Interns Touch Down in Georgetown: Checking into The Advanced Medical & Public Health Internship

The third week of Leadership Initiatives’ Advanced Medical & Public Health Program is officially underway. High school students from all over the country arrived on campus for Day 1, carrying heavy suitcases and a mix of nervous energy and high expectations. Whether they flew across several time zones or spent hours on a road trip, all 190 of these future health professionals shared the exact same destination: Georgetown University.

The afternoon was an exciting blur of checking into dorms, finding keys, and meeting roommates. Throughout the day, the interns met each other through walks through the historic streets of Georgetown. Exploring the neighborhood, grabbing food, and checking out the area together helped the initial quiet jitters fade away, replaced by the non-stop chatter of a unified medical cohort.

At the following welcome event, interns met their program directors and our partner physicians from New Life Hospital, who traveled all the way from Bauchi State, Nigeria, to mentor the interns this week during the Meet the Doctor panels. Instead of a standard presentation, students sat down with practicing clinicians to ask questions about global health, medical school, and the daily realities of patient care. Leadership Initiatives interns were able to learn more about them and their specialties, as well as ask them questions about the program and their experiences. 

We are proud to welcome this group to campus for an educational and rewarding week. These students will study the realities of healthcare through live sessions with an excellent lineup of experts, including a neuroscientist, emergency medical specialists, a public speaking coach, and our partner doctors, Dr. Aminu, Dr. Aisha, and Dr. Zainab.

Leadership Initiatives interns will also step out of the classroom to test their skills in hands-on workshops. They will practice essential clinical procedures, including suturing, intubation, plaster casting, venipuncture, laparoscopy exercises, and a sheep heart dissection while building tight bonds with their peers.

We are ready to watch these 192 interns challenge themselves and grow into confident future clinicians over the next seven days. Welcome to Week 3.