From June 24th thru June 27th, ONSF held its 6th Annual Mini Med School. The ONSF Arthroscopy, Surgical Skills, Biomechanical Research Lab provided an ideal mentor/ student atmosphere for the 12 high school students who attended. Each enthusiastically embraced the opportunity to participate in a “hands-on” experience, a one-week workshop in orthopedics. Representing Greenwich Academy, Sacred Heart of Greenwich, Rye Country Day, King School, The Harvey School, St. Luke’s School, Mamaroneck High School, Rye Neck High School, North Salem High School, Greenwich High School, Hopkins School and Deerfield Academy, the students expressed an interest in careers in medicine or were enrolled in STEM programs.

Physicians led daily discussions in injury prevention, surgical and non- surgical treatments, physical examination and diagnosis. Broken arm? No problem for these students who spent two sessions in a casting workshop. From wearing surgical scrubs to learning arthroscopic surgery procedures, students became familiar with the operating room environment with demonstrations by Rey Delacruz, OR Nurse and Greenwich Hospital Education Specialist.

Other activities included learning the fine points of fluoroscopy and performing shoulder arthroscopy on “Alex” models. Orthopedic surgeons including Drs. Delos, Vitale, Yakavonis, Kowalsky and Wei helped students observe the injury and tissues and make necessary repairs. The week included an ultrasound workshop with Dr. Levchenko, review of X-ray and MRI with Dr. Mao, an introduction to physical therapy and one-on-one time with ONSF research interns.

All students reviewed the course and frequently used the words “awesome, amazing, exceptional” to describe the overall experience.