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School's Groundbreaking Pre-Med Program Begins in 6th Grade
Filed under: In The News, Weird But True, Amazing Kids
The bar is getting higher. Much higher.
A Florida magnet school for sixth to 12th graders has become the first medical arts school in the country -- which means the school's seniors will already have four to seven years of medical education under their belts when they graduate from high school, ABC News reports.
The School of the Medical Arts at Darnell-Cookman Middle/High School in Jacksonville, Fla., offers students as young as 12 a head start on a path to a professional medical career -- even though they will not officially practice medicine for at least 15 years, according to the program's website.
The program launched three years ago with funding from the U.S. Department of Education and the Duvall County School System, according to the school's website, and it's already producing remarkable results.
Tony Hansberry, 15, a Darnell-Cookman 10th grader, made the news when he was asked to demonstrate a new suturing technique he developed to a roomful of doctors at Northside Hospital in Atlanta this week, ABC News reports.
Hansberry's technique presents a simpler way to stitch up patients after a hysterectomy that could reduce the risk of complications, and has already been used once by a certified gynecologist. Hansberry has mastered suturing, as it's a part of the eighth grade curriculum at Darnell-Cookman, according to ABC.
Hansberry wants to be a physician, and tells ABC the experience he'll get from attending Darnell-Cookman will give him a leg up on other pre-med students when he gets to college.
"I've had four years of medicine already," he tells ABC. "(Darnell-Cookman students) will be entering medical school with a vast knowledge that no other freshman will have. They'll have to change the curriculum to fit us in."
But some question whether kids as young as 12 can handle a medical education, ABC reports, noting that students in the upper grades have a lot to juggle in balancing college-level courses and hospital internships.
Darnell-Cookman's principal, Mark Ertel, tells ABC most students are managing their responsibilities well, adding that other honors programs and magnet schools present students with a similar load of advanced placement (AP) courses. The difference at his school, he says, is that there is an overall focus on medicine.
"It can be stressful," Kathi Hansberry, Tony's mother, tells ABC, "but it seems that school is stressful in general now. "They're staying up late studying like I did in college, but they still have fun, as well."
Carolyn Landis, a psychologist and assistant professor of pediatrics at Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital, tells ABC the balance between work and play is what's critical.
"You have to have your time to get through the developmental tasks of childhood, and part of that is unstructured time spent with peers," she says. "They're not mini-adults and I think it's up to parents and administrators to make sure that kids are achieving a balance between that work load and free time with same-aged peers."
Beyond the intensity of the program, some doctors wonder if teens are mature enough to handle the subject matter of the lessons at Darnell-Cookman, according to ABC.
"Although I appreciate the efforts of a magnet school like this, I worry that children become too focused on becoming a physician too early in life," Dr. Richard Redett, director of Pediatric Plastic Surgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital, tells ABC. "It is as important to enter medical school well-rounded in the arts and literature as it is science and math. One must have a wide variety of experiences to truly empathize with those who suffer."
Ertel counters this point, explaining that the person-to-person context of medicine is an important part of the education at Darnell-Cookman.
"We try to teach them that there's more to medicine than what you study in a book. It's how you relate to that patient, how you hear what's behind their voice instead of just on their chart," he tells ABC.
There are certainly advantages to getting kids excited about medicine -- and school -- at such a young age, ABC reports.
"It can be hard to know if medicine is for you until you are exposed to it," Landis says. "This helps them see whether they would be good in a number of professions related to medicine. Not all these kids are going to become surgeons."
Ertel says the school's curriculum gives kids an opportunity to see "why academics are important by connecting them to a profession that gives it value."
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
6-24-2010 @ 8:45AM
Sean said...Fifty years from now I can see what's going to happen: Everyone's career and future will be decided before they're born. They go to that school IMMEDIATELY specializing in what they're (supposed) to do. Meanwhile they're not going to know CRAP about any other subject. Our children are getting smarter, but only in esoteric subjects. Whatever happened to taking geography, or grammar? Why don't most Americans know where at least 50% of the states and their capitals are? The esoteric subjects should be saved for college when things are SUPPOSED to be more specialized. NOT in grade school.
I don't think this school is a great idea. Children need to be more well rounded before they decide a career. Something like this also saps the childhood right out of a 6th grader. I can see where they're going with this, and I don't like it frankly. Close this school down NOW.
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6-24-2010 @ 9:47AM
Kevin Says . . . said...Sean, you have no sense of history in this matter.
Only in the last 70 years have we coddled our children and tried to let them have an extended playtime into adulthood.
Have you forgotten that most of our founding fathers went on to college by age 16? Or that many officers in the British Navy in the 18th and 19th Centuries began sailing on ships at 11 or 12?
Lets not even talk about the 8 and 9 year olds who used to work in coal mines and factories.
In this school they are getting an education but still get to be kids. If they are bold enough and bright enough WHY NOT???
Its better than spending down time playing mindless video games of violence!
6-24-2010 @ 10:39AM
Jennifer said...@ Kevin:
That's because everyone died at 30. If you only lived for 30 years, then age 15 would be the equivalent of age 50 now!!! Children at 11 also got married, should we do the same?
