Students from
Jean Becker’s Anatomy and Physiology class at Highlands High School got the
opportunity to see what they have been learning all year in their textbooks
come to life on March 5, at the Beacon Orthopaedics Learning Center in
Sharonville, Ohio.
The High School Bio-Skill Lab and Lecture consists of an
in-class guest lecture and a cadaver dissection lab.
Under the
tutelage of Dr. Glen McClung and his staff of physician’s assistants and nurse
practitioners, the Highlands students were able to practice real world medical
scenarios on cadavers.
“When I was in Jr. High, our teachers
introduced us to practical matters in math and science-related fields. We would
study math and think ‘why am I studying this?’ Then we would spend a day with
architects and see how they utilized what we were studying in real life. It
made sense,” said
McClung. “With this state-of-the-art
facility, maybe the students will form an idea of a career path they may want
to take.”
The 2,800 square
foot learning facility includes a 40-seat classroom, wet lab, locker room, and
a dining and reception area. The wet lab is designed to accommodate up to four
inanimate cadaver workstations for teaching, training, and research. Outfitted
with state-of-the art audiovisual equipment with connectivity to both the wet
lab and Beacon’s in-house ambulatory surgery center, the learning center
provides a perfect setting for a productive interactive teaching experience.
“We use the lab for cutting edge
procedures in our practice so that we can continue to practice and have
reproducible results,” said
McClung. “This is something that these
students won’t forget.”
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| Trey Jurgens and Dr. Glen McClung |
The Beacon
Orthopaedic Lecture and Lab has been in existence for almost 3 years and
includes fourteen different schools. Highlands is the first school in Kentucky
to get to utilize the facility.
Trey Jurgens, Marketing
Manager and Community Outreach Coordinator at Beacon and 2008 Highlands
graduate, was instrumental in connecting Beacon and Highlands. “This program is such a great opportunity
for high school students. It gives them a very unique learning experience. As
soon as I began working on this program I knew it would be a perfect fit for
Highlands,” said Jurgens.
When Jurgens
approached Highlands Principal Brian Robinson and Becker with the opportunity,
she said they jumped at the chance.
“Of course we wanted to be apart of it!” said Becker, who has a BS in
Biology “This experience is something that these kids will not get until
Medical School. The kids actually got to make the first incision. They got to
name the muscles and ligaments. They were able to scope the knee. The spark
that (Dr. McClung) is lighting in these kids will hopefully carry them in their
undergraduate work. Hopefully when they take those tough courses, they’ll
remember this experience and keep climbing that mountain.”
Seniors Anna
Bardgett and Ellie New were two of the 24 students who made the trip to
Beacon’s Sharonville office. They both have family members that are in the
medical profession.
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| Jean Becker, Ellie New and Anna Bardgett |
“It sounds weird, but when I walked in a
saw the cadaver legs that we would be working and learning on, I didn’t believe
they were real,” said
New. “It’s completely different seeing
it in real life and seeing it in a book or a video. It’s going to be great prep
for college.”
Bardgett agreed.
“I was really excited to be able to
participate in this lab. Not many people get this experience and made me want
to pursue a medical education even more.”
So how did the
Highlands students fare in the lab?
“Highlands has a smart group of kids,” said McClung. “They asked great questions and were extremely interactive. I believe
this experience really opened their eyes to another world.”
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| Taylor Mitchell and Jon Michael Griffith |
