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Emily
Chen learns about surgical procedures during the OR
Open House.
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fter
a few attempts with the needle holders, visiting surgeon Allen “A.J.”
Smith clamped a tiny pair of clips onto a vessel loop with great
precision—for a 3-year-old. In the next operating room, the sound
of a drill filled the air as a 7-year-old and his 6-year-old assistant
took turns screwing pins into a model of a fractured femur. Down
the hall, several children waited to choose the color of their finger
casts.
On May 4, 300 pint-sized surgeons-to-be had the chance to play “Operation”
with real medical instruments in Children’s operating rooms. The
annual OR Open House was sponsored by the perioperative nurses as
part of Nursing Week. “This is a great way to help children to feel
comfortable with the idea of the operating room,” says Michele
Serino, RN, one of the event’s organizers. “And who knows—it
might even inspire some future nurses and pediatric surgeons.”
Children who attended also received free bike helmets and fingerprinting
for personal safety kits. Kaleigh Cronin, a cast-member from the
kids’ TV show Zoom, stopped by to sing with children in the post-op
area.—CB
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