On Saturday, November 30, 2019 Surrey Hospital Foundation hosted the first-ever Mini Med School at Surrey Memorial Hospital.
80 students in grades 10-12 from local Surrey high schools attended the event, which had a wait list of 100.
Emceed by Dr. Raymond Dong, President, Medical Staff Association, SMH and JPOCSC, the event was hosted in the UBC School of Medicine lecture theatre and the simulation lab at Surrey Memorial. The day began with an inspiring talk with Dr. Ahmad Ashrafi, a renowned thoracic surgeon, who shared his inspiring tale of his journey into medicine and lifelong learning.
Mini med school gave students an opportunity to explore a variety of medical specialties with small-group workshops with physicians and technicians. They experienced hands-on learning simulations such as removing a grape skin with a pin with the retinal surgeon, and watching their output efforts on an overhead screen during a CPR simulation in the lab. The first cohort of mini med school students were fortunate enough to learn from some of Surrey’s top specialists, including:
- CPR/Code Blue Emergency – Dr. Robby Birdi
- Birthing Simulation Obstetrics – Dr. Oisin Coll
- Echo Cardio Station – Dr. Raymond Dong
- Pathology – Dr. Richard Cleve
- Retinal Virtual Reality Magic Simulation – Dr. James Lux
- Thoracic Surgery – Dr. Ahmad Ashrafi
- Gastroenterology – Dr. Zamil Karim
- Virtual Reality Innovation – Dr. Amir Behboudi
After lunch the students learned more about volunteer opportunities within the hospital, and opportunity that over 80% of those surveyed after the event said they were interested in after learning more during mini med school.
We were so excited to host this event and look forward to the next one. The dedication and expertise of Surrey’s clinical team is something to be proud of! We hope to inspire many more youth to consider health care as a profession, and to showcase the innovation and quality care opportunities here in Surrey.
