Military medical training goes hands-on for local students

Eight local high school students spent a week at Naval Hospital (NH) Jacksonville participating in its annual Science, Service, Medicine and Mentoring (S2M2) internship at the hospital, June 8-12. The Darnell-Cookman School of the Medical Arts students got a taste of military medicine while working side-by-side with active-duty service members.
“This is truly one of the best things our facility gets to host during the year, and everyone looks forward to spending time with these talented students,” said Capt. Craig Malloy, NH Jacksonville director. “It was impressive to hear about all of their experiences and know that going forward, they will be changed for the better from this week with our staff. They are the future of our force, and I’m excited to see them in our ranks.”
The goal of NH Jacksonville’s S2M2 program, in it's 12th year, is to nurture high school students’ commitment to science and medicine in a welcoming and intellectually stimulating environment. The S2M2 partnership with Darnell-Cookman complements the school’s focus on equipping high-performing students with the skills to pursue advanced medical degrees.
“Before this week, I never would have considered the military as an option for the future,” said Delaney Cornell, a rising 11th grader. “After this week we got to experience of a lot hands on activities and got to explore so many departments that now I actually can see it being something I can consider as an option. Not a lot of kids my age get that opportunity.”
In addition to clinical rotations through the operating suites, outpatient clinics, and inpatient units, students got to learn about other hospital corpsman jobs around Naval Air Station Jacksonville, such as at Navy Entomology Center for Excellence and for the first time ever, Aviation Survival Training Center Jacksonville. They witnessed how Navy first responders conduct combat trauma care. Students also observed field medical necessities such as inserting IVs, and performed orthopedic procedures on artificial bones and joints.
“Some of the benefits from the program is that it gives the children a opportunity to see what we do and what they might want to do in the future,” said S2M2 Coordinator Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Patrick Stokes. “We offer so many things from pharmacology to surgery to mental health, so it gives them a good perspective of what they might want to do and make up their mind for the future.”
S2M2 was developed in 2004 by the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, and launched in 2010 at NH Jacksonville. It includes two activities each academic year: a kick-off event in the fall at Darnell-Cookman for about 100 students, and a week-long immersion program next summer at NH Jacksonville for a select group. To date, the hospital has hosted nearly 100 Darnell-Cookman students at its summer internship and looks forward to working with future students.
“I hope that these kids go back and get their fellow students excited about our program, so we have as good of a turn out for next summer,” said Stokes.
Naval Hospital Jacksonville’s priority, since its founding in 1941, is to heal the nation’s heroes and their families. The command is the Navy’s third largest medical treatment facility, comprised of a hospital and five branch health clinics across Florida and Georgia. Of its patient population (175,000 active and retired Sailors, Soldiers, Marines, Airmen, guardsmen, and their families), about 45,175 are enrolled with a primary care manager and Medical Home Port team at one of its facilities. To find out more visit the command webpage at jacksonville.tricare.mil.