Observing a live orthopedic surgery or joining physician residents during hospital rounds might intimidate most high school students, but 24 teenagers representing 13 San Joaquin County high schools spent the past two weeks learning firsthand what it would be like to pursue a career in medicine. These students just completed the San Joaquin Medical Society’s two-week Decision Medicine program, which is dedicated to bringing unreachable opportunities to local high school students by giving them behind-the-scenes access to many renowned hospitals.

Launched in 2001, Decision Medicine strives to motivate young students to become physicians. Several alumni are nearing that goal, such as Vanessa Armendariz, who participated in the program in 2005. Vanessa now attends the prestigious Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.

“In 2005, I was unsure as to whether or not I wanted to pursue a career in medicine because I was convinced that since I was a low-income Latina female I would not have the resources or intellectual abilities to be successful,” says Vanessa. “After going through the program, my outlook on pursuing a career in medicine completely changed and I knew that the program would support me in my endeavors. I am now a senior at Johns Hopkins University and the Decision Medicine program has helped make my dream a reality.”

During the two-week program, which wrapped up this weekend, the students had the opportunity to not only shadow doctors but also see live surgeries, perform experiments on state-of-the-art simulation bodies, and visit most local hospitals. They also took extended trips to UC Davis Medical School, Shriners Hospital for Children in Sacramento, and California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco for several unique presentations, including a visit with well-known heart transplant surgeon James Avery, M.D., and his cardiac team.

Decision Medicine has been graciously funded by Kaiser Permanente and Health Plan of San Joaquin since its inception in 2001. Additionally, more than 20 other health care organizations and local businesses provide in-kind services and partner with the San Joaquin Medical Society to make this program happen.

The program has been so successful that the San Joaquin Medical Society recently received a grant from the California Endowment to bring this program to other counties. For more information about bringing Decision Medicine to your area, contact Mike Steenburgh, executive director of the San Joaquin County Medical Society, at 209/952-5299 or mike@sjcms.org. Visit the Decision Medicine website to learn more about the program.