Interim Health Science Center President William L. Henrich, M.D., MACP (left center), and Robert L. Reddick, M.D. (right center), interim dean of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, met with students and Principal Jackie Horras (far right) of Health Careers High School.
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At the end of a hallway labeled “Believe Street: La Calle de Creer,” Lois L. Bready, M.D., spoke with 120 students from Pershing Elementary School about what it is like to be a doctor.

“Who knows what an anesthesiologist is?” asked Dr. Bready, professor of anesthesiology and associate dean for graduate medical education at the UT Health Science Center San Antonio School of Medicine.

As the third-, fourth- and fifth-graders listened attentively, Dr. Bready explained how anesthesia reduces or prevents pain and how much it would hurt to have surgery without anesthesia. “And in the olden days, that’s exactly what people had to do,” she explained.

Related story: View a complete list of the faculty members who participated in National Doctors' Day

At Whittier Health Science Academy, Luci Leykum, M.D., M.B.A., M.Sc., assistant professor of medicine and assistant dean for clinical program development at the Health Science Center, discussed the different types of doctors and what they do.

Faculty visited 21 schools in San Antonio and Laredo
In all, more than two dozen Health Science Center doctors reached out to nearly 3,000 students at 21 public and private schools in San Antonio and two schools in Laredo. The campus visits March 30 were held in conjunction with National Doctors’ Day. During the presentations, the doctors shared personal stories of how they were drawn to the profession and what it takes to become a doctor. The event was held to encourage the students to become the next generation of physicians.

Becoming a doctor takes time
Dr. Bready, the daughter of a chemical engineer and a physicist, told the students how important science was in her home when she was growing up. She also described the many years of school that someone must complete to become a doctor. “This is a profession,” she said. “It’s not easy to get there. It takes some time.”

Dr. Bready asked the students how they spent their Sunday and told them that she spent it at the hospital. “We took care of a guy who was riding a motorcycle — and guess what he ran into?” she asked. After hearing many guesses, she surprised the students with her answer: “A deer!

“The patient said the thing that hurt most was his pride,” she said, because, “the deer just “hopped up, and he ran away!”

Ronald Stewart, M.D., (in white coat and green scrubs) professor and interim chair in the Department of Surgery, and division chief of Trauma and Emergency Surgery, visited with students at Southside High School. Photo courtesy of Southside High School teacher Tom Smith.

Tough questions from the students
At Whittier, students asked Dr. Leykum how one becomes a doctor, how much doctors get paid and how hard is it to become a doctor.

But there were a few tough questions, too, including: “Have you ever had a patient die?”

“Yes, it’s hard,” she replied. “The hardest thing as a doctor is coming to grips with the limits of medicine. You want to help people and it is hard when you can’t.”

Pershing Elementary School Principal Judy Ratlief said her students love science, “but they need to see how science connects to real life.” Activities such as these that bring physicians and researchers into the classroom can help fill that need and interest youngsters in pursuing a health profession.