Medicine & Health Care

Battle a deadly germ outbreak

Do you see medical school in your future? Are you interested in influencing the future of health care? At the National Student Leadership Conference on Medicine & Health Care, being a health professional becomes a reality. Attend our summer medical programs for high school students and you will experience the health care profession hands-on.

Medicine & Health Care
Hear from our alumni!

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Interactive Career Simulations

The NSLC on Medicine & Health Care uses an interactive approach to learning that gives you an opportunity to immerse yourself in the challenging complexities of the medical profession. Our youth leadership summer medical programs for high school students will expose you to the techniques of doctors and nurses during hands-on clinical rounds, including: Suturing, Testing Vital Signs, Surgical Knot-Tying and Identifying Cranial Nerves. Once you’ve mastered the basics, you and your team will work quickly to diagnose and treat your patients in a true-to-life outbreak simulation.

Tour Medical Facilities

The NSLC on Medicine and Health Care has created special partnerships with medical facilities across the country to provide unparalleled access and experiences for our summer medical program students.

Our current partnerships include:

Chicago, IL: Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine is proud to participate in the 2011 National Student Leadership Conference on Medicine & Health Care. For 150 years, the Feinberg School has educated and trained some of the nation’s most accomplished clinicians, researchers, and educators. Along with the NSLC and its partner institutions, Northwestern is committed to helping students from across the country/globe develop the necessary skills to advance their professional careers through hosting prestigious summer medical programs for high school students.

With a longstanding tradition of community engagement and educational outreach, Northwestern embraces this opportunity to advance the NSLC mission through the 2009 Conference on Medicine & Health. On behalf of the faculty, staff, students, and trainees at the Feinberg School of Medicine, we look forward to learning alongside you and your fellow youth leadership program attendees.

San Francisco, CA: J. David Gladstone Institutes

Since the summer of 2005, NSLC summer medical program students at our UC Berkeley program have had the unique opportunity to spend a half day hearing from distinguished scientists and medical researchers at the J. David Gladstone Institutes. During this special youth leadership program, NSLC students go behind-the-scenes in the Gladstone research labs, learning the techniques used to find cures for such illnesses as cardiovascular disease, HIV/AIDS and Alzheimer’s disease. Due to the Gladstone’s diligent logistical planning and generous resources, NSLC students have been exposed to ground-breaking research within the medical sciences.

Washington, D.C.: University of Maryland School of Medicine

NSLC high school summer medical program students at our University of Maryland program have had the special opportunity to spend a half day hearing from distinguished doctors and medical professionals at the UMD School of Medicine. From visiting the nation’s oldest public medical school to going behind-the-scenes in the anatomy lab, NSLC summer medical program students have the opportunity to see firsthand one of the nation’s premier medical schools. As part of their experience, students will meet with some of the school’s top medical students as they gain a valuable opportunity to learn what medical school is really like.

Meet Medical Professionals

While at the NSLC’s summer high school medical program, you will meet with and learn from leaders in the medical community. In past years, NSLC students have heard from special guest speakers including the Surgeon General, the Director of the American Red Cross and top medical researchers from the National Institutes of Health and the J. David Gladstone Institutes.

  • Dr. Mark Lippman, Director, Lombardi Cancer Center
  • Dr. Robert Mahley, President, J. David Gladstone Institutes
  • Sir. Richard Feachem, Former Executive Director, The Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria
  • Rear Admiral David Rutstein, Chief Medical Officer, US Public Health Service Commissioned Corps
  • Dr. Issac Yang, Chief Resident, UCSF Department of Neurological Surgery

College-Level Curriculum

At the NSLC, you will enjoy college-level lectures from accomplished doctors on the art and science of medicine. The lecture series will give you a foundation of knowledge that will be vital to your success, not only during the conference but in your future career in the medical profession.

Topics include:
  • Medicine in the 21st Century
  • Medical Ethics
  • A Day in the Life of a Surgeon
  • Toxicology
  • Public Health
  • Global Health

Leadership Workshops

At the heart of each of our youth leadership programs is a curriculum designed to build concrete leadership skills that will help you succeed. From the beginning of your program you will learn to work as a team during an exciting Ropes Challenge Course. Interactive lectures and small-group workshops will give you an opportunity to build upon your strengths and minimize your weaknesses.

Leadership topics tailored to the Medicine & Health Care program include:
  • Personality Styles and Group Dynamics
  • Conflict Resolution
  • Public Speaking
  • Ethical Decision-Making

Trips & Tours

An important part of the NSLC summer high school medical program is seeing the sites around some of our nation’s greatest cities. These trips are designed as both sightseeing tours and exclusive educational trips specifically tailored to the area of Medicine:

Chicago, IL
  • Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
  • Museum of Science and Industry
  • Grant Park
  • Sears Tower
  • Navy Pier
  • Magnificent Mile
San Francisco, CA
  • J. David Gladstone Institutes at University of California, San Francisco
  • Golden Gate National Park
  • Exploratorium & Palace of Fine Arts
  • California Academy of Science
  • Pier 39 and Ghirardelli Square
Washington, D.C.
  • University of Maryland School of Medicine
  • The National Institutes of Health
  • The Georgetown University School of Nursing
  • Walter Reed Medical Center
  • The Smithsonian Institution
  • Historic D.C. Monuments at Night
  • Baltimore Harbor
  • National Museum of the Health Sciences
  • Capitol Hill
Atlanta, Georgia
  • Morehouse School of Medicine
  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

