Medical Club hosts annual mock diagnostic event

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Jessica Tang

On a worksheet given out by club officers, attendee Nupur Gupta (11) writes down a response from patient Jessica Zhou (11). Group D, the fourth and last participating group, also included Sonya He (11), Defne Avkarogullari (10), Kashish Priyam (9) and Sahngwie Yim (9).

by Jessica Tang, Co-Photo Editor

Medical Club hosted a mock diagnostic event in upper school biology teacher Dr. Matthew Harley’s room during long lunch on Feb. 10. 

Attendees were split into four groups of four to five people, each with two officers. Nikhil Devireddy (11), Jessica Zhou (11), Cady Chen (12) and Alice Feng (12), who role-played as patients, answered questions from attendees who emulated the role of a doctor.

20 attendees looked through a fact sheet with information on a list of diseases for reference, and through examining the patient’s condition and background, decided on a disease they believe the patient suffered from. At the end, officers Emma Biswas (11), Laurie Jin (11), Johnathan Mo (11) and Reshma Kosaraju (10), who acted as supporting characters such as parents and nurses, revealed relevant tests such as blood, nerve biopsy, genetic and electromyogram results to determine whether the attendees’ guesses were correct. All four groups ended with accurate diagnoses.

Medical Club member Nupur Gupta (11), who aspires to become a doctor, appreciated the opportunity to experience a glimpse of the profession.

“It was like solving a puzzle, or solving a mystery,” Nupur said. “It made me want to learn more about the actual field and try to help people and be able to do this in an actual medical setting.”