University Medical Scholars Program Overview

This program is a joint effort among community physicians, the Krueger Foundation, Sentara Healthcare and the public and private schools of the Hampton Roads community to provide upper school students an opportunity to observe health care being delivered in a variety of inpatient and outpatient settings. Such an experience will enhance their education and provide them an early opportunity to consider pursuing a career in health care at some time in the future. We hold tremendous gratitude for all the participating entities. And we are exceptionally grateful to TowneBank, who provided a generous grant to support this program.

The process begins when students enroll in the Health Sciences Program in their school which will encourage them to take courses in anatomy, physiology and other biosciences that might be available to them. Then, they can begin the registration process to enter the Medical Scholars Orientation Program which will teach them about patient privacy, basic ethics, professionalism, sterile technique and bedside manner. After that, they will receive a badge and a white coat that signifies to patients and others that they are part of the Medical Scholars Program.

Student Registration Form

After Orientation is completed, students can then begin to sign up with certain health professionals on a digital calendar which will show the dates and times of the professionals' availability to accept students into their offices or in the hospital. They will have the ability to sign up with doctors in certain specialties, or with primary care doctors. Or, they could sign up with physicians' assistants, nurse practitioners, radiology technicians, or whichever of the health professionals who have agreed to participate. 

When the students show up at the medical office that they requested, whenever possible they will be greeted by a "Professor" (a doctor) who will be their host while they are there. The professor will meet with them, explain how the office works, and tell them what the working professionals are doing and why. There will be some interaction with the patients along with explanations of the symptoms and the physical findings. There may even be some discussion about pathophysiology, the tests being ordered and the treatment provided. 

Afterwards, the students will have the opportunity to provide some feedback on their experience, whether they learned anything and whether they thought the experience was worthwhile. We will use this feedback to make improvements in the program.

Ultimately, we want the experience to be enjoyable and educational for everyone involved. The two main goals of the program are to enhance the students' education and to let them see firsthand what a career in medicine might be like.

Here are instructions for the students, faculty and professors:

Instructions for the Faculty and their Office or Hospital Staff

Instructions for the Students

Instructions for the 'Professors'

For questions or comments, please call 757-816-8399, or email at medicalscholars363@gmail.com

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The following is a list of people involved in creating and continually improving the program. They are dedicated to making this a high quality educational experience that will attract more students and provide a solid foundation for them should they decide to pursue a medical career.

KRUEGER FOUNDATION TEAM
Deepak Talreja, MD, FACC
Sarah Joyner, MD, FACC
Andrew Dickenson, MD, FACC
William Dickenson, MD
Dan Dickenson, MD
Gregory J. Warth, MD, FACP
John Brennan, MD

HEALTH SCIENCES ACADEMY AT BAYSIDE HIGH SCHOOL
Ms. Kristen Johnson, Current Coordinator
Mr. Troy Walton, Principal
Mrs. Terry Mejia, Health Sciences Academy Coordinator
Mr. Samuel Hamilton, Lead Medical Science Teacher
Mrs. Jessica Bondi, Medical Science Teacher

NORFOLK ACADEMY
Mr. Dennis G. Manning, Headmaster
Dr. Lew Affronti, Chair, Science Department
Mrs. Linda Gorsline, Director, Upper School
Mr. Sean Wetmore, Director, Center for Civic and Global Leadership
John Craig

SENTARA HEALTHCARE TEAM
Bernie Boone, Sentara Virginia Beach General Hospital
Peggy Braun, Sentara Virginia Beach General Hospital
Karen Richendollar, MSN, RN, CNML, Magnet Program Director, VBGH
Delores Reed, Director of Volunteers.

PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS:

Sentara

Norfolk Academy

Bayside High School

Achievable Dream Academies