MILLINOCKET, Maine — Ryan Drinkwater helped care for Peter Clark, his grandmother’s boyfriend, from September 2015 until the 66-year-old died of cancer last week.
That experience was a major reason why the Mattanawcook Academy of Lincoln junior was among a dozen northern Penobscot County high schoolers who attended the Doc4aDay program Monday at Millinocket Regional Hospital.
With help from doctors and medical students, the high schoolers practiced suturing on pig’s feet and simulated doctor’s rounds at the hospital, which hosted the program for the first time since it began three years ago, said Dr. Vicki Hayes, a family practice specialist in Portland who coordinates the Doc4aDay program.
Drinkwater, who considered Clark his grandfather, plans to eventually become a physician’s assistant. He said caring for Clark and participating in Doc4aDay helped make him sure of his career choice.
“It was surreal,” Drinkwater said of playing the part of a physician. “You go to a doctor and you think that you know what they are doing, but when they are giving you their care you don’t actually see what they have to do [to treat a patient.] It’s team play. It’s not just one person making an assessment.”
The daylong program is held twice per year at various hospitals around Maine, usually with about a dozen students per session. Hand-picked by their schools for their outstanding academic work and their potential, the students get a chance to see whether medicine is for them. Hopefully, this will help offset Maine’s shortage of physicians, Hayes said.
Ben Levin, a fourth-year medical student from Tufts University, said teaching Monday’s batch of high school students was enjoyable.
“We were doing some scenarios with a patient mannequin, and they got right in there, doing what you would do as a doctor,” Levin said. “It’s a lot of fun to go out and talk to students and kind of help bring up the next generation of physicians. It is very satisfying to see these kids who I hope someday will be residents when I am an attending [physician] and I’ll have an opportunity to teach.”
The hospital hosted the program in partnership with Maine Medical Center and Tufts University School of Medicine. High schools with students in attendance included Katahdin High School, Lee and Mattanawcook academy’s, Northern Penobscot Tech, and Schenck and Stearns high schools.