NATCHEZ — For Lara Biglane, all it took was knee surgery and a banana to know a career in medicine was in her future.

Biglane, a junior at Cathedral High School, recently attended a National Youth Leadership Forum on Medicine in San Francisco and got a first-hand, up-close look at what it takes to be a successful medical professional.

“You have to be attentive, and you have to ask questions and listen to other doctors and know a lot of background information,” Biglane said. “It takes a lot of studying, because you have to know so much.”

More than 400 students from across the country attended the forum in San Francisco. Forums were also hosted in other cities.

Biglane said she was one of the youngest students at the forum; most who attended were seniors in high school or even college students.

During the 10-day long forum, Biglane attended workshops, lectures and even got to watch knee surgery performed live.

“We weren’t in the room, but they had it showing on a big screen that we were watching and then we got to ask questions to the doctors,” Biglane said. “It was really cool to watch it while it was going on. That is what made me know I wanted to go into something medical.”

The classes Biglane attended began around 6 a.m. and lasted until lunchtime. Then after a lunch break and some free time, classes resumed and lasted until 11 p.m.

“I was never bored,” she said. “We had interesting projects and speakers so I never got bored. When we had to leave, I was sad because I wasn’t ready to leave.”

During one class, Biglane learned to administer stitches using a banana sliced lengthwise.

“We actually learned to tie the knots and put the stitches in,” she said. “That was really cool thing to get to do.”

The forum is set up to give students interested in pursuing a career in medicine information to decide on a possible specialty.

Biglane said after attending the forum, she wants to pursue pediatrics as a specialty.

“We got to visit a Shriner’s hospital while we were there,” Biglane said. “They provide care for children 0 to 18 that is free to people who can’t afford it.

“I was just touched at how the doctors and staff worked with the patients, and I know that working with children is what I want to do.”

In school, Biglane is taking an anatomy course and plans to take the biomedical research course offered at Cathedral next year.

“Those courses will help give me a better understanding of medicine,” she said.

Lara is the daughter of Denton and Tanya Biglane.