WILTON – Joel Parker of Wilton attended the National Youth Leadership Forum on Medicine in Los Angeles July 6 – 15.

Having demonstrated academic achievement and an interest in a career related to science and health, Parker joined more than 400 outstanding high school juniors and seniors from across the United States at the forum. Parker learned first-hand from medical professionals about medical ethics, the global effects of infectious disease, genetic research, public health and many other subjects relevant to the field.

“The National Youth Leadership Forum on Medicine offers students like Joel Parker a behind-the-scenes look of what it takes to become a medical professional,” said Donna Snyder, executive director of the forum.

“With influence from great advances in technology, you will be well-equipped leaders of the medicine field,” said Dr. Roscoe Atkinson of the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine. “Yours is a generation that is better educated with more resources and access to a wealth of research and methodologies. When faced with challenges, the education and demand you receive will provide you with innovative ideas, which are sure to be readily accepted.”

Throughout the program, Parker and fellow students experienced problem-based learning in a series of intense and stimulating simulations, many exercises of which are faced by students in medical schools throughout the country.

The forum culminated in the Public Health Symposium, in which students developed programs to directly impact their communities on the issues of adolescent health, care for the elderly and chronic disease, among others. The goal of the exercise was to encourage the students to develop and implement programs as leaders, addressing concerns on public health issues in their communities.

The National Youth Leadership Forum on Medicine is a nonprofit, educational organization committed to empowering young people to make well-informed career choices. For additional information, visit www.nylf.org.