‘Insightful and inspiring’, says one student
Hospital summer students recently got a look at their potential future.
Throughout June, ten select students were able to watch ‘live surgeries’ on video as part of the work experience – and apeak with the doctors who performed them.
Through a partnership between Bermuda Hospitals Board and Liberty Science Centre in New Jersey, students watched a kidney transplant, robotic surgery and neurosurgery.
One student said the opportunity to witness live surgeries was “insightful and inspiring”.
Sanaa Simmons, a first year medical student at the University of Liverpool, also said they were “further educated on triage processes, organ rejection, and long-term lifestyle changes to patients – ultimately reinforcing how imperative it is to showcase empathy in the medical field.”
Bermuda Hospitals Board press release:
BHB partnered with Liberty Science Center for the first time this year to give a select group of its summer students the opportunity to watch ‘live surgeries’ as part of their work experience at BHB.
BHB’S Coordinator-HR Programmes Erin Basden explains: “We secured ten spots for a number of surgeries. It was great to be able to offer such ah meaningful experience as part of our summer student programme and we will be looking to continue this partnership in the future. It was very informative, eye-opening and offered our students another avenue to benefit their career journey.”
The live video events were held throughout June. The BHB summer students were able to peer into an operating room to see a kidney transplant, robotic surgery and neurosurgery, and were able to communicate with the doctors. There was also a Meet the Surgeon session with a paediatric orthopaedic surgeon who joined live and presented students with recorded footage from one of her procedures and discussed her career path.
One of the ten BHB summer students who participated was Bermudian Sanaa Simmons, a first year medical student who is studying at the University of Liverpool, who worked in the Quality & Risk Department at BHB over the summer.
“The opportunity to witness live surgeries provided by the Liberty Science Centre was insightful and inspiring,” she says.
“I particularly enjoyed observing the paediatric ACL reconstruction, and Dr. Samara Friedman was eager to answer our questions and share her story. From growing up as an athlete, to employing her dexterous skills throughout her younger life, she explained how paediatric orthopaedic surgery was best fit for her.
“Moreover, the kidney transplant surgery was well delivered; the procedure was narrated in an accessible way.
“We became further educated on triage processes, organ rejection, and long-term lifestyle changes to patients – ultimately reinforcing how imperative it is to showcase empathy in the medical field.”
