To students who think they want to work in healthcare when they are older, there is a program for you. Dr. Rubin’s Mini Medical School is an educational program designed to encourage high school students to pursue a career in the medical field.

“The goal is to get students exposed to medicine who are either interested or unsure to help them decide whether they want to go into healthcare and give them the tools to succeed at it,” pediatrician and the creator of the program Dr. Ira Rubin said.

Students get the opportunity to do activities like organ dissections, injections, and observe procedures. Additionally, they get to learn how to read x-rays, cast broken bones and more, Rubin said.

LT students have been accepted to the program before. Claire Bradley ‘20 participated in both the winter session last year and an accelerated summer session.

“I really liked all the hands on experiences we got to do,” Bradley said. “I got to intubate dummies and [Dr. Rubin] taught us about all these surgeries. It’s an experience that you wouldn’t get just reading about.”

The program is 20 hours long spread over six sessions. There are two options for sessions: Saturday afternoons or Sunday afternoons, starting the second week of January. The class is run at Edward Hospital centers in Naperville and Plainfield. Students come from all over the Chicago area, Rubin said.

Acceptance into Mini Medical School requires an application with a short essay, counselor recommendation, a parent consent form, and a teacher recommendation letter. The deadline to apply is Oct. 31.

“It’s a really nice experience of the field of medicine, so if you’re questioning or think you may want to do medicine, it’s a nice way to double check and confirm your suspicions,” Bradley said.

For more information about applying, see minimedicalschool.com.