Lubbock 5th graders become doctors for a day

Fifth graders from Bean Elementary become doctors for a day as part of an annual event hosted by the Texas TechUniversity Health Sciences Center Student National Medical Association.

The association hosted the Doctors for a Day Minicamp Sept. 23, with a mission to inspire and inform the elementary students to experience a day in the life of a medical student.

Dr. Steven L. Berk, TTUHSC executive vice president and dean of the School of Medicine, said the TTUHSC SNMA chapter has inspired students at all levels for more than a decade.

Elwin Rutayomba and Yaw Adu, TTUHSC SNMA co-presidents and second-year TTUHSC medical students, said the organization created the event as an interactive and fun way to expose students to the field of medicine.Students received hands-on experience at the TTUHSC F. Marie Hall SimLife Center diagnosing patients with different medical scenarios, working with ultrasound equipment to learn how they are used by physicians, working with simulation mannequins in the simulation lab and seeing an emergency simulation act. Sklyler Thipaphay, TTUHSCSNMA member and second-year medical student, said it is important to start sowing the seeds of higher education at these early and pivotal stages.