Annual course targets those with dreams of white coats and stethoscopes

Mini Medical School designed to give the public a taste of medical school

Amy Hewko - 2 July 2014

Registration is now open for the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry's eighth annual Mini Medical School, an eight-week program that gives the public a little taste of what it's like to be a medical student at the University of Alberta. Mini Medical School takes place every Wednesday from 7 to 9 p.m., starting on Sept. 10 and running until Oct. 29.

Unlike most public health courses, Mini Medical School extracts its lessons from the curriculum taught to students in their first two years of medical school. Luckily, attendees won't have to face a final licensing exam.

"What can the medical school and its faculty members bring to the environment that's more than just another health talk," asks Chris de Gara, a key organizer for the annual event and professor of surgery. "We can provide a little bit more of depth in the understanding."

Over the eight-week program, attendees will be treated to a broad array of topics delivered by what de Gara calls some of the "very best and brightest of our faculty." Nearly half of this year's curriculum is new and derived from topics that previous attendees had expressed interest in, including:

  • How to get into medical school, delivered by Fraser Brenneis, vice-dean of education in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry
  • Skin, delivered by Jaggi Rao, dermatology residency program director and clinical professor
  • Nursing, delivered by Anita Molzahn, dean of the Faculty of Nursing
  • Professionalism, delivered by Carol Hodgson, J. Alan Gilbert Chair in Medical Education Research and director of the Teaching Scholars Program
  • Aboriginal Health, delivered by Brenda Parlee, associate professor in the Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences.

"We're hoping that the Aboriginal health piece will inform attendees as to the goals and objectives that are around Aboriginal healing," says de Gara. The session will outline how Aboriginal healing and traditional medicine differ and complement one another.

Online registration for Mini Medical School is now open. Registration fees are $150 for the general public and $110 for seniors.

For more information, please visit the Mini Medical School website.