High Schoolers Engage with Pathology During Summer Program

In July, a group of 10 high school students from across the U.S. participated in the Explorations in Pathology (EIP) Pre-College Program at the University of Rochester.

The three week program facilitated by Pathology and Lab Medicine faculty, residents, staff, as well as medical students from the School of Medicine and Dentistry included didactic and hands-on activities that not only exposed them to what careers in clinical and anatomic pathology have to offer but showed how pathology fits into patient care.

Students toured laboratories (including a visit to the American Red Cross) and had the chance to get their hands dirty in wet lab sessions in which they handled and examined gross specimens including lungs, hearts, and eyeballs, to name a few.  

They were also introduced to microscopic examination and the ways in which pathologists provide diagnoses based on what they see. Students completed group projects with help from faculty mentors that they presented at a poster session.

“What I liked most about my time here were the opportunities I got to have and the mentors I got to work with,” said Hanora Chapman, a rising senior from New Jersey whose group project explored Lynch Syndrome in colonic adenocarcinoma. “This program has opened me up to a different area of medicine,” she said.

The EIP program is led by Jennifer Findeis-Hosey, M.D., a GI pathologist at URMC and instructor for the School of Medicine. For the past several years, Pathology has hosted a summer program for both high school and college students. This is the first year the department has partnered with the University’s existing Pre-College programs.

“Through the intensive 3 week program, we are able to immerse students in all facets of Pathology, not only teaching them ‘what’ of pathology, but also the ‘how’ and the ‘why,’” she said.

During their stay, the students had the chance to meet and learn from residents, as well as medical technologists, pathologists’ assistants, and others.

“I learned that there’s more than being a doctor,” said Maggie Hoare, a junior from Honeoye Falls, NY. “I had a great time and loved how we got the perspective of a ton of people who are in pathology.”

Learn more about the Explorations in Pathology and other intensive pre-college programs offered at UR.

Bethany Bushen | 8/3/2018