Recently, I was tutoring a minority student in biology, and to break the ice during her first session, I asked her about her hobbies and future career goals. She shared that she loved the show, The Good Doctor, dancing, and that her career plan was to work at Amazon or ride a motorcycle. I encouraged her to do whatever her heart desired, but of course, I also had to ask, “Why not something in healthcare? You are taking biology and you like The Good Doctor. I figured maybe you are interested in Science?” She responded, “The Good Doctor isn’t science! They do cool procedures on the show and medicine!” I was shocked by her response but not completely surprised because in working with other children during Healthcare Sparks meetings earlier in the year, I had heard some similar comments.
Our team conducted a poll at the very beginning of the first session with Dream Academy of San Bernardino. We asked the students to rate their interest in science and medicine on a scale of 0-10. The average was 2. After presenting our cardiovascular module and playing some games to demonstrate how the heart pumps, allowing the participants to use our stethoscopes, and palpate radial pulses, one student exclaimed, “This is so much fun!” This was one of the students who had ranked their interest at “0” during the poll. One of our volunteers inquired, “I thought you didn’t like science?”
“This isn’t science,” the student responded.
This very first session alone reassured me that Healthcare Sparks is important and that I can make a difference.