Mariemont Experiences Beacon Cadaver Program
June 13, 2016
Mariemont High School Students Gain Valuable Hands-On Experience
June 12, 2016
There is no substitute for the real thing and the real thing is exactly what Beacon Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine offers to students in the high school’s Anatomy & Physiology class each year.
“I asked myself: Who would benefit the most from this experience?”, said Glen McClung, M.D., an orthopaedic surgeon at Beacon. “The answer is the high school students who are impressionable and still trying to figure out what their future holds. If we can make Mariemont the best school district in the state by offering opportunities like this, then my goal is accomplished.”
Each year, 20 local high schools are selected to participate in the Beacon Bio-Skills Lecture and Lab series. Schools in the Bio-Skills program receive an anatomy lecture led by a Beacon physician, access to the Bio-Skills Cadaver Anatomy Lab and a bird’s eye view in the surgery center to watch a procedure.
“After a personal tour of the center, suiting up in scrubs and participating in two hands- on knee ‘surgeries,’ I’m certain I want to be involved in helping the lives of many through the medical field,” said Lauren Getgey, a senior at Mariemont High School.
Dr. McClung calls Beacon a “one-stop shop” where they offer prevention programs, like boot camps, and bridge programs for those getting back on their feet, literally. Beacon has its own MRI, as well as a clinic and surgical unit. And every surgeon is an expert in an extremely specialized field.
“We have access to cadavers and these incredible facilities, and my goal is to get all of this out into the community, into the hands of the students who are considering going into the healthcare industry in any capacity. We hope this program opens their eyes.”
For many of the students who participated in the program, it has. “At first I was a little uneasy about working with cadavers, but once we started working on them with the surgeons, it quickly became the coolest field trip I’ve ever taken,” said Aaron Urevick, high school student. “I got to perform an arthroscopic knee surgery that was the exact same one I had to undergo a couple years ago. It was an incredible experience from beginning to end.”
Dr. McClung has four kids at Terrace Park Elementary and loves Terrace Park because “it’s a community. I feel safe and I feel like my kids are safe. The teachers are top rate; I can’t say enough about how incredible I feel the school is. I am thoroughly impressed that a public school can have such an amazing cast of individuals guiding our students. They’re broadening the kids’ minds by offering so much in so many areas. My nine-year-old children are learning Mandarin and they already know Spanish. My son is taking guitar. And it’s amazing to be in a community where you can just call someone up for help. It’s a different world. It would be great to have this approach to learning and to community everywhere.”
To learn more about our Beacon Orthopaedics Research and Education Foundation, click here.