S.C. (WBTV) – Not every student knows what they want to be when they grow up, but getting to actually try a career is helping students figure it out sooner
This week, students from York and Lancaster County schools will get a hands-on look at careers in medicine, engineering, and technology.
When you’re in school, it can be hard to picture what your future career will actually look like until you get to see it for yourself. That’s what Piedmont Medical Network wanted to give students — a chance to get outside the classroom and see how medicine and technology come together.
About 400 students will come to Rock Hill’s Sports and Events Center to explore what could be next for them at Piedmont Medical Network’s Robotic Symposium. On Tuesday, Sept. 8, students met with medical professionals.
“I’m hoping to learn about how surgeons use technology nowadays to enhance their ability to perform surgeries especially long ones that take forever,” said Catawba Ridge High School Jr. Sreeya Jonnalagadda.
Students have four different robots that they can take a look at and they’re getting a passport stamp at each one.
They’re learning exactly what happens in the operating room by getting a hands-on experience. The goal is for them to get more interested in STEAM programs, furthering their education, and maybe even their career.
“The surgical services have a plethora of opportunities. You don’t just have to be a surgeon or a nurse to work in our area and it just gets that excitement out there into the community and hopefully they decide to be part of our healthcare network in the future,” said Piedmont Medical Network’s market director for surgical services, Shellie Milwood.
These robots aren’t replacing doctors; they’re tools surgeons use for procedures ranging from orthopedic and spine surgeries to urologic and general surgery. A lot goes into making this technology useful — from surgeons operating the machines to engineers and technicians helping make the mechanics possible.
“We’ve seen things from this, then transpire into, they want to come shadow in our operating room, they want to come in, and they want to meet with the anesthesiologist and pursue that avenue. So, it just opens up so many opportunities for them in the future,” Milwood said.
For students, getting to see that up close can make the career possibilities feel real.
“It’s very unique, and I feel like it takes a lot of practice to do these things and I think that these tools help a lot of doctors and surgeons perform their task more efficiently,” said Catawba Ridge High School junior Lily McGann.
For some students it could even help answer that big question: what do I want to be when I grow up?
“I actually want to go into surgery, cardiothoracic. So, this is definitely very helpful to see insight on what I would do in the future,” Jonnalagadda said.
Programs like this help get students interested in STEAM education and careers by exposing them to possibilities that they didn’t know were out there.
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