‘The beginning of my journey’

In the summer of 2015, Kyle Gavulic was a high schooler exploring career options when he attended two weeklong summer programs hosted by OUWB that would end up being “transformative.”

One was the medical school’s summer pathway program that aims to provide area youth with a taste of what it’s like to study and work in medicine. The other was focused on health care-related research.

Before the programs, Gavulic says he was leaning heavily toward becoming a veterinarian and also considering biomedical engineering.

Everything changed, however, after that summer of 2015.

“Honestly, it was the beginning of my journey to go to medical school,” says Gavulic.

Today, Gavulic is a Ph.D.-M.D. candidate at Yale Medical School.

He’s far from where he grew up in Goodrich, Michigan — a small village near Flint — but says he’s never forgotten what those OUWB programs meant to him.

Visiting the OUWB Anatomy Lab, for example, was “really fascinating.” He also has “very fond memories” of experiments as well as the research project and presentation that he had to do with others.

“I did these programs at OUWB and they actually were really quite transformative,” he says. “I just hadn’t had exposure to a lot of things that we did in these programs.”

And that’s just one of many reasons why a medical school like OUWB puts so many resources into reaching area youth, according to Tonya Bailey, Ph.D., associate dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and Community Engagement.

“Kyle shows that these types of engagement opportunities and programs really do work,” she says. “They really benefit learners who are exposed to opportunities they may not have been aware of, and help provide a clearer path to take for individuals who are interested in these fields.”

Grabbing interest early

OUWB programs for area youth include the Online Spring Enrichment Program and Online Summer Enrichment Program (OSEPs); Careers in Demand; Doctors Back to School; and Reach Out to Youth.

While the programs vary in structure, content, and participants, Bailey says they all have one thing in common: they aim to raise awareness of — and promote excitement about — careers in health care and OUWB.

“These programs are an invaluable way to allow learners to interact with the health care field,” she says. “I believe that individuals can’t be effective in their career choices until they’re exposed to them…and these programs provide that kind of exposure.”

Bailey says there are benefits for participants, too: they get research experience; time to connect and network with others; and build mentor relationships.

“It also helps build confidence and even resilience for them to persist through very challenging aspects of education,” she says.

Another big reason? OUWB is trying to help address a projected shortage of health care workers.

OUWB faculty co-authored a study called “Addressing Projected Healthcare and STEM Profession Needs Through a Regional Summer Pipeline Program,” that was published in the Journal of STEM Education Innovations and Research.

Among other things, the research identified the need for programs designed for young learners.

It noted that according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, health care occupations are the most in-demand professions, with a projected 14% increase in growth between 2018-2028. Factors include increased health care needs from an aging population; a large percentage of health care professionals retiring; and effects of anticipated health care reform measures.

Further, it noted that the Association of American Medical Colleges estimates a nationwide physician shortage of 139,000 by 2033.

Closer to home, the Michigan Bureau of Labor Market Information and Strategic Initiatives projects demand for medical scientists will increase by 3.7%, biochemists and biophysicists by 4.1%, health specialties educators by 17.6% and health care practitioners and allied health technical occupations by 4.8%

Kyeorda Kemp, Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Foundational Medical Studies, was lead author.

She says it’s important to reach students who are interested in medicine and science at the youngest possible age.

“If we can get people before they go to college, we can help them become aware of all of the things that are out there and grab their interest early,” says Kemp. “Then, we can provide them with resources and help them persist.” 

Here are the various pipeline programs that OUWB offers:

Varna Taranikanti, M.D., associate professor, Department of Foundational Medical Studies, participated in the 2023 Online Summer Enrichment Program, which includes one day of in-person activities (Photo by Andrew Dietderich)

Online Spring and Summer Enrichment Programs

Through the OUWB Diversity & Inclusion department, the OSEPs are held during traditional school breaks and designed for area youth seeking to take advantage of additional learning opportunities.

The OSEPs started as the Future Physicians Summer Enrichment Program — one of the programs Gavulic attended — but became an online/in-person hybrid program because of the COVID-19 pandemic. OUWB officials stuck with the structure because of positive feedback received from participants.

The spring version is held during spring break, while the summer event is held in late June. There are no costs to participants, though they must apply ahead of time.

Both are structured the same: a theme is established for the week; OUWB Department of Foundational Medical Studies faculty create a curriculum; participants log on for the first four days of the week to receive asynchronous study materials; everyone gets together for an in-person event the last day of the week.

The next Online Spring Enrichment Program is set for March 25-29.

