Doctor for a Day
What is Doctor for a Day?
Doctor for a Day (DFAD) is a monthly themed academy that exposes K-12 youth to careers in healthcare. The program hosts half-day-long events each month, during which students participate in a variety of hands-on workshops, activities and Q&A sessions focused on that month’s thematic health topic.
DFAD is sponsored by the Office of Healthcare Equity’s Center for Workforce Inclusion and Healthcare System Equity (WIHSE) and run primarily by UW School of Medicine students. Events are staffed in partnership with UWSOM faculty and volunteers from local school districts and non profits.
DFAD offers young learners a glimpse into the world of healthcare in a fun, engaging environment while connecting with and learning from medical students and healthcare professionals as mentors and role models.
Thus far, DFAD has reached over 3,000 students and serves over 560 students per academic year.
The program aims to reinforce and inspire student's interest in STEM subjects and introduce them to potential career opportunities in healthcare.
November is Diabetes Awareness Month
Faculty and fellows from the Division of Metabolism, Endocrinology, and Nutrition and the Division of Nephrology joined DFAD volunteers for this month’s event, “Diabetes Sweet Truths: Protecting Sight, Filters, and Balance” at Issaquah High School.
Department of Medicine volunteers were coordinated by Dr. Lorena Alarcon-Casas Wright, professor of clinical practice (Metabolism, Endocrinology, and Nutrition), Dr. Bessie Young, professor (Nephrology) and Dr. Justin Bullock, assistant professor (Nephrology).
Students began the day by donning white coats and stethoscopes for photo ops before rotating through a series of hands-on stations and workshops.
Each station highlighted key concepts in diabetes care and prevention, and endocrinology including, blood pressure, insulin delivery systems such as insulin pens and insulin pumps; diabetes technology including continuous glucose monitoring systems (CGM) and CGM implants. Endocrinology faculty also led creative demonstrations, such as thyroid biopsy simulations using chicken and olives and nephrology had kidney biopsy simulations using eggplants, to show how clinicians evaluate diabetes-associated conditions.
The day concluded with a Q&A panel, giving students the chance to ask physicians and medical students a wide range of questions, from how they found their path to medicine to what they enjoy most about their work.
The event is just as rewarding to the volunteers as it is to the participants.
"I love to spark curiosity and encourage students from every background to see themselves in healthcare. Being a doctor is a dream that you can turn into reality," Wright said.
Impacts
From the DFAD website:
“This program is fundamental to showing K-12 students the vast array of careers that they can pursue. These students are the future and will change the face of medicine and the delivery of health care. Our focus on elementary, middle and high school students is critical to increasing educationally and economically under-resourced students in health professions. Research shows that without intervention in elementary school, educationally and economically under-resourced students may lose interest in science and math by their teens and discount their abilities in those subjects before finishing high school.”
Doctor for a Day continues throughout the year, and each monthly theme brings new opportunities to participate. Learn more on the Office Healthcare Equity website.