    David J. Sencer CDC Museum, in association with the Smithsonian Institution — Visit CDC's David J. Sencer CDC Museum
  • Health Systems Institute at Georgia Tech
  • Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change
  • Georgia Aquarium

Sample Schedules

Chicago, IL Sessions
San Francisco, CA Sessions
Washington, D.C. Sessions
Atlanta, GA Sessions

Chicago, IL Sessions

Day 1
  • Registration
  • Campus Tours
  • AU Credit Option
  • Opening Ceremony
  • TA Group Orientation
Day 2
  • AU Credit Option
  • Ropes Challenge Course
  • Lecture Series: Forensics & Toxicology
  • Leadership Series: Personality Styles and Group Dynamics
  • Social
Day 3
  • Lecture Series: Medical Ethics
  • Public Health Symposium: Group Research
  • Clinical Rounds Simulation
    • Suturing
    • Surgical Knot-Tying
    • Vital Signs
    • Auscultation and Percussion
    • Patient Intake
  • Leadership Series: Community Development
  • Social
Day 4
  • Museum of Surgical Science
  • Leadership Series: Cross-Cultural Communication
  • Public Health Symposium: Group Research
  • Outbreak! Simulation
  • Grant Park Visit
  • Leadership Series: Ethical Decision-Making
  • Social
Day 5
  • AU Credit Option
  • Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
    • Global Health Panel
    • Public Health Advocacy Panel
    • Surgical Skills Experience
    • Medical Student Q & A
  • Guest Speaker: Genetic Engineering
  • Public Health Symposium: Presentation Preparation
  • Social
Day 6
  • AU Credit Option
  • Lecture Series: College and Medicine
  • Guest Speaker: Non-Western Medicine
  • Navy Pier
  • Surgical Experience: Dissection
  • Social
Day 7
  • Museum of Science & Industry
  • Public Health Symposium: Presentation Preparation
  • Lecture Series: Medicine in the 21st Century
  • Leadership Series: The Art of Communication
  • Medical Documentary
  • Social
Day 8
  • Northwestern Memorial Hospital
    • Surgical Services
    • Minimally Invasive Lab
    • Automated Lab
    • Autopsy
    • Ambulatory Surgery Center
  • Magnificent Mile
  • Guest Speaker: Community Medicine
  • Social
Day 9
  • AU Credit Option
  • Guest Speaker
  • Leadership Series: Intrapersonal Communication
  • Medical Debates
  • Public Health Symposium: Initiative Proposals
  • Social
Day 10
  • Leadership Series: What I’ve Discovered
  • Closing Ceremony
  • Final TA Group Meeting
Note: While not every session is scheduled the same, this is an example of a Medicine & Health Care session.

San Francisco, CA Sessions

Day 1
  • Registration
  • Barbecue Lunch
  • Campus Tours
  • AU Credit Option
  • Opening Ceremony
  • TA Group Orientation
Day 2
  • Ropes Challenge Course
  • Lecture Series: Public Health
  • Introduction to the Public Health Symposium
  • Leadership Series: Personality Styles and Group Dynamics
  • Social
Day 3
  • AU Credit Option
  • Guest Speaker: American Red Cross
  • Public Health Symposium: Group Research
  • Clinical Rounds Simulation
    • Taking a Patient History
    • Heart Rate, Temperature, and Respiration
    • Blood Pressure
    • Auscultation and Percussion
    • Testing Cranial Nerve Function
    • Surgical Knot Tying
  • Leadership Series: The Art of Communication
  • Social
Day 4
  • Medical Facility Visit: J. David Gladstone Research Institutes at UC, San Francisco
  • Guest Speaker: Emergency Medicine
  • Public Health Symposium: Group Research
  • Medical Documentary Viewing and Small Group Debrief
Day 5
  • AU Credit Option
  • Surgical Experience: Dissections
  • Guest Speaker: Nursing
  • Lecture Series: Getting In & Going To Medical School
  • Public Health Symposium: Presentation Preparation
  • Social
Day 6
  • AU Credit Option
  • Facility Visit: The California Academy of Sciences
  • Field Trip: Pier 39
  • Medical Simulation & Small Group Debrief: Outbreak!
  • Guest Speaker: Non-Western Medicine
  • Social
Day 7
  • Public Health Symposium: Presentation Preparation
  • Lecture Series: Medical Ethics
  • TA Group Debrief: Medical Ethics Debates
  • Surgical Experience: Suturing
  • Leadership Series: Conflict Resolution
  • Lecture Series: Surgery Video Viewing with a Neurosurgeon
  • Social
Day 8
  • Surgical Experience: Neurosurgery Simulation
  • Lecture Series: Medicine in the 21st Century
  • Public Health Symposium: Presentation Preparation
  • Field Trip: San Francisco Bay Cruise
  • Dinner at Fisherman’s Wharf
  • Leadership Series: Goal-Setting & Time Management
Day 9
  • AU Credit Option
  • Facility Visit: UC, Berkeley School of Optometry
  • Public Health Symposium: Initiative Proposals
  • Leadership Series: What I’ve Discovered Is
  • Final TA Meeting
  • Social
Day 10
  • Closing Ceremony
  • Departure
Note: While not every session is scheduled the same, this is an example of a Medicine & Health Care session.

