EIGHTH-GRADERS AT UNIVERSITY PREP MILLIONES LEARNED HOW TO USE STITCHES DURING A VISIT TO UPMC SHADYSIDE HOSPITAL, FEB. 14. (PHOTOS BY J.L. MARTELLO)
Week of learning culminates at UPMC Shadyside
On Feb. 14, Valentine’s Day, there were some eighth-grade Black students who were learning from people who literally deal with the heart.
Thanks to the organization M-PowerHouse, and funding from McAuley Ministries, more than 20 students from University Prep Milliones (in the Hill District) were taken to UPMC Shadyside Hospital, where they met doctors, nurses and other health professionals in the anesthesia department. A place normally closed off to, well, practically everyone, these students were given top-notch access to learn, explore and, most importantly, open their minds to different careers.
The New Pittsburgh Courier was there as the students intubated mannequins using a endotracheal tube, stylet, laryngoscope blade, and handle; were introduced to the fiberoptic bronchoscope; learned about the gas machine; and put crickets to sleep and woke them up using the anesthetic agent sevoflurane.
In other words, these students were being exposed to some high-tech stuff. From people that make the big bucks.
THE YOUTH, TEACHERS, INSTRUCTORS AND M-POWERHOUSE, AT UPMC SHADYSIDE HOSPITAL, FEB. 14. (PHOTOS BY J.L. MARTELLO)
“There’s a paucity of Black Americans in health care now, and we’re trying to change that trajectory by having them see what I call mirror-emulating,” said M-PowerHouse Founder, President and CEO Terry Smith. “Seeing someone who looks like you. It doesn’t just inspire you, but you aspire to become that person.”
For the 22 students, the trip to UPMC Shadyside Hospital was the culmination of a week of learning activities that occurred outside the classroom. It all started on Feb. 10, when students attended the Carnegie Science Center. On Feb. 11, they went to Moonshot museum, a space museum on the North Side. Officials there spoke to the students about Black Americans in space careers and the future of space, along with hands-on activities. On Feb. 12, the students learned about cooking with popular Pittsburgh Chef Claudy Pierre, at the Magee Recreation Center. And on Thursday, Feb. 13, the students went to XYCOM, a North Side company that acts as a facilitator of technology construction, specializing in incorporating all aspects of technology and building systems together.
THE YOUTH BEING INSTRUCTED ON HOW TO PUT ON THE SURGICAL GOWN…
Smith said his focus for the week of learning outside the classroom was on eighth-graders, because he said that studies have shown that oftentimes, the transition from middle school to high school can be tough for students. There’s a drop-off in attendance and test scores that disproportionately affect Black students in the ninth grade. Smith said Black female students bounce back in attendance and grades at a higher rate than the Black male students.
That’s why, this summer, M-PowerHouse will partner with the aptly-named Partner 4 Work to teach incoming high school students on biomimetics and apiary, along with providing mentorship and other workforce development skills. It will “create a cadre of future young productive adults who can meet the future workforce needs of the 21st century,” Smith said.
THE YOUTH BEING SHOWN HOW TO INCUBATE A PATIENT
On Feb. 14, Valentine’s Day, many students were worried about flowers, candy, balloons, etc. But the University Prep Milliones students had other things on their mind, like six-figure incomes as an anesthesiologist and other hospital-related careers.
Smith said the students were introduced to “non-traditional careers that they would have never been exposed to. It turns the light switch on. It gives them an opportunity to make decisions (for their futures) that they would have never had a chance to make. Lose their sight and get a vision.”
THE YOUTH WERE BEING SHOWN HOW TO STITCH UP A WOUND
About Post Author
