Connect

This is the latest installment in our Connect article series “Hope at Work” — showcasing inspiring stories about how our team members contribute to UVA Health’s 10-year strategic plan: “One Future Together Health and Hope for All.” No matter where you work, you have an opportunity to inspire hope in others. These stories show how:  

More than 80 Northern Virginia students are prepared for a future in medical and related fields after becoming the first class to spend four years in a high school program supported by Prince Wiliam County Public Schoosl and UVA Health team members, departments, and initiatives. 

National Acclaim 

Prince William County Public Schools Biomedical Science Program is offered at two high schools in the county — Gainesville is the newest, opening in 2021. The first year of the program covers biomedical science; the second, human body systems; the third, medical interventions. The intensive after-school program has earned national acclaim. Students learn skills such as dissecting animals, running gel samples, and lab safety. They’re also taught how to become professionals — and responsible scientists. 

During senior year, students conduct research for an independent project on an approved topic of their choice — or for a project covering a wide range of topics such as medical innovation design, environmental health, forensic autopsy, human physiology, molecular biology, and public health. Several students even presented their projects at the national meeting in Richmond, Virginia. 

Eye-Opening 

Some of the graduates are even more involved with UVA Health — volunteering at our medical centers. Thanks to the UVA Health Summer Teen Program, Grace Franklin rotated through four departments: registration desk, front desk, Emergency Department (ED), and Surgical Center. The latter two are her favorites. 

Grace says emergency medicine is probably the “most eye-opening of all … different every single day.” As she describes: “Sometimes it was super busy … but I also was able to connect with the medical professionals there and they would show me different things.”  

Grace also made the rounds and met patients, and took the opportunity to meet leaders including Lisa Case, DNP, RN, Associate Chief Nursing Officer, Haymarket Medical Center.

Enabling Discoveries for Better Health 

As part of Gainesville Middle School’s Biomedical Science Program, Grace conducted a meta-analysis on myopia, or nearsightedness, in which she collected existing data from other resources and found a correlation between myopia and increased use of technology in classrooms during and after COVID-19. 

She says she decided to research the topic because of a personal interest: a few years ago, she says she was diagnosed nearsightedness — even without a genetic predisposition to the condition. 

Bright Future 

Now, motivated by the Biomedical Science Program, UVA Health Summer Teen Program, and other immersive experiences — Grace is attending Virginia Commonwealth University’s Honors College to study biomedical engineering and pre-medicine. 

She’s open to all possibilities, but eyeing a career in ophthalmology or radiology. “I like inquiry, I like investigation,” she shares. “I also like to help ease people’s pain and challenges … and have a love for science and math. I think all those things combined … becoming a doctor kind of satisfies all of those wants I have.”