Mississauga student Adil Mukhi, 16, started Dr. Interested when he was 13 years old.
A Mississauga teen has started a global organization to help students explore careers in healthcare and medical research — and youth can learn more at a conference this weekend.
The organization, Dr. Interested, now reaches 106 countries and has impacted over 160,000 people, said its founder and managing director, Adil Mukhi.
Dr. Interested is holding a conference this weekend in Mississauga for youth to learn more about healthcare careers.
Adil Mukhi is now 16 years old and will enter Grade 12 at Glenforest Secondary School’s International Baccalaureate program in Mississauga in the fall.
Mukhi started Dr. Interested when he was 13 years old and in Grade 9. When he was in Grade 7 and 8, Adil felt career education was limited due to pandemic lockdowns.
“I didn’t really feel very enlightened about the careers I could be going into, and I realized that this was the same for a lot of my friends,” Adil told INsauga.com.
Adil explored future career paths on his own and found a few mentors. He worked with one mentor who helped him explore his future dream career in healthcare.
“But I realized a lot of people didn’t have this, and so that’s what the organization came out of, as a way to help people learn about careers,” he said.
He noted that private schools tend to have more career learning opportunities with guest speakers. Those opportunities are less frequent for other youth, particularly in marginalized communities.
Dr. Interested started out focused on healthcare, but through partnerships, they have expanded to include other careers.
The organization started with a team of about 20 people in Mississauga and has grown to a volunteer team of around 1,800 youth around the world, Adil said.
Adil said Dr. Interested has organized in-person and online events in the Greater Toronto Area, Texas and Saudi Arabia. During Toronto Climate Week, they ran an event on how climate change will affect careers and health, he said.
Dr. Interested an an event on how climate change will affect careers and health at Toronto Climate Week. Photo: Dr. Interested
This weekend, Dr. Interested is holding its inaugural MedX Conference on Aug. 16 at the University of Toronto Mississauga.
Youth will hear from practicing physicians, medical students, professors and health sector innovators at the conference. Youth will hear about a day in the life of healthcare workers. Speakers include an anesthesiologist, a paediatric surgeon at SickKids Hospital and a healthcare researcher.
There will be information about different university programs. In the afternoon, there will be hands-on, interactive and skill-building workshops such as networking, medical research, clinical problem-solving, healthcare skills and career strategy.
The conference is open to high school students, post-secondary learners, undergraduate students, and any youth interested in medicine, healthcare, research and life sciences.
As for his own career, Adil is still considering his options. He plans to apply for university programs in general life science, continue into a pre-med program and then paediatrics. But he is also considering careers in policy research.
Adil and other youth can think more about career options at the MedX Conference this weekend.
As of early this week, about 60 people had registered for the MedX Conference, but there is capacity for over 80 participants, Adil said.
Through funding and sponsorships the conference ticket prices are low, at $5 for the day.
For more information on the MedX conference and to register, see the Dr. Interested website here.
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