Blueberries. Pretzels. T-rex toy. Balloons. What do these items have in common?

A number of unlikely items can be hidden in a gelatin mold to teach the use of a hand-held ultrasound probe. This was one activity in a morning of interactive events June 22 hosted by KU School of Medicine-Wichita students for about 16 members of the Boys & Girls Clubs of South Central Kansas and two staff.

Jamison Macke, fourth-year medical student, and Kale Mills, third-year medical student, are co-founders of the Surgical Subspecialties Interest Group who initiated this collaboration due to their prior experience volunteering with Boys & Girls Clubs chapters in Manhattan and Wichita, respectively. They agreed this might help fill a hole for health care career days.

“This raised a concern,” said Macke, “as there potentially may be many students who aren’t even entertaining a career in medicine simply due to a lack of visibility. So this motivated us to take the initial steps in formulating a plan to help address this issue.

“We also hoped to normalize our own various upbringing experiences.”

The purpose of the event was to increase visibility of health care career opportunities for a diverse high school student population that may not have friends or family within medicine, explained Macke.

A presentation introduced youth to KU Medical Center and the Schools of Medicine in Kansas City, Wichita and Salina, various medical fields and specialties, and the education route to become a physician. The session concluded with a medical student-run panel sharing why they chose medicine, their individual goals and potential accomplishments as future physicians, and a Q&A session. Panel participants included medical students Macke, Kennedy Poro, fourth-year; Bumi Braimah, second-year; Jack Shook, fourth-year; and Edith Sigler, third-year.

“It was very enjoyable — the activity and even the presentation,” said a club member. “Sometimes I felt like the speaker was talking directly to me, which made it really interesting.”

Shook selected medicine/pediatrics because he wants to provide care from child- to adulthood.

“I was born with a heart defect,” said Shook, “and have realized the importance of consistent, lifelong care.”

A club member later commented, “I learned that there are a lot of different types of doctors and a bunch of different ways to study to become a doctor.”

As med students explained the ultrasound, club members took turns trying to identify what they were seeing. They learned fluid shows up as black on the monitor and solid objects appear gray.

One club member said, “Getting to try and use the ultrasound machine was definitely my favorite part!”

BGCSCK members prepared a list of symptoms for specific diseases that the medical students had to identify during the “Stump the Doctor” segment. Ailments included a heart attack, COVID-19, Type 1 diabetes and malaria. A fun list of consequences compiled by the youth was performed by the losing side. One club member had to do a silly dance and the medical students had to do the worm.

“I personally enjoyed the ‘Stump the Doctor’ game that our club members put together,” said Molly Williams, director of programs for BGCSCK. “They loved the challenge and were really impressed by one of the panelists who pulled off doing the worm.”

In the end, everyone was looking forward to returning next summer.

“Our genuine hope is to continue these types of events to provide exposure to the medical profession, particularly for individuals lacking familial or social connections to health care,” said Macke, “and to address disparity and foster further investigation into pursuing fulfilling and meaningful careers in medicine.”

Club 2 Career Program

As part of the Club 2 Career Program, the Boys & Girls Clubs of South Central Kansas hosts Career Café, a job fair for high school students in its program, on the club’s campus.

Jamison Macke, fourth-year medical student, and Kale Mills, third-year medical student, in addition to representatives from other health agencies such as Wesley Medical Center and Ascension Via Christi, and community businesses set up informational tables on June 8.

“Kale had just finished an overnight shift on the labor and delivery service in his OB-GYN rotation when he came straight to the Boys & Girls Club campus to speak with the students for the morning,” said Macke, “so his time and dedication were obvious and also greatly appreciated.”

Macke and Mills’ table had a model vertebrae, model brain and model heart (each of them loaned out through the George J. Farha Medical Library at KU School of Medicine-Wichita). Club members asked questions including length of schooling, expected salary, students’ reasons for selecting a career in health care/medicine, high school preparation, college majors and medical school applications.

In discussing pathways to attend college, the med students suggested academic and athletic scholarships, public vs. private universities and attending community colleges for the first two years.

“Whatever path you take — hopefully medicine — or career you choose, find something you are passionate about, be the best you can be at whatever that is, and never stop continuing to learn,” advised Macke.

One girl was extremely interested in veterinary medicine, so they discussed that in depth with her as Macke and Mills graduated from Kansas State University and have friends and family who are vets. She also discussed being interested in nursing, so they hope to include other health professions at their table in the future.

“Engaging with students who were curious about medicine was a real treat,” said Mills. “I remember one particular student who seemed very intellectually mature for her age and had the right disposition to be able to communicate effectively. In talking to her, she mentioned her favorite school subject was science, but she had never given a career in medicine any thought. After our encounter it was noted that we had piqued her interest in medicine.”

Regarding what was displayed on their table, they received various questions about the vertebral column, spinal nerves and parts of the brain. Many were particularly curious about the cerebellum, which was described as being “in fine control of your movements of arms and legs, and even your athleticism, which seemed to be a good explanation for some of the boys who were talking about enjoying playing basketball, recess, etc.,” said Macke.

“We explained to the attendees that one of the strongest shared traits of medical students isn’t necessarily intelligence, but rather being strongly goal-oriented and setting/achieving personal goals,” said Macke. “Perseverance and dedication will take you far.”

“Jamison has been so generous and giving of his time to work with our Club 2 Career Program,” said Molly Williams, director of programs for BGCSCK.

Mills said, “It is the hope that we can aid this population of kids in finding what their true calling in life may be.”

Top left photo: Medical students play Stump the Doctor during a presentation for members of the Boys & Girls Clubs of South Central Kansas. From left to right are Jack Shook, fourth-year medical student; Jamison Macke, fourth-year; Kennedy Poro, fourth-year; Edith Sigler, third-year; and Bumi Braimah, second-year.

Lower left photo: During the Career Café for Boys & Girls Clubs of South Central Kansas, Jamison Macke, fourth-year medical student, and Kale Mills, third-year medical student, talk to high school students about the path they took to KU School of Medicine-Wichita.