From June 27^th to June 30^th, 2016, seventeen high school studentshad the “ultimate” hands-on experience in the world of medicine, while attending the 4th Annual ONSF Mini-Med School program. The Mini-Med School was  held at the ONSF Arthroscopy, Surgical Skills and Biomechanical Research Lab at 6 Greenwich Office Park in Greenwich, CT. >

A series of hands-on workshops that included casting, suturing, ultra-sound and scrubbing; lectures including introduction to surgery and the operating room environment, x-ray/MRI and surgical simulations were featured.   Students learned first-hand from orthopedic and neurosurgical specialists not only about musculoskeletal disorders but also more broadly about a career in medicine.

A reporter from the Greenwich Time visited the suturing and operating room scrub workshops on Tuesday, June 28^th and published a front page article in the June 29^th issue.  The story, which includes interviews with Drs. Paul Sethi, Marc Kowalsky and a number of the students, can be found on the following link: http://www.greenwichtime.com/local/article/Greenwich-summer-program-gives-teens-hands-on-8330619.php#photo-10462335

Participants represented 11 different schools including the Convent of the Sacred Heart, Darien High School, Greenwich Academy, Greenwich High, Harrison High, Mira Costa High, New Rochelle High, Poly Prep Country Day, Rye Country Day, The Lawrenceville School and Westhill High School.  Serena Khana, a student attending The Lawrenceville School, expressed her thanks and appreciation in the following note:

…Mini Med School was one of my best educational experiences ever!  I wanted to say thank you so much for creating this amazing program and including me in the student group.  I feel truly honored to have been a part of this year’s session.

I have a long-standing interest in medicine and I have tried to expose myself to the field through volunteering and summer classes, but until now I have not had the opportunity for the hands-on experience and real insight from practicing professionals that Mini Med School offered. It was such a privilege to have orthopaedic doctors take time out of their busy day to teach me about surgery and what the life and career of a surgeon are like. I extremely enjoyed your lesson on suturing, and I was so excited to actually try it out myself! I never thought that as a high school student, I would be able to practice something that surgeons do all the time.  I also very much appreciated hearing from the ONSF interns who shared their stories about their journeys to medical school. They offered such valuable advice, and gave me much to think about even as I go through my last two years of high school.

I had such an exciting and enjoyable week with everyone from ONS Foundation and my fellow Mini Med classmates. Thank you truly for allowing me to participate …

 Lori Redell, Director of Internship Program, Poly Prep Country Day wrote:  … thank you for making the Poly internship program a success with the ONSF Mini-Med program.  You provided a professional opportunity for our students to learn about the process for applying to a prestigious program.  I’ve heard from our students that the experience was incredible  … I appreciate all you do for young people who are beginning to consider a future in medicine …

Mini-Med School at the ONSF Lab creates an amazing mentor/student event that has the potential to change a young person’s life.