During National Medical Laboratory Professionals Week, Winn Army Community Hospital hosted 23 Bradwell Institute high school students during a lab week centered field trip April 25.
As a vital part of any hospital, more than 70 percent of medical decisions are actually based on laboratory results, so the lab holds a strong part of patient care in this facility. Winn ACH noncommissioned officer-in-charge of the lab and Winn Ambassador, Sgt. First Class Lisa Palacio, wanted to showcase the capabilities of the lab to students who are interested in careers in the medical field, and reached out to Bradwell Institute teacher Pamela Donald via the Winn public affairs office.
The students were broken into three groups, and had the opportunity to wear white coats. The response was positive. Many of the students said they have an interest in the medical field.
Tiana Besant, a student at Bradwell, said her curiosity was piqued due to her interest in human anatomy.
"I wanted to become an OB/GYN or a Delivery Nurse," Besant said. "So, I felt like this was going to be a good field for me, seeing different stages of the hospital, different jobs."
The students were able to see how various lab departments of hematology, chemistry sections worked, they looked at different parasites within hematology, and saw how different tests in urinalysis worked together, as well as visited the morgue. One of the tour guides, Sgt. Arsnola, NCOIC of microbiology, impressed many of the students with her professionalism and knowledge.
"I just want to thank her [Watson], because it was like a terrific experience," Besant said. "It's like a job that has to be taken seriously, because like minor mess ups can make a bigger issue than what was already there."
Watson said she felt good to do something for the community and excited to let the students know that Winn is here for them more than in just a hospital sense, but we want to teach as well.
Donald said for her and her students, coming to Winn proved to be an eye-opening experience.
"I felt it was important for me to bring my students here today, because it is an actual real world authentic experience for them," Donald said. "It is something that they will remember for a long time a lot of possible misconceptions that they had, I trust was clarified today. And I also liked that my students are actually becoming more involved in the community because as we were walking through I was thinking, 'well for some of you this maybe your future employment site.'"
Palacio expressed the importance of staying on focused if a career in the medical field is something the students want to pursue.
"It's hard sometimes," Palacio said, "and they might want to give up because it seems exhausting, [with the] long hours, clinicals, rotations, but just be persistent."
Overall the field trip was a success, once back on the bus though, many of the students came to a mutual consensus, they want to work in the medical field, "but not work with pee."
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