Exuberant High School Students Return From Ultimate Med Internship to The Philippines

WASHINGTON, Aug. 5, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Forty-two American high school students travelled 7,000 miles for a chance to shadow physicians and have the hands-on, Ultimate Med Internship experience of a lifetime.
During the 13-day Ultimate Med Internship, students went on rounds with physicians at the University of the Philippines College of Medicine in the emergency room, clinic and medical wards, learned in the gross anatomy labs, and observed surgeries in surgical operating rooms.

Students in the Labor and Delivery Ward witnessed a C-section delivery and one student was able to cut the umbilical cord of a newborn. Students in the Orthopedics Ward learned to splint and cast and assisted in cast removals with patients. Students learned to suture on pigs' feet in the simulation lab. Students also observed two autopsy procedures.

"I can't imagine a more valuable hands-on, up-close and personal experience for would-be physicians," said Dr. Connie Mariano, Academy Medical Director and former physician to three U.S. presidents. "But beyond the technical learning, these students experienced, for the first time, the caring bond doctors have with their patients."

"The most shocking aspect of the internship was the raw view of medicine. The goals of the doctors included more than just the physical well-being of the patient but also their emotional and spiritual state," said Daniel Bolding of Lander, WY who participated in the Ultimate Med Internship. "The doctors imprinted that sometimes all you can be is a healer when situations limit your abilities as a doctor. Personally, I have always been frustrated and in wonder about how doctors handle situations out of their control. The experience at UMI resolved my fear of being useless to a patient by showing me that I can always help in some way," Bolding continued.

The Ultimate Med Internship, sponsored by the National Academy of Future Physicians and Medical Scientists, departed from Los Angeles on July 9 and returned July 27, 2014. The Academy is planning expanded Ultimate Med Internship programs for the summer of 2015.

The Academy also sponsors the Congress of Future Medical Leaders. The Congress is an honors-only program for high school students who want to become physicians or go into medical research fields. The purpose of this event is to honor, inspire, motivate and direct the top students in our country who aspire to be physicians or medical scientists, to stay true to their dream and, after the event, to provide a path, plan and resources to help them reach their goal. Learn more at www.FutureDocs.com.
 
The National Academy of Future Physicians and Medical Scientists was founded on the belief that we must identify prospective medical talent at the earliest possible age and help these students acquire the necessary experience and skills to take them to the doorstep of this vital career. Based in Washington, D.C., the Academy was chartered as a nonpartisan, taxpaying institution to help address this crisis by working to identify, encourage and mentor students who wish to devote their lives to the service of humanity as physicians, medical scientists, technologists, engineers and mathematicians.

The Academy offers free services and programs to students who want to be physicians or go into medical science. Some of the services and programs the Academy plans to launch are online social networks through which future doctors and medical scientists can communicate; opportunities for students to be guided and mentored by physicians and medical students; and communications for parents and students on college acceptance and finances, skills acquisition, internships, career guidance and much more.