JUNE 14, 2005 | The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) recently teamed up to promote opportunities in medicine to a group of students from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds.

Government projections show that careers in health care will be among the fastest growing for many years to come, About 60 high school students and college freshmen attended a daylong program promoting jobs in health care, technology and engineering, along with presentations intended to motivate as well as offer study tips.

The program, held April 29 at Philander Smith College in Little Rock, was sponsored by the Arkansas Mentoring and Networking Association (AMNA) and the UAMS Center for Diversity Affairs.

“I think it went very well for the first time we’ve staged an event like this,” said Billy Thomas, M.D., M.P.H., the associate dean for diversity affairs at UAMS and an AMNA executive board member. “Our overall goal is to increase the pool of competitive disadvantaged students that enter the academic pipeline and one way to accomplish that goal is to promote mentoring programs and internships in these fields.”

The mentoring organization invited 11^th- and 12^th-grade students and college freshmen with an interest in math, science and engineering to the event. Workshop attendees were from all over the state, said Thomas, who expects the event will grow in the future.

Jocelyn Elders, M.D., former U.S. Surgeon General, and a distinguished professor in the UAMS College of Public Health and professor emeritus in the UAMS College of Medicine, was one of the featured speakers.

“Dr. Elders’ message of the changing health care work force and the need for more minority involvement was well received,” Thomas said.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the health services industry provided 12.9 million jobs in 2002. In the years to come, the agency predicts that 10 out of 20 occupations projected to grow the fastest are concentrated in health services.

Other speakers during the session included motivational speaker Calvin Mackie, Ph.D., an author, inventor and engineering professor at Tulane University, and Donna O. Johnson, who developed the “Guaranteed 4.0 Learning System.” There was also a student panel discussion about internships and mentoring experiences.

Thomas said he hoped the students in attendance would come away from the event with increased awareness of career opportunities.

“There are a lot of options – particularly in health care,” Thomas said. “But it’s a good idea to start thinking about it and making plans early, such as in high school or early in their college experience.

“We also hoped to instill the value that summer internships can have, both academically and professionally.”

A summer internship can give a student a deeper, more realistic feel for a potential career, he said. This can inspire academic focus, teach the importance of responsibility and provide valuable on-the-job experience.

“One prime benefit of an internship is that, like any summer program it keeps the student connected to the academic arena,” Thomas said. “In many cases that’s 99 percent of the battle – making sure a student doesn’t lose interest or miss an opportunity during the summer.”

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