According to Project Lead the Way, a national nonprofit organization that designs STEM curriculum, Human Body Systems (HBS) is a class that intends to provide students with the opportunity to see medicine in action. To make this vision a reality, students in HBS took a field trip to the Texas Children’s Hospital on May 13 to learn more about the field of medicine and explore different career paths.

HBS students were able to hear and speak to four medical professionals- two clinical directors and two physicians- about their experiences in healthcare and the pathways to medical school.

“Each of the panelists had unique responses about the different fields of medicine they worked in,” junior Sanvi Chaukade said. “Seeing the realistic perspective of someone who has done this for so many years gave me more insight into what I could possibly go through if I choose to pursue health care.”

To become a physician, you have to earn an undergraduate degree, take the MCAT and attend medical school. Following medical school, many physicians choose to pursue further specialization through residency programs.

“I would really like to specialize in pediatrics because I enjoy working with kids,” junior Iffah Afsar said.” “So, it was really interesting to learn about how long it takes to get a specialized education for different careers especially as pediatric neurologists.”

Dr. Meghna Singh, a physician specializing in palliative care services, shared her unique journey through the UMKC’s School of Medicine B.A/M.D. program, which allowed her to earn her medical degree in six years.

“Her experience showed me how difficult it can actually be,” junior Allanah Garza said. “But you don’t have to be the smartest person there in order to do your best, you just have to put in the work.”

Dr. Ibrahim Khansa, a plastic surgeon, also discussed the various avenues available for repaying loans after medical school, including physician loan repayment programs.

“I felt pretty reassured and relieved because I thought I would have to be in a lot of debt,” Chaukade said. “But it turns out there’s different ways you can reduce this, especially for people who need financial aid.”

After the seminar with the four panelists, the students were guided through a mini career fair highlighting lesser-known professions such as Child Life Specialists and Medical Technologists.

“A lot of people just generalize working in healthcare as, oh you can be a heart surgeon, but there’s a lot of different areas you can work in,” Chaukade said. “The fair helped me look at specific careers like a pathologist who works in the lab most of the time.”

Students were then led on a tour through the hospital’s pediatric, urgent care and women’s services units.

“I thought that there would be more people walking around the hospital,” Chaukade said. “But it’s a really quiet, clean and huge space. I also thought there would be no windows and it would be a very sad place, but it was actually very exciting. The staff was really friendly and everything seemed really peaceful and calm.”

During the tour, the hospital coordinator highlighted the daily activities necessary to ensure the hospital operates smoothly, as well as their outreach initiatives with local schools.

“I noticed how they wake up really early and go to sleep really late,” Afsar said. “We were talking about the artwork around the hospital and he mentioned how as students we could possibly donate artwork as well.”

Wrapping up the tour, the coordinator shared volunteer opportunities and ways to get involved. Currently, the hospital’s volunteer program only accepts students above the age of 18. However, next summer they plan to launch a junior volunteer program, welcoming students aged 15 and above.

“It was inspiring to meet the doctors and staff because they already do so much and they still took time out of their day to let us talk to them and ask questions,” Garza said. “At school, we only get to learn from a textbook so it was really special to see what it’s like to be them and what they do in a day because you don’t really get to learn that here.”

*Editor’s Note: The story was written in May 2024.