Young Women in Medicine Day
'Young Women in Medicine' Day Exposes Students to Careers
Teen-agers Tour MCV Campus and Hear from Women Physicians
by Michael Ford, University News Services
Although women outnumber men in the current class of first-year medical students, VCU's Women in Medicine program is continuing its push to
recruit female students for a career in medicine. Recently the program hosted 88 female high school students from across the state for a full day
of activities that included tours of MCV Campus facilities and talks with several female faculty members.
Most of the "Young Women in Medicine" high school conferees expressed an interest in medicine or some other health care field. During their
visit, female physicians and medical students encouraged the teens to consider medicine as a possible career.
"These girls are high-school juniors and seniors and at the point in their lives when they are starting to decide what college they'll go to and what
they'll major in, and what they'll want to do for the rest of their lives," said Nira Colyn, a second-year VCU medical student and conference
organizer. "This visit will give them an idea of what it takes to go into the health sciences. We're hoping to encourage more girls towards a career in
medicine."
VCU's Michelle Whitehurst-Cook, M.D., associate professor of family practice medicine and director of the admissions committee, told students
what the committee looks for in a medical school applicant. And a panel of five VCU doctors talked about what makes a good physician.
"It shows them what they can do with their lives. It shows them they can have a dream and that other people before them have had dreams and
followed through with them," said Jennifer Collins, a first-year VCU medical student and conference organizer. "This conference also establishes for
these girls the idea of a mentoring program and shows how valuable that can be."
The attendees learned about the rigors and routines of medical school from 35 VCU medical students who answered questions while sharing an
informal lunch in the Larrick Student Center.
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