WashU program gives students a closer look at medicine 

Inside a WashU Medicine lab, science became something students could see, measure and try for themselves.

Participants in the PRIME, or Pre-college Immersive Medical Training Experience, Program stepped into an RNA lab, practiced pipetting and learned about the precision researchers use when studying genetic markers connected to cancer.

For Journi Reese, a rising sophomore at McCluer High School, the program opened up a field she thought she already understood.

“I never really thought of how many things go into being inside a medical career,” Reese said.

The four-week program gives high school students exposure to health care careers through workshops, simulations, shadowing experiences and guided tours of clinical and community health settings. It also includes classroom instruction and academic support in math and English, subjects that help students strengthen skills needed for STEM and health science careers.

National workforce data show why early exposure to these fields matters. In 2021, Black workers made up 8% of workers in STEM occupations, below their 11% share of the total workforce. Hispanic workers made up 15% of STEM workers, below their 18% share of the total workforce, according to the National Science Board.

The gap also shows up in medicine. In 2018, 5% of active physicians identified as Black or African American and 5.8% identified as Hispanic, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges.

PRIME is a partnership among WashU Medicine, BJC Goldfarb School of Nursing, the Institute for School Partnership, Integrated Health Network and the Ferguson-Florissant School District. Students rotated through nursing, physical therapy, orthopedic surgery, oncology and medical genetics, with each week focused on a different field.

For Dr. Tracey Hermanstyne Jordan, assistant dean of Academic Pathway Programs at WashU Medicine, the goal is to place students in spaces where they can picture their own future.

“You cannot be something if you haven’t seen it,” Jordan said. “You cannot imagine yourself being in the space if you never saw community engagement research, if you never saw a scientist, if you never saw a surgeon.”

Jordan said the program is built to show students the many layers of health care, from hospitals and labs to community clinics.

The experience extended beyond the lab. Students toured an inflatable colon to learn about cancer prevention and saw how health educators work in communities to prepare people for screenings. The goal was to show that cancer care includes research, education, prevention and community outreach.

Betta Sanders Thompson, the E. Desmond Lee Professor of Racial and Ethnic Studies at Washington University’s Brown School and a member of Siteman Cancer Center’s Cancer Education Research and Training Core, said students need to see the full range of careers connected to cancer care and research.

Many young people think of doctors and nurses when they hear “medical field,” Sanders Thompson said, but there are many other roles that shape health care and medicine.

“Exposure to a real research lab is rare for most students,” Sanders Thompson said. “To see how the scientists are working, to see new technology that’s used in research, can be exciting.”

Sanders Thompson said representation matters because communities are often more willing to engage with screenings, vaccines and health education when they see people who look like them involved in research, treatment and community care.

For Franchezka Kiara Avidal, a student from the Philippines, PRIME made science feel reachable. She said she first thought the experience would be overwhelming, but it helped her make friends, build confidence and see the medical field more clearly.

“It gave me an open eye about the medical field,” Avidal said.

During the cancer research session, she said practicing with RNA and lab tools gave her an experience she had not had before.

“I always wanted to be a scientist,” she said. “Now I’m able to see and experience the things that I thought I was unable to do.”

Reese entered PRIME thinking she wanted to become a pediatric nurse. After shadowing patients during physical therapy week and learning about cancer research, she said the program showed her how broad the medical field is.

Reese said PRIME gave her pride and optimism for McCluer students.

“We are McCluer,” Reese said. “We are something.”

She said the experience helped her see more possibilities for herself and other students of color.

“I can do more than what people say I can,” Reese said. “I can be more than just what they expect for a Black person or someone of color to be.”

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