The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa John A. Burns School of Medicine’s 19th annual Medical Diagnosis and Treatment (MDT) program gave high school students the opportunity to experience life as a medical student.
Throughout the week-long program from July 6 to 10, 84 students worked through medical scenarios they might encounter as physicians.
This year, students experienced a new addition to the program.
Bryan Brown, assistant professor of medicine, introduced a Dungeons & Dragons-inspired learning activity that transformed cardiovascular disease into an interactive adventure. Students worked together to battle characters representing diabetes, smoking, high cholesterol and heart disease. Brown’s goal was to make complex medical concepts memorable by combining storytelling with active learning.
Donor support made it possible for 12 neighbor island students from Kauaʻi, Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi, Maui and Hawaiʻi Island to participate this year.
Charlotte Jo, a student at Waiākea High School, hopes to take what she’s learning back to Hawaiʻi Island.
“I’m hoping to learn more so I can come back, serve my community, and really help out our healthcare system,” she said. “We really need it, especially here on the Big Island.”
Nineteen years after the MDT program began, many of its participants have gone on to become medical students. The hope for the program is to leave high-school students inspired to volunteer in hospitals, seek out shadowing opportunities, and continue exploring healthcare.