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Teen Creates MDJunior to Put Students, Medical Mentors Together

Shaun Verma's organization uses a long-term approach on medical missions to make sure local support systems are created.

Shaun Verma, a senior at Milton High School, has been volunteering since he was 10 or 11 years old, but his first eye-opening experience was when he was in fourth or fifth grade helping with Red Cross disaster relief in California where he used to live.

Wildfires had hit San Bernadino County, displacing homeowners all over the region. He didn't know what to expect when he headed off to the event, but when he arrived it was a revelation.

"Thousands and thousands of people were affected," Verma said. There just weren't enough supplies to go around.

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"It was an overwhelming experience," he said.

Ever since then, he's been volunteering at every opportunity.

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"I still felt like I wasn't making a substantial impact," he said.

MdJunior Forms in 2009

So he set about trying to create an organization with more leadership. And MDJunior was formed in 2009, which has the motto, "Inspiring Selfless Service Through Leadership."

On Nov. 19, Milton City Council honored Verma for his work with MDJunior.

And now Verma has been named a "Greatest Person of the Day" by Huffington Post.

Three main issues are at the forefront of MDJunior:

  1. In Georgia, one of every three high school students are projected to drop out because they are disengaged. They feel what they are doing now doesn't really matter. The focus on mentoring is intended to get them back on track.
  2. In the next 15 years, studies suggest the country will be short by 150,000 physicians. MD Junior addresses this by encouraging students to go into the professional for selfless service.
  3. The final issue is the lack of compassion and humility today. Many students just want to go into whatever profession can "make them bank," Verma said.

He started small, reaching out to mentors in the medical field and a few schools. The first year, 100 people showed up for an information session for the first chapter.

"It showed that mentees and parents wanted to get involved," Verma said.

At the same time, he reached out to potential mentors at different hospitals and medical clinics.

"They were really keen on getting involved. They are looking for ways to volunteer, they just don't know how to," he said.

Some local chapters are at Taylor Road Middle, Hopewell Middle, Webb Bridge Middle and Milton High. Others chapters are starting at Chattahoochee, Alpharetta, Fulton Science School and Fulton Science High. Lassiter and South Forsyth High are other nearby schools with MDJunior chapters.

"A lot of it is in Georgia, but we are starting to expand outside of Georgia. We have a chapter in Texas," Verma said. Another chapter is forming in Alabama, and they have two chapters in Honduras.

In a typical month, a chapter holds knowledge sessions, skill sessions and attitude sessions. Twice a month mentors speak to the students. For the skill sessions, the students may go to visit a hospital or clinic. And they volunteer for different medical-related non-profit organizations.

Verma finds mentors in many ways. He's attended the Global Humanitarian Summit at Emory, which brings together many different organizations, exposing MDJunior to a lot of groups. He also reaches out to different organizations through their coordinators, such as volunteer coordinators at hospitals.

Piedmont Healthcare Neonatologist Deepa Ranganathan, M.D., has been a mentor for Verma for many years.

"When he spoke about starting the program, I've always been interested in volunteering and mentoring medical students," she said.

His interest piqued hers in reaching middle school and high school students. She's used her own network of contacts to get more medical professionals involved.

Honduras Medical Mission: A Nontoxic Approach

A global medical mission to Honduras in August was a pilot project in what Verma calls a non-toxic approach to medical missions.

"We took seven students from the U.S., seven medical professionals from the U.S., two medical professionals from Honduras and five students from Honduras," he said.

"A lot of medical missions. a lot of nonprofit organizations, they go to other countries, they donate, they volunteer and then they come back," Verma said.

But two or three months after a mission, the community has the same problems and the medicine runs out.

"We focus on long-term approach rather than put Bandaids on problems," he said.

They taught preventative medicine in Honduras in addition to curative care. And they set up medical consultation clinics. Preventative care and public health work, such as making latrines, showers and clean water tanks were the focus.

"Seeing them help other people and seeing them having their lives changed as a result of the program, it was a fulfilling experience," Verma said.

MDJunior is organizing the next trip, will be in April 2013. He's talking with people about donations and getting medical supplies.

 


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