Hospital, science center use live video
To educate about surgical professions

 To shed light on the surgical process and inspire the next generation of healthcare workers, orthopedic and cardiothoracic surgical teams in Columbus, Ohio, are joining with educators from the city's Center of Science and Industry (COSI) to produce live video presentations of surgeries for school children and community groups.

"This is the ultimate reality television show," said AORN member Thomas LaFollette, RN, a perioperative nurse at Mount Carmel East Hospital in Columbus and a member of the surgical team that stars in live total-knee surgery presentations for COSI Columbus audiences twice a month throughout the school year. The live video productions are part of the science center's Surgical Suite Program, which also includes live open-heart surgeries.

"The Surgical Suite program takes visitors through every step of the surgical process, beginning with diagnosis, surgical planning, presurgical consent, pre-op preparation and the entire surgery as it is happening," explained LaFollette, who is a member of a team of surgeons, perioperative staff and science center educators that collaborate to ensure scientific accuracy for the program and to develop associated interactive learning activities.

Program planners have developed instructional materials and activities to prepare students for viewing the surgical procedures and then follow up with them after the surgeries. The educational aids cover basic science topics, such as anatomy and physiology; the use of tools, such as MRI and CT scans, to identify common knee problems; understanding basic surgical instruments and commonly used surgical vocabulary; as well as the importance of proper hand hygiene and maintaining a sterile field.

Other education tools include a Virtual Knee Surgery Web site, which COSI developed with medical advice from LaFollette, orthopedic surgeon Joel Politi, MD, and other advisers. It enables students to "walk through" a virtual total-knee procedure before a live surgery is screened.

"This virtual total-knee surgery (Web site) is becoming equally popular with patients preparing for surgery who want to see the surgical process before their own procedures take place," noted Gail Wheatley, COSI's director of electronic education, who has worked with Mount Carmel East surgical teams on developing the Surgical Suite program. "Beyond serving as a good way to educate students, our program also provides a new direction in patient education," Wheatley said

A bird's-eye view
Since its launch in 2000, the Surgical Suite program has drawn as participants more than 46,000 science center visitors and students throughout the U.S., Canada and Europe. Each year, live videos of more than 180 total-knee surgeries and 10 open-heart surgeries are made available to visitors to the science center in Columbus, as well as school children in the U.S., England and Canada who connect to COSI virtually via teleconferencing links.

The surgical video presentations range from one to three hours long, beginning with a video following a COSI team member through the presurgical process, including presurgical consent and surgical-site marking. Participants then are shown a live feed of the prepped and draped patient being operated on during that day's presentation. Each patient gives full consent to participate in the live exhibition.

"Many of the students are surprised by what they see-the closest most of them have been to watching a surgery is on a television show," Wheatley said. "This is real life, and there is blood. We do have students who get queasy, but you have many more saying 'This is cool' and 'I could do that some day.'"

During each presentation, the surgeon provides a step-by-step narration, and LaFollette serves as a facilitator, adding appropriate comments about the surgery. When complications arise, LaFollette or another facilitator steps in and takes over the narration while the surgical team moves to an alternate surgical plan.

A team of COSI educators also pitches in, communicating with designated surgical staff during the procedure and moderating question-and-answer session afterward. "I am always amazed by the thought-provoking questions students ask. They are often surprised to learn about the different roles in the OR," LaFollette noted.

Inspiring through education
The video presentations don't just educate the public about surgical techniques and procedure; they also help clear away the mystery surrounding surgical and perioperative professions, LaFollette added. "At the end of each surgery we introduce every member of the surgical team, from surgical technologist, to Registered Nurse to surgeon. We get a lot of questions about salary and amount of schooling. This question-and-answer time is important; it helps open kids' eyes to what fields are out there in the medical profession and what education they can think about now that will help them get there."

Wheatley and her Surgical Suite collaborators are studying ways to incorporate additional surgical procedures into the program to meet the burgeoning demand-registration for participants opened several weeks ago and already is almost "sold out" for the year. Teachers are finding that this education program provides so many ways to get students excited about basic science topics like anatomy, and even basic biology and chemistry," Wheatley observed.

Based on interviews Wheatley conducts with students after they see a surgery, the program is getting them interested in learning more about medical careers. Before-and-after surveys show a 6% uptick in students who say they want to pursue a medical career after viewing the video. "Of these students most say they want to work in the OR, but not as surgeons," she added. "So, nurses are coming."