Naval Hospital (NH) Jacksonville hosted its annual Science, Service, Medicine and Mentoring (S2M2) internship at the hospital June 12-16 with 11 high school students from Darnell-Cookman School of the Medical Arts.

"The students from Darnell-Cookman High School are incredibly smart and motivated to excel," said Capt. David Collins, NH Jacksonville commanding officer. "S2M2 helps us develop the next generation of medical professionals and if we're lucky, the next generation of Navy Medicine."

The goal of NH Jacksonville's S2M2 program is to nurture high school students' commitment to science and medicine in a welcoming and intellectually stimulating environment. The S2M2 partnership with Darnell-Cookman complements the school's focus on equipping high-performing students with the skills to pursue advanced medical degrees.

"This was a great experience for me," said Dynasty Davis, a Darnell-Cookman rising junior. "I got to see different things and experience a lot of hands-on training. This is a totally different environment that makes me want to become a nurse even more."

In addition to clinical rotations through the operating suites, outpatient clinics, and inpatient units, students participated in Hospital Corpsman University and Trauma Combat Casualty Care's obstacle course. They witnessed how first responders conduct combat trauma care. Students also performed medical procedures on life-like mannequins in the hospital's simulation laboratory, and performed orthopedic procedures on artificial bone and joints.

S2M2 was developed in 2004 by the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, and launched in 2010 at NH Jacksonville. It includes two activities each academic year: a kick-off event in the fall at Darnell-Cookman for about 100 ninth and tenth graders, and a week-long immersion program the next summer at NH Jacksonville for a select group. The hospital has hosted 59 internship students since the program's inception.

NH Jacksonville's priority since its founding in 1941 is to heal the nation's heroes and their families. The command is comprised of the Navy's third largest hospital and five branch health clinics across Florida and Georgia. Of its patient population (163,000 active and retired sailors, soldiers, Marines, airmen, guardsmen, and their families), about 85,000 are enrolled with a primary care manager and Medical Home Port team at one of its facilities. To find out more or download the command's mobile app, visit www.med.navy.mil/sites/navalhospitaljax.

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