The Perry Initiative held a one-day program at Medical Center of Trinity to give young women a hands-on experience in science, and to broaden their exposure to opportunities in the fields of orthopedic surgery and engineering.
The event, which was last month and was co-sponsored by the Medical Center of Trinity, involved 40 young women selected to attend from 16 local high schools.
The students had a chance to learn from prominent women surgeons, engineers and business women in the field of orthopedics.
Women currently make up 7 percent of the surgeon and engineer workforce in the field of orthopedics, according to a news release from The Perry Initiative. The event was intended to help give participants exposure to potential careers options.
The students had the chance to perform surgical simulations to correct scoliosis deformity, to fix a broken leg and to repair a rotator cuff, according to the news release.
The day included lectures on engineering and orthopedics, the simulations and a question-and-answer session.
Land O’ Lakes, Sunlake and Steinbrenner were among the participating high schools.
Dr. Jennifer Cook, orthopedic surgery, was instrumental in bringing the program to the medical center.
Alyssa Kovacs, a junior at Land O’ Lakes High School, was impressed by the one-day program.
“I thought the experience was great. It definitely changed my mind about what I want to do.
“I knew I wanted to be a doctor working in a hospital … but, I didn’t think I wanted to go into ortho surgery. I never really thought about ortho surgery until The Perry Initiative.
“I really don’t know to explain it: It clicked something inside,” the high school junior said, in an interview after completing the program.
“It was a great experience, and it definitely changes how you see things,” Kovacs added.
Erin Sinnott, a senior at Sunlake High School, also gave high marks to the program.
“It was amazing. I wasn’t really expecting so much when I walked in,” Sinnott said.
“At first they showed us what we were doing, then we broke off into small groups, and we got to do it all by ourselves,” she said.
The experience has inspired her to consider the possibility of becoming an orthopedics surgeon, she said.
Published December 13, 2017
