LIMA, OH (WLIO) - High school students from around the region got an interactive lesson on anatomy and surgery with real hospital equipment.
Lima Memorial Health System and Rhodes State College hosted dissection night as part of the Exploring Program. Students learned about the process of preparing surgical PPE and how to stay sterile, looked at human anatomy in virtual reality and 3D computer programs, and even had the opportunity to dissect an adult pig.
Pigs are often used while studying medicine because their internal makeup is close enough to humans that their tissue can be used to effectively treat patients.
"A lot of the pig anatomy is very similar to human anatomy and we use a lot of the pig anatomy to skin graft or you use hearts, you use valves and a lot of what we call porcine or pig tissue," said Dr. Brandon Colvin, a general surgeon and trauma surgeon at Lima Memorial Health System.
Payton Richards, a senior from Wapakoneta High School, says that being able to personally have a conversation with several different healthcare professionals gives her a more realistic idea of the industry.
"You get a really good look at what it's actually like to, instead of just saying, oh this person knows this or they wrote about this, you get a hands-on experience, you get to talk to someone firsthand who's like, yeah, here are the ups and the downs," she said.
Payton intends to use the skills she learns at the exploring program to begin her own healthcare career at Lima Memorial.
