Local high school students who are interested in careers in medicine should mark their calendars for March 28, 2009. On this day, the Medical Explorer Post 63 of the Boy Scouts of America – a program that introduces high school students to careers in the medical field – will be holding an all-day symposium from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at PAMF's Palo Alto Center at 795 El Camino Real in Palo Alto. Registration for the symposium is $20.

For more than 40 years, PAMF has sponsored the Medical Explorer program, which was started in 1963 by Joseph Davis, M.D., a former head of pediatrics at PAMF, as a way to help local students learn more about medicine. Numerous program participants have gone on to become doctors, including several PAMF physicians. The symposium will feature a presentation on the future of medicine by Philip Pizzo, M.D., dean of Stanford University Medical School. Students will also participate in hands-on classes about surgical knots, pathology specimens, cancer in children and cardiac ultrasound technology.

"Students will learn about a variety of medical topics and get a sense of the many different opportunities available to them in medicine," said Harry Hartzell, M.D., former head of pediatrics at PAMF who has been the advisor to the Medical Explorer Post since 1999. "By observing some medical procedures and listening to doctors talk about their experiences, young adults also get a more comprehensive and realistic view of medicine than what's available in books or on TV."

To learn more about the Medical Explorer Post group, or to register for the symposium, contact Dr. Hartzell at 650-322-2763 or via e-mail at hshartzell@earthlink.net.