Daniel A. Anderson / University Communications

A glimmer of excitement lit students' eyes as they explored healthcare professions during the hands-on workshop.

UC Irvine is dedicated to serving the community by educating healthcare professionals of the future.  Ralph V. Clayman, M.D., dean for UC Irvine’s School of Medicine, developed the High School Outreach Program in June 2008 to inspire students to pursue a career in medicine. Whether a student is interested in becoming a surgeon or working as a biomedical engineer, the program provides a unique training experience.

The program invites the top 20 students from each of the 67 high schools in Orange County to participate in hands-on instruction using the most advanced medical equipment. Since its inception, the program has had more than 10 schools come through the program and 17 are expected for the 2009-2010 school year.

Students are invited to a half-day of training in UC Irvine’s state-of-the-art simulation center. They have an opportunity to become medical students for a day, donning surgical scrubs and interacting with urologists in the expansive training facility. After a brief lecture about minimally invasive surgical techniques, the students have an opportunity to practice a variety of surgical techniques using UC Irvine’s highly advanced equipment.

Once they come to the training lab, the students are divided into four groups and they spend about 20 minutes at the following four stations:

• Suturing. At this station, students learn how to perform sutures and tie knots using standard surgical tools.
• Laparoscopic trainer. Using laparoscopic tools, students thread string through little eyeholes and perform other surgical techniques.
• Virtual reality simulator. Similar to laparoscopic training, the virtual simulator offers students the opportunity to perform laparoscopic techniques using virtual reality simulators.
• DaVinci robotic surgical system. Again, students perform the same exercises they did at the other stations only this time they use a robotic interface. Everything is three dimensional, which enables them to complete the tasks more easily.

After visiting each of the four stations, students are invited to participate in a question and answer session and picnic lunch.

For more information about the High School Outreach Program, please contact:

Rosanne Santos
Sr. Clinical Research Coordinator
University of California, Irvine
Department of Urology
333 City Blvd West, Suite 2100, Rte 81
Orange, CA 92868
714.456.8176 Phone
rtsantos@uci.edu