Day with the Doctors
- 1 Day Program
- 8+ Rotations and Topics
- Charter Bus Provided
- CLAHEC provides transportation to and from the medical school. Students travel to the meet-up location on their own.
What You Will Learn
- Diagnostic skills including blood pressure, heart sounds, radial pulse, and respiratory rate
- What medical school admission actually requires, from the people who decide
- The daily realities of life as a medical student
- Clinical topics across family medicine, OB/GYN, and the physician assistant physical exam
- Human anatomy first-hand in the Gross Anatomy Lab
Who Should Join
- High school junior or senior students who want to become a doctor
- Students who want to see a medical school campus before applying to college
- Students interested in speaking directly with physicians and medical students
- Students comfortable with hands-on clinical and anatomy work
- Students able to reach the designated pick-up location for the charter bus
Requirements
- High school junior or senior student who has an interest in becoming a doctor
- Minimum cumulative 3.0 grade point average
- Own transportation to and from the designated pick-up and drop-off location; the charter bus between Alexandria and Shreveport, or Baton Rouge and New Orleans, is provided
Explore This Program
Overview
About This Program
A Day with the Doctors is a free one-day interactive program that offers high school students, who have an interest in becoming a physician, an opportunity to experience doctors’ daily activities and life on LSU Health Shreveport School of Medicine’s or LSU Health New Orleans School of Medicines’s campus. Students learn diagnostic skills such as taking blood pressure, listening to heart sounds, taking a radial pulse, measuring respiratory rate, and listening to breath sounds. Participants interact with physicians and medical students, discover admission requirements for medical school, and visit the Gross Anatomy Lab.
Why Join This Program?
Impact
Students leave Day with the Doctors with the medical school application process demystified. Several past participants have gone on to be accepted at LSU Health Shreveport or LSU Health New Orleans, some on their first application cycle.
Purpose
The purpose of Day with the Doctors is to build a future for health care in Louisiana by showing students what becoming and working as a physician truly requires, directly from physicians and medical students.
Value
Students walk the halls of a working medical school, glove up in the Gross Anatomy Lab, and ask medical students the questions they cannot ask anyone else. That access is not available through any other route at this age.
Benefits
Participants practice real diagnostic skills, rotate through eight or more clinical topics, tour the Gross Anatomy Lab and hold real human anatomy, receive medical school admissions guidance, and travel by charter bus at no cost. Lunch is provided.
Curriculum
What You’ll Learn
Day with the Doctors runs as a single full day on a medical school campus, with eight or more rotations and topics across the day. For the LSU Health Shreveport program, students depart Alexandria at 6:00 am and return at approximately 6:00 pm. For LSU Health New Orleans, students depart Baton Rouge at 7:00am and return at approximately 5:00pm.
Diagnostic Skills
Hands-on practice taking blood pressure, listening to heart and breath sounds, taking a radial pulse, and measuring respiratory rate, using the same techniques and equipment physicians use.
Gross Anatomy Lab
A visit to the Gross Anatomy Lab where participants glove up and hold real human anatomy, guided by medical school faculty.
Clinical Rotations and Topics
Rotations across eight or more topics, including family medicine, OB/GYN, and the physician assistant physical exam, giving students a view of several specialties in one day.
Introduction to Medical School
A dedicated session covering what medical school involves, how the curriculum is structured, and what the path from applicant to physician actually looks like.
Admissions and Student Life
Direct interaction with physicians and current medical students, where students discover admission requirements for medical school and explore the life of a medical student.
Testimonials
Program Impact: Student Perspectives
Many participants describe Day with the Doctors as the moment the path to medical school stopped feeling out of reach. Here is what some of them said afterward.
Juan Vargas
This exposure to the medical world was truly an eye-opening experience that gave me a better understanding of what it takes to become and work as a doctor.
Devin Janice
I was able to hear from medical students themselves. They truly wanted to inspire us in pursuing a medical career. Leaving the program, it made me less anxious about becoming a physician.
Jackson Neal
AHEC provides prospective medical students with MCAT study resources, clinical experience through job shadowing, and contact with medical students and professors who are willing to answer questions.
Larissa Najera
It gave me hope, confidence, and the realization that my dreams could become reality. Still to this very day, I use the advice, skills, and experience that I learned during both programs.
Trusted By
Day with the Doctors is hosted in partnership with LSU Health Shreveport School of Medicine and LSU Health New Orleans, whose faculty, physicians, and medical students welcome Central Louisiana AHEC participants to campus each year.
Secure Your Spot Today
Spots are limited, so apply by November 21st by 11:59 pm. A completed online application must include the application itself, one letter of recommendation from your teacher, counselor, or high school principal, and a copy of your most recent high school transcript from your counselor.
FAQ & Contact
Need Help?
Have questions about the program day, travel, or eligibility? The answers below cover the questions we hear most often, and our team is always glad to help.
When does this program typically take place?
One day during the month of January for LSU Health Shreveport, and one day in either January or February for LSU Health New Orleans.
What parishes can participate in this program?
Junior and senior students from our covered parishes: Ascension, Avoyelles, Catahoula, Concordia, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Grant, Iberville, LaSalle, Livingston, Pointe Coupee, Rapides, St. Helena, Vernon, West Baton Rouge, West Feliciana, and Winn.
What is the timeline on program day?
For students selected to participate in the LSU Health Shreveport program, we will depart for Shreveport from Alexandria at 6:00 am and return at approximately 6:00 pm. For students selected to participate in the LSU Health New Orleans program, we will depart from Baton Rouge at approximately 7:00 am and return at approximately 5:30 pm.
Will I need to provide my own transportation to the program?
You will only need to provide your own transportation to the meet-up location. CLAHEC provides a charter bus to transport students and CLAHEC staff between Shreveport and Alexandria, and between Baton Rouge and New Orleans.
Will lunch be provided?
Yes.
Who is eligible to apply?
High school junior or senior students who have an interest in becoming a doctor, with a minimum cumulative 3.0 grade point average.
Do students really visit the anatomy lab?
Yes. Participants have the opportunity to visit the Gross Anatomy Lab, glove up, and hold real human anatomy.
Get in Touch
If you have more questions or need personal assistance, feel free to contact us:
info@clahec.org
Drop us a message anytime, we’ll get back to you shortly.
Phone: (318) 443-2855
Available Monday to Friday 8:00 AM – 4:30 PM
CLAHEC Headquarters
1308 Dorchester Drive Alexandria, LA 71303
