On Sept. 19 the majority of the Blue Valley Southwest student body was sitting through the typical seven-period day trying not to fall asleep. But three Timberwolves were learning first hand what it was like to be a doctor at the University of Kansas Medical Center.

Seniors Alyssa Mitchell and Nicole Velazquez as well as junior Sarah Newell filled out applications to be a part of the program ‘Doctor for a Day’ last spring after their Exploring Heath Professions teacher, Peggy Fuller, sent out an e-mail in regards to it.

“We had to write two essays,” Newell said. “One of them saying why we think we’re good enough to do this and the other on how we would promote it in the community. You also had to list previous science classes [taken] and your grades in them.”

Once the applications were turned in, students didn’t find out if they were accepted until Sept. 1.

“I was so glad that I was chosen for such an awesome opportunity,” Newell said. “I was excited to learn about the steps of matriculating into medical school and to get a glimpse of what a doctor’s life is really like”

When Sept. 19 rolled around, the three girls met at Southwest at 7 a.m. to carpool and make it to University of Kansas Medical Center by 8:30 a.m.

After enjoying a breakfast that was set up for the girls as well as other students accepted into the program, they went on a tour and listened to speeches given by different specialists. This included a doctor who talked to the students about severe sepsis.

“It’s something that’s just as common as a heart attack, but no one knows what it is because doctors haven’t been trained to diagnose it,” Newell said. “The guy who discovered this did it at KU Med and now all doctors are being trained to diagnose it.”

Following the presentations was lunch. Students were split up into different tables and sat with different specialists at each one.

“I was at a table with a guy from septic shock,” Velazquez said. “It was cool because we got that one-on-one connection with someone.”

During the afternoon, the group was taken on another tour.

“We got to go into labs and were showed the cancer research they’re doing,” Newell said. “We learned CPR, but that’s pretty basic.”

The group got to see many other doctors and demonstrations.

“The best stop was getting to pulmonary intubate a dummy,” Velazquez said. “The person I was with was so into it. She even created a scenario as to why the ‘person’ was in there. We used all the medical equipment the specialists would use. We learned the difference between the esophagus and the trachea. The dummy was so detailed there were even rims on the trachea.”

After the tours and demonstrations everyone got to talk to a panel of doctors and ask questions.

“There was also a panel of previous medical students who gave us what they went through and how medical school is,” Velazquez said. “It turns out, until residency, you can actually have a life.”

The experience was very helpful to those who went.

“If you’re interested in pre-med, this is definitely something I would go to,” Velazquez said. “It gives you a lot of first hand knowledge and helps you think about your future.”