A Pipeline to a Medical Career

The Educational Pipeline Program, which pairs pre-med and pre-vet undergrads and Perelman and Penn Vet students with local Philadelphia high school students to introduce them to career tracks in medicine and healthcare, is a win-win situation for everyone involved, points out Sharon Lewis, the program director and associate professor of neurology. “Our students bring their amazing enthusiasm to the high school students,” she says. “They pour their hearts into it, and they get so much back. Since most of them will eventually end up in academic medical careers, this is a really important way for them to hone their teaching skills and work on communicating complicated concepts to lay populations.” As for the high school students, the goal is to give them a taste of college life and entering a professional field. “It’s to teach them self-efficacy and a sense of belonging to the Penn community,” Lewis says.

The idea is one of “mutual transformation,” adds Cory Bowman, associate director of Penn’s Netter Center for Community Partnerships, which facilitates the program. All the participants “can expect to be changed by the experience,” he says.

Read the full article in the Penn Gazette, the university's alumni magazine, here.