Sisters Genevieve and Gianna Herrera, who are both Arkansas City High School students, say attending Doc for a Day at KU School of Medicine-Wichita helped them think about their future career paths, with Gianna confidently saying, “I can see my future as a physician.”

This is music to the ears of all the medical students and faculty members at KU Wichita who organize the Doc for a Day event each year. Through activities ranging from checking vital signs to CPR training, suturing and even delivering a baby from a high-tech manikin in the Simulation Center, the annual event aims to inspire high school students to pursue a career in medicine.

This year, 92 Kansas high school students attended Doc for a Day on Nov. 2 – an increase of nearly 20 high school students compared to last year – and they learned a variety of skills from the 25 medical students who volunteered to help with the event.

The experience “was inspirational to say the least,” said Gianna, a freshman.

“I saw through the eyes of a doctor in the medical field,” she said. “I not only learned the benefits of going into health care but also the reality including the highs, the lows and the expectations of medical training.”

Genevieve, a high school junior, said she and her sister were excited to participate in Doc for a Day together, and she enjoyed the experience and meeting new people.

“It helped me narrow down my future career options,” she said.

Kayla Shaw, a first-year medical student at KU School of Medicine-Wichita, enjoyed volunteering to help with Doc for a Day this year after having experienced it herself when she was a student at Wichita East High School.

“No one in my family is a physician, so attending (Doc for a Day) and seeing so many people with a passion for medicine was really inspiring,” Shaw recalled. “I remember listening to a fetal heartbeat with ultrasound, tying square knots, reviewing imaging … honestly, I was just in awe the whole day.

“It empowered me to think, ‘Maybe I can really do this.’”

High school principals and guidance counselors recommend high school students for participation in Doc for a Day, which started in 2001. The program is sponsored by the student-led Family Medicine Interest Group at KU School of Medicine-Wichita with support from the Department of Family & Community Medicine.

During Doc for a Day, parents were invited to join their high school students to hear an “Intro and Admissions” presentation from Michelle Ponce, KU School of Medicine statewide outreach and recruitment specialist, followed by a Q&A session.

Students participating in the 2024 Doc for a Day program were from the following schools:

• Andover Central High School

  

• Andover High School
• Arkansas City High School
• Bluestem High (Leon)
• Cheney High School
• Circle High School (Towanda)
• Conway Springs High School
• Derby High School
• Eisenhower High School (Goddard)
• El Dorado High School
• Garden Plain High School
• Goddard High School
• Hesston High School
• Hillsboro High School
• Maize Sough High School
• Mulvane High School
• Newton High School
• Pretty Prairie High School
• Remington High School (Whitewater)
• Rose Hill High School
• Trinity Academy (Wichita)
• Valley Center High School
• Wellington High School
• Wichita East High School
• Wichita Heights High School
• Wichita North High School
• Wichita Northwest High School
• Wichita South High School