Photo courtesy of Mary Betsy

Boonton High School students graduated from the Rutgers Pre-Med Honor program on Wednesday, Nov. 19. From left are: (first row) Dr. Morgan Pines, Manal Shabob, Nimrah Khurshid, Sarah Sahili, Jordyn Ferrante; (second row) Faiza Kahn, Cyndia Green, Kaia Mobley, Laiba Quereshi; (third row) Iman Hashmi, Martha Asfena, Lee Ann Villegas; and in the fourth row: Will Cartelli, Marshall Maquiling, Hajira Khan, and Noor Tahir.

Fifteen Boonton High School students graduated from the 2014 Pre-Medical Honors Program, sponsored by Rutgers, New Jersey Medical School and The Institute for the Public Understanding of Health and Medicine, on Wednesday, Nov. 19. In its 14th year, the highly successful program is designed to identify and encourage the most qualified high school students to consider careers in medicine by providing them an authentic medical school education experience.

Students are accepted into the competitive program through an application process and enrollment is limited to 200 students across the state.

The BHS students participated in the eight-week program along with students from 34 other New Jersey high schools. They took part in lectures, seminars, and small group discussions that were created by members of the faculty of the New Jersey Medical School and facilitated by medical school students.

The district provided bussing for the BHS students, at no cost, to Rutgers NJMS in Newark each Wednesday for the four-hour sessions which covered topics that included: history of medicine, what you should know as a patient, HIV/AIDS stem cell medicine, principals of orthopedics and knee and ligament injuries, the Ebola crisis, intro to dermatology and skin cancer recognition, genetics, and the mysterious heart. They were also trained in CPR and other life-saving techniques.

The program requires a commitment to the entire eight-week session but the students found the time spent more than worthwhile.

"Participating in the pre-medical honors program was very valuable to me," offered BHS junior Martha Asfeha. "Not only did it provided a stimulating curriculum and expanded my options for future careers, but also educated me on general facts about the medical field. I particularly liked the lectures. It was nice seeing people, who once sat where I was, talk about something they're so passionate about. It's very motivating knowing that they've gone through years upon years of studying and made it so far."

In addition to the lectures and seminars, students gained valuable insight by going on rounds with the medical students at University Hospital in Newark. The program also provided the high school students the unique opportunity to meet and interact with notable faculty from the medical school, including Dr. Jacob Lindenthal, director of the Institute for the Public Understanding of Health and medicine chair, Dr. Robert Barchi, president of Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Dr. Brian Storm, chancellor of Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences, and Dr. George Heinrich, associate dean for Medical School Admission.

"Meeting these renowned doctors was a part of the program I enjoyed most," said junior Noor Tahr. "They all started off where I am today, a high school student trying to figure out my place in the world, what career will suit me best, and how Ill achieve it."

Originally posted here:

Boonton High School students complete pre-med program