My Experience at Summer at Hopkins 2022 at Johns Hopkins University
Reflecting on my transformative two weeks living and studying at one of the world’s top universities for medicine
By Amirali Banani
July 10–22, 2022 | Baltimore, MD, United States
My time at Johns Hopkins University for the Summer at Hopkins pre-college program was, all things considered, a life-changing experience. Not only did I learn valuable knowledge and clinical skills that I would apply in the future in medical school and beyond, but I also made lifelong friends from all around the world. In addition, I acquired tremendous insight into what university life is like in my two weeks living and studying at Johns Hopkins — and all I can say is that it was EXCITING!
Back in February 2022, I discovered the Summer at Hopkins program through individual research and was immediately fascinated by the catalogue of courses that were offered in the program. Johns Hopkins University has always been one of my dream schools, so I saw this as a tremendous opportunity to experience what it’s like being a student at the university while benefiting from an enriching educational experience. I applied for a course known as Medical School Intensive, which was essentially a mini simulation of medical school, and I couldn’t be more satisfied with my selection.
From the Medical School Intensive course, I learned valuable medical techniques such as blood typing, how to take an IV, and basic surgical procedures such as suturing. In addition, what made the course truly unique was our daily excursions to Johns Hopkins Hospital, where we had the privilege of doing simulated medical operations at their Medicine Simulation Center. For example, we were able to use a mannequin with a simulated heartbeat to learn how to diagnose various heart disorders by listening to its different heart rhythms with a stethoscope. On another day at the simulation center, we learned how to perform intubations on both child and adult mannequins using real-life medical devices. Here’s me doing an endotracheal intubation on an adult mannequin:
On a few other occasions, we had the privilege of doing lab work at Johns Hopkins’ state-of-the-art Undergraduate Teaching Laboratories using lab equipment that we typically would not have access to in high school. One of the activities we did was blood typing, which you can see me doing in the video below:
Along with these practical activities in the Medical School Intensive course, we also had intriguing lectures covering a wide variety of topics in medicine, resulting in a perfect balance of theory and practice. The new concepts and techniques I learned in my 2 weeks at Johns Hopkins profoundly broadened my perspective of the medical field and what it’s like to live and study at one of the world’s most prestigious universities. I would recommend Summer at Hopkins to students who are keen on being part of an enriching educational experience over the summer — especially if they are interested in medicine.
Personal Reflections
“Johns Hopkins University has always been one of my dream schools, so I saw this as a tremendous opportunity to experience what it’s like being a student at the university while benefiting from an enriching educational experience.
In the Medical School Intensive course, I learned valuable medical techniques such as blood typing, how to take an IV, and basic surgical procedures such as suturing. In addition, what made the course truly unique was our daily excursions to Johns Hopkins Hospital, where we had the privilege of doing simulated medical operations at the Medicine Simulation Center.
The new concepts and techniques I learned in my 2 weeks at Johns Hopkins profoundly broadened my perspective of the medical field and what it’s like to live and study at one of the world’s most prestigious universities.”- Amirali on his experience with the 2022 Pre-College Course Medical School Intensive
Credit: JHU Summer at Hopkins via Instagram (@jhusummer)
If you are interested in applying for Summer at Hopkins, check out all the course offerings, dates, and tuition fees at their website linked here: https://summer.jhu.edu/programs-courses/pre-college-programs/
All the best ❤️
