December 2006 / January 2007
Class participates in open heart surgery via videoconference
Some of the more squeamish students in the Dryden High School library had to turn away when the electric saw began to slice through the breastbone of an open heart surgery patient nearly 2,000 km away in Ohio.
That was the scene as the Dryden Grade 12 Kinesiology class took part in a recent live open heart surgery, conducted at Mount Carmel West Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. Connected through videoconference link over the ORION network, the Keewatin-Patricia District School Board students were able to watch and ask questions of the surgeons performing the three-hour surgery.
Online activities like Virtual Bypass Surgery on the COSI website takes students step-by-step through open heart surgery.
The live surgery is an initiative offered by the Center of Science and Industry (COSI), a science education centre in Columbus, Ohio.
"I would definitely recommend this opportunity to other teachers," said Jennifer Koski, Phys. Ed. and Kinesiology teacher at Dryden High School whose Grade 12 class participated in the event. "It was an amazing and uncommon experience for the students. They came away with a more thorough understanding of the body and the surgical process."
In fact, before viewing the surgery, half of the students in the class were interested in pursuing a career in the medical field; after the surgery, the same students reported they were even more attracted to the field.
"This is a powerful learning experience that I thought our students would enjoy and benefit from," said Del Schmucker, Information Systems Manager at Keewatin-Patricia District School Board, who approached Ms. Koski with the opportunity.
Ms. Koski said that the students appreciated having their questions answered by the surgical team, and that the surgeons were very comfortable interacting with the students.
"The class was excited leading up to the surgery since we had just finished learning about the cardiovascular system and we'd spent time exploring the fundamentals of the surgery online. The actual surgery reinforced everything the students had been learning so far and motivated them to learn more," said Ms. Koski.
Teachers receive an information package and materials for pre- and post-experience activities for the classroom.
In addition, there are online activities on the COSI website to help students learn about the basics of surgery, including information on anatomy, medical terminology, disease, diagnostic tools and careers in the surgical field. The site also takes students step-by-step through a virtual open heart bypass or total knee replacement surgery.
This was the second time a Dryden High School class took part in a live surgery with COSI. The first was total knee replacement surgery and was arranged by teacher Carol Gardam. Because of the success among students of the first two, the school plans to connect other classes to more surgeries in the future.
To learn more, please visit www.cosi.org.
Back to Headlines
|
|
