Setting their sights: Keck School of Medicine of USC opens high school students’ eyes to careers in vision science

In the library of Francisco Bravo Medical Magnet High School, over a hundred 11th grade students passed ophthalmic trial lenses from hand to hand, peered through plus and minus prescriptions and flipped through the dotted plates of a color-vision test.

For a few hours, the space was transformed into a vision learning lab as faculty and medical students from the nearby Keck School of Medicine of USC introduced these high schoolers, enrolled in their school’s Patient Care Pathway program, to careers in eye care.

The program was started three years ago by a collaboration between Bravo teacher Ly Hua and Jessica Chang, MD, an ophthalmologist at Los Angeles General Medical Center and an adjunct associate professor of ophthalmology at the USC Roski Eye Institute.

“One of the priorities of the American Academy of Ophthalmology has been to increase diversity within ophthalmology,” Chang said. “Addressing this problem requires increasing the pipeline of interested students earlier in their educational journey — spreading awareness of what ophthalmologists and optometrists do so that more people know these career options exist.”

Back in those seats

Lernik Torossian, OD, FAAO, chief of optometry at USC and an associate professor of clinical ophthalmology, has been a key speaker every year since the program started.

“We all know what it felt like to be in those seats, trying to figure out, ‘Do I go into health care? Do I pursue another career?’ ” Torossian said. “You’re bombarded with information from every angle, trying to decide what graduate school to go to and whether you will be happy with the choices you make today for decades to come.”

The first doctor in her family, Torossian was drawn to pediatric eye care by her own experience. She began wearing glasses at a young age, and remembers her mother going from doctor to doctor in search of answers.

USC medical students also speak candidly to the high schoolers about their personal motivations and challenges.

“The students asked thoughtful questions about the path to medical school, including how challenging it is and what the financial realities, like student loans, look like. Those questions led to honest and engaging discussions about both the academic and personal sides of pursuing medicine,” said medical student Ryan Barani. “I was impressed by how insightful and forward-thinking they were in considering these important factors.”

Many of the high school students mentioned in an anonymous feedback form that learning from the medical students was their favorite part of the event: “I loved how we got to speak with actual medical students and how we were able to use and try out some of their tools, which was pretty cool.” Another high school student wrote “it gave me a WAYYYY better understanding of medical school and gave me hope.”

The inspiration goes both ways, with the USC students gaining perspective from the mentoring and hands-on teaching experience.

“This was an invaluable experience in finding small ways to give back to the larger community,” said Marcus Chang, a medical student who helped coordinate the event. “I learned that we may have more wisdom than we think when it comes to helping students navigate their identities and interests outside of school.”

Hands-on demos and beyond

The room was divided into tables of six to 10 students for hands-on demonstrations led by a faculty member or medical student. Students attempted to check their own stereo vision while wearing polarized lenses, and held plus and minus lenses up to their classmates’ eyes to experience the effect of different prescriptions.

“Something that’s always sweet to observe is how interested they become in their classmates’ visual state,” Torossian said. “You see their wheels turning, as their classmates share information about their prescriptions. For the first time, they’re noticing something about a classmate they’d never thought to ask about before.”

The team asked how many students wore glasses or contacts and when each was last examined and fielded questions about laser refractive surgery. This year, the curriculum included a segment on myopia management — a field that has shifted significantly in recent years, with the FDA’s approval of contact lenses and glasses designed to slow the progression of nearsightedness in young patients.

“This experience has had a meaningful impact on students by introducing them to a field that many previously knew little to nothing about,” said Paulina Martinez, magnet coordinator at Francisco Bravo Medical Magnet High School. “Hearing directly from practicing professionals and current medical students provides students with authentic insight into the profession, the educational journey and the opportunities available within healthcare and vision sciences.”

The annual Bravo visit is part of a broader effort by the USC Department of Ophthalmology to reach students at every stage of the pipeline from high school to medical school.

Torossian’s wish list for the program extends a step further.

“Maybe in the future,” she said, “we’ll go all the way down to elementary school.”