Washington, D.C. Sessions

Day 1
  • Registration
  • Campus Tours of the University of Maryland
  • Opening Ceremony
  • Lecture Series: Medicine in the 21st Century
  • Small Group Orientation
Day 2
  • AU Credit Option
  • Ropes Challenge Course
  • Lecture Series: New Technologies in Medicine
  • Leadership Series: Personality Styles and Group Dynamics
  • Pizza Social
Day 3
  • Visit to University of Maryland School of Medicine
    • Medical School Admissions Panel
    • Tour of Library, Lecture Halls, and Anatomy Labs
    • Medical Student Q & A
  • Lecture: Medical Ethics
  • Leadership Series: Interpersonal Communication
  • Live From the Heart: A Guided Introduction to Open Heart Surgery
Day 4
  • Visit Baltimore Harbor
  • Public Health Symposium: Group Research
  • Public Health Simulation: Outbreak!
  • Leadership Series: Ethical Decision-Making
  • Film Viewing: Public Health Documentary
Day 5
  • Clinical Rounds Simulation
    • Suturing
    • Surgical Knot-Tying
    • Vital Signs
    • Auscultation and Percussion
    • Patient Intake
  • Leadership Series: Community Development
  • Public Health Symposium: Group Research
  • Ice Cream Social
Day 6
  • AU Credit Option
  • Visit the National Institutes of Health (NIH)
  • Visit Historic Georgetown
  • Public Health Symposium: Group Research
  • Lecture Series: Day in the Life of a Surgeon
Day 7
  • Surgical Experience: Dissection
  • Picnic at Lafayette Park
  • Holocaust Memorial Museum Visit
  • Public Health Symposium: Group Research
  • Social
Day 8
  • Capitol Hill and the Smithsonian Institution
    • Congressional Visits
    • Library of Congress
    • Air and Space Museum
    • National Gallery of Art
    • American History Museum
    • And many more
  • Dinner at Historic Union Station
  • Public Health Symposium: Presentation Preparation
  • Guest Speaker
Day 9
  • Visit the National Museum of Health and Medicine at Walter Reed Army Medical Center
  • Leadership Series: Intrapersonal Communication
  • Medical Debates
  • Public Health Symposium: Initiative Proposals
  • Dance
Day 10
  • Leadership Series: What I’ve Discovered
  • Closing Ceremony
  • Final Small Group Meeting
  • Student Departure
Note: While not every session is scheduled the same, this is an example of a Medicine & Health Care session.

Atlanta, GA Sessions

Day 1
  • Registration
  • Campus Tours
  • AU Credit Option
  • Opening Ceremony
  • TA Group Orientation
Day 2
  • AU Credit Option
  • Ropes Challenge Course
  • Lecture Series: Forensics & Toxicology
  • Leadership Series: Personality Styles and Group Dynamics
  • Social
Day 3
  • Lecture Series: Medical Ethics
  • Public Health Symposium: Group Research
  • Clinical Rounds Simulation
    • Suturing
    • Surgical Knot-Tying
    • Vital Signs
    • Auscultation and Percussion
    • Patient Intake
  • Leadership Series: Community Development
  • Social
Day 4
  • Centennial Olympic Park
  • Leadership Series: Cross-Cultural Communication
  • Public Health Symposium: Group Research
  • Outbreak! Simulation
  • Leadership Series: Ethical Decision-Making
  • Social
Day 5
  • AU Credit Option
  • Centers For Disease Control: Global Health Odyssey Museum
  • Guest Speaker: Public Health
  • Public Health Symposium: Presentation Preparation
  • Social
Day 6
  • AU Credit Option
  • Lecture Series: College and Medicine
  • Guest Speaker: Emergency Medicine
  • Surgical Experience: Dissection
  • Social
Day 7
  • Public Health Symposium: Presentation Preparation
  • Lecture Series: Medicine in the 21st Century
  • Leadership Series: The Art of Communication
  • Medical Documentary
  • Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., National Historic Site
  • Social
Day 8
  • Morehouse School of Medicine
  • Atlanta Zoo/li>
  • Guest Speaker: Community Medicine
  • Social
Day 9
  • AU Credit Option
  • Guest Speaker
  • Leadership Series: Intrapersonal Communication
  • Medical Debates
  • Public Health Symposium: Initiative Proposals
  • Social
Day 10
  • Leadership Series: What I’ve Discovered
  • Closing Ceremony
  • Final TA Group Meeting
Note: While not every session is scheduled the same, this is an example of a Medicine & Health Care session.