From July 22-26, 18 middle school students from the School District of Philadelphia visited Arcadia University for the College of Health Sciences (CHS) Health Career Summer Academy, where they toured campus with student ambassadors, attended guest lectures, went on field trips, and more. 

Faculty from the Physician Assistant program taught the students how to use stethescopes, Public Health faculty helped the students create skits and posters teaching their fellow campers about various public health issues that impact children trying to stay active, and students and faculty from the Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program taught students about balance, strength, and assistive devices, including crutches and walkers.

Guest speakers included a paramedic, who answered questions and led a tour of an ambulance, and a veterinarian, who ran a clinical case activity in which students had to figure out what was wrong with each animal. Students also visited Lankaneu Medical Center and the Middleman Family Pavillion at the Children’s Hospital Of Philadelphia in King of Prussia.

Nathalie Musey, PT, DPT, PCS, created the Health Career Summer Academy while a DPT student at Arcadia in 2017. 

“When I walked into Brubaker 102 on the first day of PT school, I scanned the room and found that I was the only black student in my class of about 60 students. However, I knew I wasn’t the only black student capable of being in that classroom,” said Dr. Musey. “I spoke to my advisor about the lack of diversity in the PT profession. A few months later, a physician from Main Line Health approached Arcadia about a summer program for minority middle and high school students that he had initiated in partnership with other local universities. The Arcadia faculty remembered my discussions with them and invited me to join the conversations. They allowed me to recruit other students and use the Health Career Summer Academy to fulfill the health promotion project required by our curriculum. The rest is history!”

The academy was relaunched last year, with Dr. Musey returning to campus to collaborate with CHS. Now, the program is fully funded by CHS and incorporates faculty and students from the college to help lead various sessions throughout the week.

“The lack of diversity among health care providers is well documented. The Health Career Summer Academy is important because young students cannot aspire to careers they do not know about,” she explained. “The goal of the Health Career Summer Academy is to expose middle school students from minority backgrounds to a variety of healthcare careers through fun, interactive activities.”

Dr. Musey is a pediatric clinical specialist at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and a guest lecturer for Arcadia University’s residential and hybrid DPT programs.