During Medical Explorers Club's second Day of Learning with Tampa General Hospital, students were introduced to the Women's and Children's Divisions of the hospital.
The morning started in the Labor and Delivery triage area with an actor/patient brought to the hospital by ambulance after being involved in a car accident. She was full term in pregnancy and was experiencing bleeding and contractions. The students observed the numerous steps in assessing and stabilizing the mother and her unborn child. Then students observed a simulated childbirth experience and learned necessary aftercare procedures for both mother and child after birth. The actor/patient did a fabulous job of portraying what a real patient might experience both physically and emotionally.
The students moved to hands-on learning stations where they monitored the blood pressure of a baby and ultrasound and fetal monitoring systems on a very gracious 30-week pregnant TGH team member.
The students then walked to the helipad for a tour of the helicopter, seeing equipment needed when transporting a neonatal patient.
After lunch, the students toured the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) including an up-close look at a baby girl who was born just hours before. The pre-born child weighed in at approximately one and a half pounds.
The afternoon concluded with more hands-on stations allowing the students to perform intubation, resuscitation, and CPR on an infant dummy and start an IV on an infant-sized vein. The TGH team provided a review of the critical "Golden Hour" and the use of X-Rays in evaluating a patient's status. They also reviewed different scenarios in which there would be a need to cool or warm an infant and how and why it is done.
Throughout the day, members of TGH answered the many questions posed by our Medical Explorers, and shared personal stories of their career paths.
It was amazing to see what modern medicine is capable of doing for babies born prematurely. Tampa Prep students are looking forward to more Days of Learning with TGH in the future. A huge thanks to the TGH doctors, residents and nurses who donated their time so our students could have this extraordinary educational experience.
