Students Make the Cut
High school students get bird's eye view of surgery
Date: 10/20/2009
BIDMC Contact: Jerry Berger
Phone: 617-667-7308
Email: jberger@bidmc.harvard.edu
BOSTON -- Peter Mowschenson, MD, heard the out-of-the-ordinary sound of applause recently when he completed a thyroidectomy. That’s because students from Brookline and Madison Park high schools were watching the procedure remotely in the Carl J. Shapiro Simulation and Skills Lab as part of their Health Careers course.
Julie Joyal Mowschenson, RN, teaches the class, which grew from a one-week summer course into a year-long experience at both high schools. The students take what they learn in the classroom and put these lessons into practice by running simulated medical cases on a robotic patient at Harvard Medical School, said Nancy Oriol, MD, Co-Executive Director of the Harvard Pre-Medical Institute. They also visit the skills labs at BIDMC and Brigham and Women Hospital to interact with medical professionals.
“We get students excited about science by teaching them about the human body,” Joyal Mowschenson said.
The day began with Joyal Mowschenson giving the students a quick introduction to the endocrine system. After naming all of the system’s eight glands, the surgery commenced.
“I thought this would be more bloody,” said Brookline High School sophomore Josephine Ko.
Mowschenson explained that the area he was operating on was kept relatively free of blood thanks to new tools that instantly cauterize the surrounding blood vessels. As he and his team cut through the patient’s skin and fat to get to the thyroid, he pointed out the jugular vein, carotid artery and trachea. Mowschenson wore a microphone and was able to answer the students’ questions as the surgery progressed.
“We’ll have to wait until the pathologists’ issue their report; but if this is cancer, removing this section should cure the patient,” Mowschenson said. “This is a very satisfying surgery to perform.”
After completing the surgery, Mowschenson came down to meet the students and answer more questions about the procedure. He reminded them that if practicing medicine didn’t appeal to them, there was always the field of developing medical equipment, like the cauterizing scalpel he used.
“I had never seen an operation before and I didn’t know there would be so many nerves in one spot,” said Eriana Castillo, a junior at Madison Park High School. Castillo hopes to be a pediatrician someday.
Joining the students was Massachusetts Secretary of Education Paul Reville. He praised Oriol and Joyal Mowschenson’s efforts at attracting students to the careers of science and technology.
“This is an extraordinary demonstration of how to actively engage students in science and medicine,” Reville said. “It’s a powerful educational experience that makes these lessons come off the page.”
The course is one of several regular initiatives by BIDMC to introduce students to careers in health care. Other efforts include the hosting of 30 Boston high school students each February in a Job Shadow Day. Each student is paired with a BIDMC staff member and spends a morning immersed in fields such as nursing, surgery, interpreter services, radiology and administration.
The medical center also provides summer internships and after-school jobs to about 45 high school students and other youth each year, in partnership with local community based organizations. Interns work in specific departments and also participate in weekly hospital tours and career discussions.
