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Interactive Program a Big Draw for Medical Families

Medical student families test out the DiVE during Medical Families Weekend

A record number of Duke medical students and their families attended Medical Families Weekend on March 7-8. The annual School of Medicine event gives families a chance to step in their students' shoes and see first hand what it's like to study medicine at Duke. A total of 260 students and families participated in this year's event.

The highlight of the weekend was a series of interactive sessions, including a virtual reality demonstration of the human brain in the Duke Immersive Virtual Environment (DiVE) and hands-on instruction with a health care training simulator, called 3DiTeams, at the Human Simulation and Patient Safety Center.

The families were also able to test their eye-hand coordination in the Duke Surgical Education and Activities Lab (SEAL).

The weekend's interactive format first introduced last year proved to be a big draw for many, even those who had attended in years past. Families of students from all four classes were represented.

In addition to the interactive sessions, students and families enjoyed a welcome supper and social and a student-faculty show, "Harry Potter and the Duke School of Modern Witchcraft and Wizardry."

The families were introduced to the school's new dean, Dr. Nancy C. Andrews, prior to a presentation on mental health and medical students by Dr. Caroline Haynes, associate dean of medical education. Medical students Malik Burnett, MSI, and Andy Pogozelski, MSIV, also spoke.