Roger Luong and Shruthi Prabhakar, members of the the medical schools Class of 2026, served as coordinators of the program this year. Photo by Ryan Anderson for Virginia Tech

Sixteen-year-old Sachita Baskota was attending MedDOCS for the second time. Her goal is to be a doctor.

The best part of this experience is all the learning that takes place, she said. I especially liked the simulation lab where we could act out real-life situations.

During a lesson in brain anatomy, John Aziz, 16, was especially attentive, as he plans to be a neurologist. This is really exciting, learning about how everything in the body works together, he said.

In one popular simulation, medical students pretend to be patients and doctors in an emergency situation. MedDOCS participants are told that doctors are busy with the situational chaos, and they are to talk to a patient, ask questions, figure out whats going on, and report back.

A student wrote on the course evaluation, This was so scary. It pushed me out of my comfort zone, but I loved it.

Shruthi and I have the same vision, Luong said. We wanted to make sure that these students, many of whom travel from distant locations, would have an enriching and memorable experience.

Prabhakar was the first in her family to pursue medical school.

My family was supportive, but I had to figure a lot of things out for myself, she said. To be able to offer guidance about science and medicine to these kids and create a passion within them means the world to me.

Luong grew up in an immigrant household, and life was challenging.

I credit my success in medical school to the exceptional mentors who have supported me, he said. Im eager to pay it forward and empower others and to foster curiosity. Theres a profound sense of satisfaction when you can positively impact someones life.

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Enrichment Program Opens Eyes of Roanoke Students to Medical Careers - The Roanoke Star