July 12, 2011| Abby Rinchuso, a high school senior, was in her element. The 17-year-old from Mount St. Mary Academy in Little Rock was in a lab at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), holding a pig’s heart.

Rinchuso and 11 other students from Little Rock and North Little Rock schools recently participated in a UAMS program for high school students called MASH (Medical Application of Science for Health), which is led by the UAMS Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) Program.

“I love it; oh my gosh, I love it,” Rinchuso said as she examined the pig heart.

Held for two weeks each summer for more than 20 years, MASH is designed for above-average students who have an interest in health care as a career. The program is held throughout the state and exposes more than 400 students a year to the real world of medicine, pharmacy, nursing, dentistry and allied health.

While providing an overview of medical careers, the program also allows students to shadow a health professional. The goal is to entice more students into the health care professions, where shortages are common and are expected to grow.

For Rinchuso, that seems like a good bet. Her enthusiasm is inspired by her experience with a congenital heart condition that since 2005 has required multiple surgeries. For that reason, she said she hopes one day to become a pediatric cardiologist.

“Ever since I’ve been treated for my heart condition I’ve been interested in pediatric cardiology,” Rinchuso said. “I am driven to do it because I want to help other people.”

UAMS oversees 28 MASH programs around the state. This summer the program added Blytheville, Dumas and Piggott. Participants from 16 of the programs outside Little Rock will spend a day on the UAMS campus visiting the new Simulation Center or the Clinical Skills Center, hearing about the five UAMS colleges, and making soap, lip balm and lotions in the pharmacy lab.

Each MASH program is organized locally, calling on whatever resources are available to expose students to a variety of health care fields. Private-practice doctors, dentists, ambulance services, emergency medical technicians and even veterinarians volunteer their time and facilities.

“MASH is made possible by the dedicated health professionals at UAMS and community hospitals who work hard every year to provide inspiring health care-related learning experiences for students,” said Mark Mengel, M.D., Ph.D., vice chancellor for UAMS Regional Programs and executive director of the UAMS AHEC Program. “Many of our MASH participants go on to pursue medical careers, so we know this is an effective program.”

The success of the MASH program is a tribute to its supporters in the Arkansas Mentor Partnership, Mengel said. The partnership is a group of organizations whose concerns over a shortage of medical professionals in rural Arkansas led to their support of the MASH program. Members of that partnership include the AHECs and the UAMS Rural Hospital Program, Arkansas Blue Cross Blue Shield, Arkansas Farm Bureau, Baptist Health and the Arkansas Department of Health, Office of Oral Health.