Students Repair Broken Bones
NEIRAD enilno edition
Darien High School juniors and seniors were recently given a chance to experience orthopedic medicine first-hand. AP Biology teacher David Lewis organized a unique field trip where students were able to get a close look inside the world of orthopedics.
“The trip was an opportunity for students to have an authentic learning experience through a hands-on approach,” Mr. Lewis said. A contingent of about 25 AP Biology students and Post 53 members spent the day at the Orthopedic Foundation for Active Lifestyles (OFALS) Bioskills Laboratory Facility in Cos Cob, Conn.
Upon their arrival, students had to put on surgical scrubs and booties. When they entered the lab, they were introduced to orthopedic surgeons and medical professionals, including Dr. Kevin Plancher, who developed the OFALS program.
“It was an honor and a privilege to share time together with the incredibly motivated, highly intelligent, talented students from Darien High School at the Orthopedic Foundation for Active Lifestyle’s Bio skills laboratory. I only hope one of them can learn to enjoy medicine in the future as much as I do,” Dr. Plancher said.
Not only were the students taught about orthopedic medicine, but they also got to experience it for themselves by doing activities under the guidance of doctors and specialists. Students were divided into small groups. Their first task was to mend a simulated broken bone. “It was amazing to see what goes on during an operation and how many people are involved in fixing just one bone,” junior Katherine Matson said.
After each student was assisted in fixing a broken bone, each group got an arm that looked and felt lifelike, with the same anatomy as a real arm, but with nothing inside except the bones.
Under the instruction of a doctor, students cut into the arms and located the fractures. Then, they were able to screw in metal plates and ultimately secure the fractures. After the students were finished with their simulated surgeries, each group brought their arm downstairs to get it X-rayed, so they could see the results of the work they had just done.
This trip, being such a special opportunity, brought a lot of positive feedback from the students that went on it. “I thought it was a great learning experience because it exposed me to the world of orthopedics,” junior Gerianne Connell said.
In addition to learning a lot of new things, students also had a lot of fun on the field trip. “The coolest part was probably using the power drill to put screws into the bones and then afterwards seeing the arms fixed on X-rays,” junior Cecillia Lee said.
The students also appreciated that they were able to take their repaired arms home with them. “We all got to name the arms that we were ‘operating’ on. Some people got creative and named theirs ‘Ferret’ and ‘Alejandro’,” Lee said.
The students felt the trip was definitely worthwhile because they were able to spend the day applying what they have learned in the classroom to real life. “I received very positive feedback from the students on the trip,” said Mr. Lewis, who hopes that there may be more trips like this one in the future.
