The University of Vermont College of Medicine opened its doors on Saturday, May 30, 2015 to more than 90 seventh- and eighth-grade girls. The students, coming from about 29 schools across Vermont, engaged in day-long activities hosted by medical students from the UVM chapter of the American Medical Women’s Association.

Medical student Autumn Reilly ’18, who attended Girls Science Discovery Day when she was in middle school, provided a welcome to attendees at the day-long event. Rebecca Wilcox, M.D., professor of pathology at the UVM College of Medicine, delivered a keynote address before the girls broke off into groups for “ice breaker” activities, and engaged in a series of workshops.

The “Parts is Parts” workshop – led by Ellen Black, Ph.D., Lauren Arms, Ph.D., and Diane Jaworski, Ph.D., anatomy professors from the department of neurological sciences – featured hands-on activities with real anatomical specimens in the Gross Anatomy Lab. Playing “doctor” was also among the experiences shared with the middle-schoolers.

Medical students taught the “Say ‘Ahhh’” workshop, which focused on practicing simple physical exam skills and using the skills on a patient. “Lessons from the Dead” with Wilcox and Pamela Gibson, M.D., associate professor of pathology and director of anatomic pathology, used pathology specimens to teach attendees about pathologic changes that play a role in a patient’s life and death

The middle-schoolers saw first-hand how medical students are trained with a tour of the Clinical Simulation Laboratory’s virtual hospital, where they had an opportunity to work with the “Hal” Family -- full-body mannequins that breathe and talk -- in a safe teaching environment. The student groups also had an opportunity to conduct a blood-clotting experiment with Paula Tracy, Ph.D., professor of biochemistry, and Beth Bouchard, Ph.D., assistant professor of biochemistry, and join in a lunchtime discussion and tour of the UVM College of Medicine and UVM Medical Center campus.

This year’s event was sponsored and coordinated by the class of 2018 leaders of the American Medical Women’s Association SIG, led by Rachel Carlson, Shannon Brady, Soraiya Thura, Catherine Hayes, Samantha Siskind and Brianna Spencer..