Students Learn About Medicine in Visit to Real ‘ER’

The fifth-grader, dressed in surgical scrubs, was showing a little too much enthusiasm as he pounded on the dummy’s chest, mimicking lifesaving techniques.

“Stop doing CPR!” snapped teacher Shana Anderson.

The boy was one of 120 students from elementary schools in the Boyle Heights area who were invited to tour White Memorial Medical Center hospital Monday. The trip was arranged by Building a Healthier Community, the medical center’s outreach program, to teach children about what goes on at a hospital and encourage them to consider medical careers.

Youngsters in Anderson’s class at the White Memorial Adventist School, who had been learning about prenatal care and the dangers of teenage pregnancy, were especially excited about visiting the newborn intensive care unit and the nursery, where they saw a baby boy only hours old.

The students also saw a pathology lab, where organs removed from patients during surgery are studied, and were shown how an occupational therapist helps young children with physical and developmental disabilities learn to move.