Let kids be kids. High school programs are fine, but just leave the elementary school kids and middle school kids alone. They'll have enough on their plate later!
6-24-2010 @ 10:46AM
corinndahm said...Sean is correct-- just like the soviet union!
6-24-2010 @ 4:35PM
frumit said...I am sure if we tested Sean on subjects he did not exactly care for he would realize how much he does not remember or let’s put it differently if he would have or maybe I should say he put his brains to the things he cared most I am sure he excelled- not like we had to in the 50s we had to take French or Spanish my what a waste of time today the kids should study the subjects they have interest in so maybe there would be less crime and drugs support them for their future endeavor you have a dream go for it - you can see little pipsqueaks dancing singing painting skating or instruments nothing wrong with that eh. Why are you uncomfortable with knowing about how to treat the body maybe we would have some more caring people around. I loved med since childhood a pity yes I did go for it later years but it would have been so much easier if we had this program
6-24-2010 @ 9:54AM
donette said...Any time a school system can get kids excited about learning I consider that a positive thing. The current education system automatically assumes that kids are just too stupid to learn anything other than extremely basic knowledge. Love the fact that this program is challenging kids to actually make an effort to learn something difficult. If a kid can learn medicine in 6th grade what other subjects should they be exposed to and at what academic level?
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6-24-2010 @ 10:12AM
Angiebaby said...No, starting to study medicine in the 6th Grade is not too early. I have to say, I NEVER thought Americans would be complaining about a progressive, challenging school subject which required kids to work hard to succeed. We are so fixated on making things too easy for our kids, thus, we are producing lazy and irresponsible kids who go on to be weak, insecure, dependent adults.
As with all specialty classes, kids will have to show aptitude and ambition to get into the classes, and then work hard to keep their spot. Some will go on to become doctors, some will realize it's not what they want. The only complaint I have about this school is that the majority of students will not be American kids. Trust me, you won't hear people from China, India, Mexico or Russia whining about such an opportunity for their kids. But then, that's not a problem with the school, it's a problem with American Parents.
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6-24-2010 @ 10:17AM
APatient said...re: "One must have a wide variety of experiences to truly empathize with those who suffer."
Yeah, right. As if doctors alive today have ANY empathy for their patients. The doctors I have been to don't have time for empathy. How can they have empathy when they don't even have time to listen and get to know the patient. All they do is treat symptoms, not people. BTW, maybe I have a small sampling of experience (57 years old, many operations/sickness) but I have only seen one doctor who really gave a damn about the patient. And after many hospitalizations, I only met one nurse who did too.
And no, I am not a jilted hypochondriac who expects every doctor to worship me. I am an average person who "toughs" things out as long as I can before going to a doctor. But when I do go, I would like to be treated like a human being instead of a disease. I would like for the doctor to actually listen to my health concerns, because when it comes down to it "I" am the one that is going to be treated. Me, a real person..........not a chart.
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6-24-2010 @ 10:33AM
jim said...Provincetown Mass begins a program in 1st grade where students can ask for, and receive, condoms without parental consent.
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6-24-2010 @ 11:08AM
Nan said...I love this! My son knew he wanted to be a doctor in Kindergarten and two years ago graduated with his MD/PhD. Nothing states that kids chosing this school must stay there if they discover they truly don't like the path they are on. I'd love to see more of this type of school for all professions.
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6-24-2010 @ 11:24AM
Kathy said...The program is *voluntary* and one that students must seek to enter. While I have reservations about *which* aspects of medicine are taught to sixth graders,giving them some introduction at that age doesn't seem horrible in itself. With ANY accelerated program, there is a need to make sure that the kids don't have so much school work that they can't just PLAY. As one STAR TREK episode put it, "The greater the mind, the greater the need for play." The source may be suspect to some, but the idea is right on.
As for not knowing geography, etc -- ALL public school systems in this country have graduation requirements including at least some fine arts, basic social studies (you remember -- the old name for geography, history and so forth) and English. Some of the basic knowledge people complain about has fallen through the cracks not because it isn't taught, but because (1) we as parents and a society don't place such a high value on rote memorization; (2) we are insisting that all (or nearly all) students be "mainstreamed" so that the very bright and capable and the learning-challenged are in the same classes; (3) while we keep requiring more and more tests to prove that the schools are teaching our kids, in some states the standards for passing some of those tests are being "dumbed down" to allow the aforementioned learning-challenged (as well as the just plain lazy and uncaring) to get through them. Standards may have changed in a decade or so, but when I taught in one Eastern state, the English test required for graduation was graded "holistically" so that as long as the meaning could be figured out by the reader, a horribly ungrammatical and completely misspelled paragraph was sufficient for a passing grade. Trust me, I hated sentence diagramming and other grammar lessons as much as anyone when I was in "junior high" school, but when I read some of the stuff people post on forums like this one, it's a wonder to me that the rest of the world doesn't laugh in our faces, and I bless the cranky old curmudgeon who taught those classes.
