Press Release

March 7, 2006
Contact: Jennifer Forbes
Phone: (732) 235-6356
Jenn.forbes@umdnj.edu

Medical Students Host Science Day for New Brunswick High School Students
-- Interactive Program Introduces Ninth-graders to Health Careers --

NEW BRUNSWICK—Students in the Health Professions Scholars Program at the New Brunswick Health Science Technology High School will explore medical career opportunities during Science Day at University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. The annual program, hosted by medical students in the Gold Humanism Honor Society at the medical school, provides opportunities for the ninth-grade students to learn about health professions through hands-on activities and discussion groups with medical students and faculty members.

Science Day will be held Thursday, March 9, from 9:15 to 11:30 a.m., in rooms 3403-3404 at the Clinical Academic Building at RWJMS, 125 Paterson Street, New Brunswick. The high school students will rotate through five stations that will include medical trivia, hands-on anatomy, disability simulation, a physiology lab experiment, and a hand-washing analysis. The program will conclude with a presentation by Anthony Burgos, MD, a resident in the diagnostic radiology program at RWJMS, who will discuss his nontraditional journey toward medical school.

During the evening of March 9, the Gold Humanism Honor Society (GHHS) will induct its newest members who have been chosen for this honor by their peers and faculty. Inductees are chosen for demonstrating the qualities of humanism through their interactions with patients, faculty, staff, and fellow students, as well as through their service to the community. GHHS members exemplify altruism, compassion, empathy and outstanding concern for the well-being of others.

In addition to the medical student inductees, the GHHS will induct two faculty physicians. Amisha Malhotra, MD, assistant professor of pediatric infectious diseases and faculty advisor to the medical student Global Health Interest Group will be the first inductee and the keynote speaker for the event. Dr. Malhotra will speak of her experience as a member of the UMDNJ team that provided medical relief in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. The second inductee is Harold L. Paz, MD, dean of UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. Dr. Paz has led the medical school for a decade and was the 2005 recipient of the Sir William Osler Humanitarian Award from the American Lung Association of New Jersey and the New Jersey Thoracic Society.

During the induction ceremony, the RJWMS chapter of the Gold Humanism Honor Society will present a donation of food and financial support to the Celebrate Perth Amboy Katrina Relief Fund. The fund supports nearly 100 families who were relocated to Perth Amboy following the hurricane by providing basic living needs, medical attention, temporary housing, schooling and employment.