Durham high school students are getting a head start in the medical field this summer through the MaryAnn Black Internship Program at Duke University.
Internship offers Durham students hands-on training, mentorship toward medical careers
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Durham high schoolers are training with cutting edge surgical equipment during a summer internship. More than 20 students from 13 Durham high schools have the opportunity as part of the MaryAnn Black Internship Program at Duke University.
“I’ve always said I wanted to be a surgeon for a long time,” said Gracious David. “But, when I went to this program, it opened my eyes to other opportunities within the medical field.”
David, a rising 11th grader at City of Medicine Academy, said she learned about the internship opportunity through the Youth Works program. She told WRAL her goal is to one day return to Duke for her residency and take a job serving the community that raised her.
“I was introduced to different types of nurses, and CRNAs or pediatrics, and I was really open to that,” she said. “It opened my eyes to the different things they learn during nursing school. If I don’t want to be a surgeon, that would be my backup plan.” Learning alongside David is 16-year-old Lauren Johson from Riverside High School. “My dad is a PA,” Johnson shared. “I never really thought I wanted to go into medicine when I was younger.” Johnson said her feelings shifted once she started learning more about physiology in high school. Her desire to learn more about the medical field also prompted Johnson to start a club at her high school for like-minded peers.
“I love learning about how the brain works. It’s at the center of how the entire body works and how you think and how you feel. It’s cool, and we don’t even know everything about the brain works. I think that’s interesting,” she said. David and Johnson are among the 22 students participating in this year’s internship with Duke. Collectively, the students represent public and private high schools, with one student being homeschooled.
The students are taught about more than 70 different professions over a three-week period and provided access to more than 90 mentors. They are given the opportunity to tour medical facilities, and train on real equipment and simulation labs used by current medical students.
“As one of the leaders here at Duke Health, it is so amazing for me to watch these young men and young women who come to this health system to jumpstart their careers,” said Ian Brown.
Brown serves as vice president and chief employee experience officer at Duke University Health System. While meeting and engaging with students in this year’s program, he told WRAL, “The future is bright in healthcare.” “What it does for me is to say there is hope. Hope for the future in health care careers, and it’s exciting for me to see the excitement in the faces of these young people,” Brown shared. The administrator said he hopes the internship expands students’ knowledge of available professions across the industry more than anything.
“You can be a physician, you can be a social worker, you can be a nurse, you can be an educator, you can be someone in environmental services, you can be somebody who is a facilities person, and somebody who is an administrator,” he listed. “Health care is a village.” Brown continued, “It doesn’t mean necessarily that folks necessarily need to come to Duke to go to school, they can go elsewhere. Ideally, we’d love for them to come back here and work, but at the end of the day, it’s an opportunity for advance in their careers in healthcare.”
Returning to provide care in Durham through Duke University Health System is Bhadresh Amarnath’s goal. Amarnath graduated from Enloe High School in Raleigh this spring and is now set to begin classes in New York in a few weeks as a part of a six-year BS/DO Program with the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine. “In the simulation lab, I was able to intubate a dummy,” recalled Amarnath. “The following day, Dr. Grace McCarthy came and spoke to us. That really solidified my interest in anesthesia.”
The future med student shared the hands-on training he received through the MaryAnn Black Internship helped expand his knowledge of the role anesthesiologists play in managing a patient’s pain during surgery.
“As a patient point-of-view, you really only see maybe two medical providers: nurses and the physician. Through this program I got to see there are sterile technicians, the front desk workers, the role of social workers and more,” Amarnath said.
He further added the mentorship program has proven invaluable and encouraged other students to take advantage of the experts available to them. “Dr. McCarthy was kind enough to connect me with an anesthesiologist to shadow after the program. I believe if you utilize this internship to the fullest ability, you’re able to build meaningful connection, not only for mentorship but also for career guidance,” Amarnath advised.
More than 220 students have completed the program, with more than a dozen returning to take jobs within DUHS. More information about the application process for the MaryAnn Black Summer Internship Program through Duke University can be found online.