Students view heart surgery

Visits to hospital give students opportunities to learn

 

By Stephanie Mitchell
April 25, 2008

 

The INOVA Fairfax hospital cardiac dome recently welcomed 66 students to view three separate surgeries.

 

Anatomy and Physiology teacher Liz Wheeler took students in three groups of 22 on March 24, 28 and 31. Each group viewed a different type of heart-bypass surgery.

 

“I saw a double bypass at the hospital,” junior Ryan Green said. “We were on the floor above the surgery, and there was this big dome in the center of the room with a lot of chairs around it.”

 

INOVA Fairfax is the only hospital in the area that has the surgical dome. The hospital allows the procedure to be viewed by groups as a way to teach individuals the steps necessary to prevent themselves from having the procedure, as well as provide information about the health care industry.

 

“It was a good experience,” junior Quynh Nguyen said. “I could not believe the amount of effort that doctors put into their job. Cardiology requires hard work and dedication. I want to work in health care one day, and the field trip gave me some insight on what that’s like.”

 

The students arrived at the hospital at 7 a.m. and remained for three to four hours.

 

“We had a nurse stay with us all day, and she was a nurse who has previously been in the operating room,” Wheeler said. “She explained the patient’s history and showed us all the jobs. When the patient was ready, we walked in and we saw the procedure from start to finish.”

 

A major concern for Wheeler was ensuring that the students would be comfortable witnessing the surgery.

 

Senior Kelsey Rhode said she was nervous at first, but that she eventually began to feel comfortable.

 

“I was afraid that I was going to get sick and that there would be a lot of blood,” Rhode said. “But in the end it was really interesting and cool to see how the heart works.”

 

Because only a limited number of students from each class who could attend, several students had to perform an alternate assignment.

 

“I had to write a paper about open-heart surgery,” junior Kaitlyn Manley said. “I was disappointed that I couldn’t go because there were limited spots, but I felt that I learned a lot from the researching and writing the paper as well. It wasn’t as cool as the open-heart surgery would have been but it was still helpful.”

 

For many students this was an opportunity to learn more about a possible career interest.

 

“It was probably one of the most interesting medical experiences of my life,” junior Cara Cannon said. “It didn’t gross me out at all and I was really interested in it. I’ve been thinking about going into cardiology, and to see an open-heart surgery was awesome.”

 

Ways to prevent the need for a heart surgery

Although teenagers often aren’t concerned with their heart health, a few crucial steps can be taken now to prevent future problems:

• Minimize stress
• Quit or do not start smoking
• Exercise regularly
• Eat a balanced diet
• Maintain a healthy weight for your body type