high school students from around the country this summer.
Juniors and seniors from the National Youth Leadership Forum (NYLF) have visited the hospital, meeting with physicians, nurses and other hospital staff to learn about careers in health care. NYLF is an experiential, career-oriented program that enrolls high-achieving young people from diverse backgrounds who have achieved academic promise and expressed interest in the fields of medicine, law and diplomacy, among other areas.
Deanna Ahearn, RN, ED, and nurse manager, Judy Perron, RN, ED, opened BWH’s doors to the students, but some 20 or more individuals from the ED, Administration, Radiology, the NICU, and other hospital areas, have helped to provide early lessons in medicine to the students.
“One of our missions at the hospital is to educate the community, whether it is the Boston community or the world community,” explained Perron. “Our vision is to get kids to think about the health care industry early on.”
Another hope is that the students return to BWH after college. Ahearn plans to track the participants with follow-up telephone calls in two years to gauge their interest in pursuing health care.
“These students were very serious about their interest in medicine,” said Ahearn. “Many of them even know what they want to study.”
Ahearn brought the program to BWH after meeting David Butler, program director, National Youth Leadership Forum-Boston, when she volunteered at Safe Haven, a camp for children with AIDS and their siblings. “We thought it was a good opportunity for the hospital,” said Ahearn.
While in Boston, the group stayed at Babson College in Wellesley, where some of the BWH staff—David Brown, MD, vice chair, Emergency Medicine; Stephen Bohan, MD; Lisa Grobel, RN, Disease Committee; and Sue Farrell, MD —gave talks, as well.