HOSA (Health Occupation Student Association) and Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital started a partnership Feb.10. It was here that eight HOSA students who had “shadowed” doctors presented their findings as a result of their experience.

Following the presentation, Senior Ashlyn Fairchild and Senior Matthew Magee were awarded scholarships,  $1000 and $500 respectively. Fairchild shadowed Dr. Drew Small in radiology and her presentation was research over the use of CT scans in diagnosing pulmonary embolisms. Magee, who did his research on the use of laparoscopic surgery over previous methods, a new cleaner way to find infection and make cuts for surgery.

“It was very informative,” Magee said. “You read about all these surgeries and you don’t know what they are like until you go into the procedures and it gets very interesting.”

Senior Kyle Steele researched strokes and the effects of clotting. He has shadowed several doctors in the past, and this time he shadowed Dr. Theresa Olfson in the Emergency Room.

“It was actually pretty cool,” Steele said. “Anything about the brain is so cool, as the brain controls everything we do. [Yet] a small clot can cause you to not be able to talk, or draw straight. I just wanted to research more and see what is being done, and see how things are improving in this field.”

Senior Elizabeth Petos shadowed for her first time under Dr. Neal Dandona in anesthesia. She researched Bridion, a medicine approved by the Food and Drug Administration in Dec. 2015, that is supposed to help patients transition out of anesthesia more smoothly.

“It is just going to help patients feel more relaxed about waking up,” Petos said. “And with this we won’t need to worry about the patient during the procedure having brain damage, and they wake up in time. It was amazing. I got to see so many different operations when I was learning anesthesiology.”

There were many opportunities to watch surgeries with doctors from radiology, anesthesia, breast surgery and hand surgery. The students researched with the doctors and watched them interact with patients. One student, senior Arnella Salimova who researched prenatal  got to see a C-section.

“I have actually already seen one,” Salimova said. “But each time it [is] amazing, to see how they go from cutting the stomach to a baby coming out, it was awesome. I loved it. It is literally the miracle of life.”

Senior Sophia Khan felt the chance to shadow Dr. Radha Lyengar (breast surgery) has inspired her in her career choice.

“At first [shadowing] was really intimidating,” Khan said. “I thought I was very out of my element, but then [the doctors and staff] were super nice and were ‘Oh you want to come and join our field, welcome to the family.’ It was so interesting to watch because not everyone gets to go into a surgery room and see the inside of a person. I was super lucky and blessed, and it was so eye-opening, you know, I can do this, this is what I want to do with my life.”

Dr. Benjamin Williams, who was shadowed by senior Elaine Avshman to cover Flow Cytometry (or analysing particles emitting from lasers), commented on the event and said he feels that Allen has a strong program for those wanting to go into the medical field.

“This is great for kids and young adults going into the medical field,” Dr. Williams said. “[There] are all sorts of ways to get into the medical field. It takes a lot of skill [but] these are jobs that are not going to be out-sourced, they are not going to go away.”

Hospital president Jerod Shelton was there to support doctors and students, he said  he felt both the students and the doctors learned from this experience.

“Sometimes in the healthcare world we focus too much on the science, and not enough on the people aspect,” Shelton said. “I think the students coming in have a lot of energy, they are excited to learn, and I think it reminds [the doctors] of why they went into med school. It [is] always invigorating to see students who [have] a passion for not only medicine, but really, for helping people. So you see the next generation coming through and it is really inspiring.”

Career and Technology Director Becky Hunt talked about Allen High School opening a new science and technology department off campus. This will reduce the wait list for students who want to take medical classes. At the end of the awards ceremony and hearing the stirring life story of Dr. Cigarroa, Manager of Medical Staff Services Dennis Brown turned to Hunt, shook her hand and said, “This is going to be a good partnership.”