In addition to learning through lectures, Mini Medical School students are encouraged to ask questions and participate in hands-on labs.

When Kay Willshire and the hundreds of other Mini Medical School students entered Coffman Theatre in February 2009, they had more to celebrate than the opening night of classes. It was the program’s 10-year anniversary.

“I wouldn’t miss it,” says Willshire, who has attended for 10 years. “It makes me feel young to go, like I’m back in school again.” 

Program basics

The program is hosted by the University of Minnesota’s Academic Health Center.

Mini Medical School, or “Mini Med,” is a science-based community education program that allows students to hear lectures presented by world-renowned University faculty.

A variety of topics are covered in a language everyone can understand. In addition to learning through lectures, students are encouraged to ask questions and participate in hands-on labs.  

Through the years, the program has attracted more than 4,500 participants. From Rochester to Avon and places in between, Minnesotans across the state brave long drives, and often crummy weather, in order to attend the Monday night sessions. The program has even attracted out-of-state residents to campus.  

“It is a commitment,” says Willshire, “So you get people there who really want to be there and care about what they’re learning about.”

Like many students in the program, Willshire has family members with health issues. Attending Mini Med School, she says, has helped her better understand the inner workings of various diseases and surgical procedures, so she can later explain them to her loved ones.

Graduating

After completing the 5-week program, students receive diplomas recognizing them as "mini doctors of medicine" and celebrate with graduation cake and punch. 

“Although it’s a ‘mini diploma,’ and the reverse side of it says it’s basically good for absolutely nothing, it’s a fun thing for people to put on their walls,” says program founder Mary Kenyon. “Every now and then I’ll go into someone’s office and there’ll be a Mini Med diploma, proudly displayed.”   While the diploma is a plus for some, students still don’t lose sight of what Mini Medical School is truly about—education.

“I look forward to learning something new,” says Willshire. “You just understand how things happen, and that’s really important to me.”