Mason High School's Emily Yu is the most recent addition to the TAP MD Program.
The Tap MD program began in 2011 under the umbrella of the Greater Cincinnati Health Council, which has now merged with The Health Collaborative. Any high school junior or senior at least 16 years of age can be “tapped” by a school teacher or counselor.
Participating students must be strong academically, motivated, mature, and dependable. Standardized test scores, grades, and extracurricular involvement are among the factors considered by the selection committee when identifying students for the program.
Students commit to the program for one year, attending monthly experiences at a variety of health and healthcare delivery sites throughout the Tristate area. They are expected and encouraged to attend each month due to the unique nature of every experience, with the understanding that academics and pre-planned commitments should take priority. At each monthly event, they are able to talk with professionals in their fields of interest, ask questions, handle equipment and instruments relevant to the job, and even view certain medical procedures as appropriate.
"On President’s Day, TAP MD and TAP HC students got to watch a living donor surgery for a kidney. We watched in the surgical amphitheater as Dr. Tayyab Diwan (UC Health), the physician champion of TAP MD, narrated the surgery and answered questions as his partner Dr. Cutler Quillin (UC Health) performed the surgery," explained Yu.
TAP MD and TAP HC are programs designed to help high school students “tap” into their potential to fulfill a career as a physician or in the healthcare field. Students will experience events that provide information on types of medical specialties, how to apply for medical school and what different healthcare paths are available – from IT to home health – to physical therapy.
"Overall, I found this experience to be very educational and eye-opening. I enjoyed being able to ask a surgeon the whats, whys, and hows," added Yum "It also demonstrated the amount of experience doctors have before treating patients with their practiced movements, ability to make quick decisions, and focus while holding the patients’ lives in their hands.”