Careers in Demand

For the past four years, OUWB's Compass department of community engagement has partnered with Oakland University and Oakland Schools on the annual Careers in Demand. Formerly known as Careers in Healthcare, the name was changed to reflect an expansion of professions explored (health care, information technology, construction, advanced manufacturing, and transportation mobility, logistics, and energy).

The event is held for area middle school students from Pontiac, Ferndale, Oak Park, and Avondale. It aims to increase awareness of career opportunities while also giving participants a taste of campus life.

Now held at OU’s Oakland Center, students participate in several sessions presented by various experts.

The event is funded through a Gear Up grant and the Oakland University Pontiac Initiative. More than 300 students participated in the 2023 version.

Tammy Brown, K-12 readiness supervisor, Oakland Schools, says it’s all about getting students to think beyond high school as early as possible.

“If kids know what they want to do after they leave high school, we can better help prepare them for next steps,” she says. “We really want students to find something that they enjoy doing,

Suzanne Celmer-Harter, a nurse from Henry Ford Health in West Bloomfield, co-led a session on what it’s like to be a medical technician.

“When you talk about careers in health care, many people believe you can either be a doctor or a nurse,” she says. “But there are so many other opportunities.”

M3 Maya Jaradi was among OUWB volunteers at the 2023 Doctors Back to School event. (Photo by Andrew Dietderich)

Doctors Back to School

For the first time, OUWB participated in the American Medical Association’s Doctors Back to School program in 2022.

Held May 13, the event was attended by 25 youth from Pontiac, all in elementary or middle school. Several other community members and officials from the Pontiac School District also attended. There was no cost for members of the community.

Further, 14 members of the OUWB community (students, faculty, administrators) helped put on the event.

Attendees heard from Duane Mezwa, M.D., retired Stephan Sharf Dean, OUWB; Anthony Stallion, M.D., professor of Surgery and Pediatrics, OUWB, and chief of Pediatric Surgery, Beaumont Children’s; and Pierre Morris, M.D., associate dean for Clinical Education, OUWB.

Stallion talked about how as a youngster, he carried around a toy doctor’s kit pretending to treat family and friends and that the first time he considered a career in medicine was as a seventh grader.

He urged attendees to also consider working in health care and stressed the importance of building what he called “academic muscle” by getting good grades, always seeking to improve, and taking advantage of opportunities to learn more at events like the Doctors Back to School.

“It’s a total process of trying to make yourself better every year,” says Stallion. “It’s not competing with the students next to you, it’s competing with yourself. If you got a B, can you get an A? If you got an A, can you get an A+? If you got an A+, what extra work can you do?”

Attendees also had the opportunity to visit several stations run by OUWB medical student volunteers who primarily focused on vaping, which has been identified as a particularly problematic issue for area youngsters.

Alvinia Johnson brought three children (one of her own and two cousins) to the event — all between the ages of 12 and 16. She said she benefited from such programs when she was younger, and that she views them as even more important today.

“The more you enforce participation in such events, I believe, the more their participation will become natural, and they’ll start asking about other opportunities,” says Johnson.

Saturday Academy

Launched in October 2023 by OUWB Diversity & Inclusion, Saturday Academy is for high school-age youth.

Each Saturday Academy is designed to introduce students to broad and in-depth subject area content.

Participants learn about the various concepts in human anatomy and physiology, physical science, global health, bioengineering, and health care careers. Additional topics covered include college and medical school admissions.

For the current school year, there are stille sessions scheduled for Feb. 10 (FAFSA and undergraduate admissions) and April 13 (bioengineering).

Reach Out to Youth

The origins of Reach Out to Youth (ROTY) date to 1989, when Carolyn King, M.D., created the program as a first-year medical student at Wayne State University. Today, ROTY is a nonprofit that continues to co-host events at Wayne State, as well as Michigan State University and University of Toledo.

A trio of now third-year medical students — Sara Tran, Suhani Gupta, and Nandita Kapur — brought the program to OUWB in late 2022. OUWB held the event for a second time on Nov. 18, 2023.

Funding for the program was received from OUWB’s Passport to Medicine program, along with OUWB Diversity & Inclusion (which purchased white coats for participating students) and ROTY.

During the event, elementary-age students from Pontiac participate in hands-on experiments based on themes such as “Bacteria is Mean: Keep It Clean with Healthy Hygiene.”

“It’s all about the kids,” says King.

“We want the kids to think about their careers, and to see young medical students who are studying to be doctors,” she adds. “These medical students are generally in their 20s…that makes it easier for younger kids to relate and see that a career in medicine isn’t necessarily that far away.”