Surgical Students Caitlyn Turenne, Krystal Andrade, and Tracy Fortes
This past summer three ambitious and adventurous Surgical Technology (ST) students traveled to Europe to observe surgical techniques used at hospitals in Italy and Lithuania. Each of the students researched, planned and financed their own trips. The Surgical Technology faculty are proud of these students for taking the initiative to study abroad. Here’s a recap of their learning experiences:
Tracy Fortes: “I completed my Pre-Med fellowship program at Kauno Klinikos Hospital in Kaunas, Lithuania, where I stayed for three weeks. It was my first time traveling to Europe so I was extremely excited. As part of my program, I observed an Aortic Valve Replacement. The anesthesiologist was the only person in the operating room who understood English so he explained the procedure and the patient’s background. I got to watch this amazing surgery front and center. I learned about their surgical procedures and noticed that some of the set-up techniques were slightly different, but the sterile techniques were the same. I also had the opportunity to attend a pain management lecture with the Nephrology Department. I did a lot of shadowing on the hospital floor in the Pediatric ICU, Cardiovascular and Nephrology departments and learned more about the anatomy of the human body. I learned a lot about myself and the role I want to partake in the medical field. I got to experience and learn about a different culture.”
Krystal Andrade and Caitlyn Turenne: “We took our first trip to Europe and completed a medical fellowship where we observed various procedures for four weeks. We stayed at an old military hospital that was converted into apartments. The building was very interesting and had so much history. We shadowed at a hospital in a small city in Trieste, Italy. The hospital was called Cattinara and it’s the city’s general hospital. Each week we shadowed a different wing of this hospital. During our third week we observed various surgeries and many different techniques. The atmosphere in the operating room was a little more relaxed than it is here. We learned from this experience that being part of a health care team, whether you work on the patient floors or in the operating room, everyone works together for one specific goal and that is to give the best care to each patient.”