Two minutes; not a long time by most standards, but when you’re scrubbing in for surgery, two minutes can be a long time. Scrubbing in is just one of many medical skills discussed at DOVE Days, a program that took place at the Methodist Hospital intended to grow teens’ knowledge in the medical field.
DOVE Days is a new program that started this year in 2025 and it essentially is a one day exploration program specifically for high school students. This program allows students to get hands-on with different areas in the medical field, engage with healthcare professionals, and explore different career options. Going on, in order to be entered into this program you have to complete a form and wait to be accepted. After being accepted you will be sent multiple emails and forms needed to complete.
My experience was very fun and one I want to share. I went on Friday October 17th and it was definitely a day to remember. The day at the hospital was intended to last from 8:30 to 3:30 but I was there at 7:15-4:00 because I have a personal connection to someone at the hospital. This was nice because I got to meet some of the leaders I would be around all day and get a peak at what we were going to do. At 8:30 the fun began and we were split into groups. We had so much on the calendar that day and I was so excited to be a part of it. We went to eight different parts of the hospital such as rehab, imaging, pharmacy, the nursing unit, laboratory, respiratory, nursing, and surgery. There was so much to each station and we had so much information coming at us!
I started at rehab and I learned about four different types of rehab within that one station. We got to be very hands on during this part of the day which was a great experience. Next I went onto imaging which was my favorite part because I want to go into pediatric sonography so this was one of my favorite parts of the day. We sat in a room and learned about these different types of radiology and all the different specialties people can go into just within imaging. We ended the first half of the day with pharmacy and being in the nursing unit and this part was just more about listening then being hands on. Although we didn’t have too much interaction with these last two stations I loved this part as well because it exposed me to something I never thought about even doing in the medical field. After the first four stations we had lunch break and during this we had a dietitian talk to us. Then we moved on to the laboratory where we got to see everybody working on patients’ labs and the background behind it all. This part was fascinating to be because of the different parts that go into just the lab. Then we went to the respiratory floor and this was so so fun! We got to participate in a mini escape room and my team won! We simulated a real life situation and had to figure out a whole bunch of little scenarios which was a blast! Lastly, we ended with nursing and surgery. We did a mock surgery and learned how to scrub into a real surgery.
Overall, this whole day was unlike no other and was so fun to experience. DOVE Days is a great opportunity for teens to get exposed to real life medical careers and it helps give people a better understanding of what actually goes on in the hospital.