TTUHSC Students Share Knowledge, Experiences at Middle School to Medical School

Program helps expose, prepare young students interested in the medical field

• By Melissa Whitfield
• August 28, 2023
• Education

Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) kicked off Middle School to Medical School (M2M), a program designed to inspire and support children interested in pursuing careers in medicine on Monday, Aug. 28.

The event is the first in a series of regular hands-on outreach activities for approximately 130 students in seventh and eighth grade. TTUHSC School of Medicine students will show Harmony Science Academy students how to use a stethoscope, take blood pressure and answer questions about the medical field.

“I am so happy to continue the M2M collaboration with Harmony Science Academy,” Felix G. Morales, M.D., associate dean of the School of Medicine Office of Admissions, said. “It truly has been a privilege and an honor to have developed a meaningful partnership in order to inspire and develop the future physicians of West Texas and beyond. I truly look forward to the day that one of the Harmony Science Academy students can proudly be called ‘Doctor.’”

M2M launched in September 2019 with Harmony Science Academy, a public Title-I charter school, as the pilot school for the program.

According to the Texas Medical Association, Texas has a significant shortage of physicians and ranks 41 in the U.S. in the number of active physicians per 100,000 population.

Studies show that the earlier children are exposed to careers in medicine, the better chance they will have in actually pursuing a degree. Programs like M2M give children the opportunity to experience science and medicine and essentially help “grow our own.”