Chris Fullagar, MD, an attending physician in the Emergency Department at Upstate University Hospital, speaks to MedQuest students last summer about helicopter safety and transport of critically ill or injured patients. Students visited the helipad on the roof of Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital.
Every summer at Upstate, selected high school students get a first-hand look at what it’s like to be a doctor, nurse, physician assistant, physical therapist, laboratory researcher and a host of other careers.
The week-long MedQuest program (July 16-20) is open to high school students entering their junior or senior year. The application deadline is May 4, but as it states in the 2012 brochure, “apply early as there are several forms to complete.”
A MedQuest cast-making session.
Accepted students (24 maximum) stay in a nearby Syracuse University residence hall and spend a large part of each day at Upstate.
They learn from experienced medical professionals, visit labs and try their hand at such skills as suturing, casting and making immobilization masks like those worn by cancer patients receiving radiation treatments.
MedQuest students in 2010 learn what cardiovascular perfusionists do during heart bypass surgery. They are in Upstate's perfusion simulation lab.
There are social outings in the evenings as well, including a barbecue, ice cream social and movie night.
MedQuest is one of several “pipeline” programs sponsored by the Central New York Area Health Education Center. CNYAHEC supports the development of health care professionals in a 14-county region. Many graduates of MedQuest and other programs sponsored by CNYAHEC have gone on to careers in health care.
For a closer look at all the activities students experience at MedQuest, visit Upstate’s Student Admissions Facebook page and check out the photo gallery from the 2011 session.