Bottom line: whether or not to attend this school should be the decision of the parents and the child. Perhaps an annual or biennial meeting between the child alone and a guidance counselor MIGHT be a good idea for those who might be at risk. I was in an accelerated program in 5th grade, but my parents pulled me back to my home school for the sixth because I was not emotionally ready for the stress and the extra work -- and the teacher's personality didn't help. As long as parents do their job and look at their WHOLE child, not just the pride of accelerated academics, there's nothing wrong with a program such as this. After a few years, they may find that it will be better to wait for high school, or even eighth grade, but I taught First Aid to sixth-grade Cub Scouts -- if the kids really want it and can handle it, why hold them back?
Oh, and by the way -- sweatshops were bad. Kids need to be TAUGHT BY THEIR PARENTS the ethical and moral way to live in our society, and if they're ready to marry at 16, maybe they should still be allowed to do so. For sure, we're 'way too eager to label 18-year-olds (and younger) as "sex offenders" because they do what kids have done from the creation (in whatever manner) of the species. The way our society works right now, too many of us treat them as little children unable to make decisions or practice RESTRICTED VERSIONS of adult behaviors and responsibilities until their 17th or 18th birthday, then tell them, "You're an adult now. You face all the same penalties for doing things wrong as a 40-year-old. You haven't been allowed to practice? SO? What's your point?"
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6-24-2010 @ 11:27AM
jean said...With the right guidance, this can be an excellent way for them to decide if they want to be medical doctors, OR if they want to be veterinarians. This country is woefully short of both, and both have many basic premises.
It's impressive that someone had the courage to start this program, my daughter wishes it had been available for her, would have saved her a lot of time, expense, and major frustration.
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6-24-2010 @ 11:22AM
womensan said...I think it's great; if children have an aptitude and are able to get into some medical classes through their school -wonderful! No one here has yet mentioned Europe. Many of their schools, unlike ours, do not offer a "one size fits all" education. Around age twelve, instead of leaving elementary school for middle/jr. high, they split into about three schools depending on the student's abilities and requests. Some head for more occupational- type education, some are higher college prep, and some more middle of the road. Can you imagine the sense of purpose of bright driven students allowed to finally get a step on their way- or of those who have been helplessly lost to finally get an education they can handle?
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6-24-2010 @ 1:17PM
lespal said...Well with Obamacare they have no other choice, we're talking about adding millions more into the healthcare system, we don't have enough doctors to sustain this, and by the time its all said and done, doctors will probably be making minimum wage too!
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6-24-2010 @ 12:32PM
Sandra Reiberg said...Crispus Attucks Medical Magnet High School in Indianapolis, IN is also a grades 6-12 school that prepares students for the medical profession,and graduated the first seniors from the program this year.
The program opened in 2006, thus making it OLDER than this program. Please check your facts and please add this school to those you write about. Thank you for drawing attention to successful programs such as these.
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6-24-2010 @ 12:58PM
jan said...How ridiculous. Doctors should be well-rounded. In my opinion, students need to have a broad range of subjects at this age. Concentrating on a specific curriculum is not good idea. We have enough doctors who cannot relate to patients.
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6-24-2010 @ 1:04PM
Stacey said...Wow - this sounds amazing! I really wish I had an opportunity like this when I was in middle/high school. There is nothing wrong with schools teaching the general subjects such as English, math etc. as all professions need to be rounded in them. However, schools should also be offering opportunities like this where students can explore and earn credit in terms of career options - especially advanced degree fields such as medicine where there is so much information and so many possibilities.
I got to college and had almost NO IDEA what I wanted to get my degree in because I never had any experiences that were career oriented (besides high school jobs of course, but working in retail the rest of my life certainly didn't appeal) since my school didn't offer them, or made them very inconvenient to fit into the schedule (I could have taken a career course to become an LPN, but I would have had to give up my extracurricular clubs and sports) . It would have been an amazing help to have options like this, so that way I wouldn't have attended 4 years of college to get a degree I decided in my 4th year I wasn't interested in...I immediately went back to school and next May (after 6 years) will graduate with my 2nd degree in nursing - a degree I actually want to do something with.
Best of luck to the kids who go through this program and have discovered what they want to be when they "grow up"!
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6-24-2010 @ 2:30PM
Belle said...This is a great idea, I don't understand why we've dumb down education the way we have. Kings and Queens by the time they were 10 spoke more then one language our kids today for the most part can't even speak English properly and that is their only language! We assume they are to young to get it but less then 100 years ago kids the same age had a better grasp on math, science, American history, English and world history. So what is so different now? Knowledge is power and to avoid repeating the mistake of the past we must learn out history but even that is not being taught. But yet we make sure to teach them about sex (in Elementary!), about different kinds of couples and it goes on. The big question is, "WHY" are we dumbing down our youth when they are our future?
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6-24-2010 @ 10:58PM
Nona said...I think this is a great idea, just so long as it is offered to children of ALL RACES, who have excelled academically and are interested in a medical career.
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8-09-2010 @ 8:35AM
haldirect said...The kid who develope the new suturing technique possibly also took home economics classes. (more at laughs4dads.com)
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