“It is better to see something once than
to hear about it a thousand times” Asian Proverb. Perhaps that was on the minds
of the excited people who graced the open house of the Silliman University
Medical School on August 25. The stories that laid behind the delightful building, which the sagacious taste and astute
benevolence of the administration of the University had raised for the glory of
God and Dumaguete city needed to be discovered. What lies behind the door of
glass that contributed to the training of great physicians who are making it in
the country and abroad?
The
journey to find out about the medical school started in the early hours of the
morning. At 8:04 am, the first group of people were present. It was time to see
for themselves. Lots of anticipation was seen among them. No hindrance or
whatsoever was put between them and what their eyes craved to behold. This was
clearly seen among the welcome committee members who with smiles welcomed the
people at the lobby of the medical school and were willing to conduct the tour.
Other tourists who arrived not long after were all treated to clips of the just
ended variety show by the Medical school while they registered and waited for
teams of ten to be formed. The welcome committee then moved the units in
succession starting from the first floor. The first group of stops for any
group were on this floor. These stops were to see some of the wonderful displays
that were beautifully set up by the medical students.
First
to catch the eye of tourists was the Obstetrics and Gynecology (OBG) station
which had a rather unusual decoration to the door that led into the room. It
was a carefully designed room with lots of things to show, ranging from
pictures, clips, models, equipment, chats which all bothered on the theme of
showing the world of OBG to tourists. Not for the faint hearted, was a clip of
a caesarian section been performed which was showing and been explained by
medical students present. It was the last piece of knowledge to be impacted to participants.
But hold on. All was not about learning without a bit of fun. A person among each
group which passed through this section was made to pick a question and answer
for a sticker which had an equivalent gift to be collected later. Easy
questions, very simple answers, great gifts. Those were all part of the fun. A quick interview with Ayasa from Foundation Preparatory
Academy after touring this section said she liked the OBGY and supposes she
would want to be a doctor.
Delighted
by what had been seen by far, tourists were conducted to the next room which
was the Anatomy laboratory. It was really an atmosphere which showed either awe
on the faces of the tourists or fear. These reactions were on the premise of
the two cadavers which were on display to teach participants. This was really
an open house and all doors and activities were opened to all. Apart from the
cadavers on display were bones, models, X-ray images, dissecting equipment and
others. For the use of participants was a backdrop and models to pose with.
Before they could finally exit, there were two games that were open to playing
to win prices; arrangement of bones, and arrangement of organs in the torso. Winners
were given stickers with which they could claim their prices at the appropriate
point during the tour. ‘The part that I like the most is the human anatomy
because it’s my first time to see a dead body’, Fritz Antonio from Negros
Oriental State University said in an interview.
Leaving
the anatomy lab with lots of talking points especially concerning the cadaver,
the tour took every group to the second floor of the magnificent and
well-structured medical school. What was there to be seen were the histology,
Microbiology/Parasitology lab as well as the Physiology lab. There were more to
grasp. Present at the physiology were apparatus
and models used to study about normal and abnormal heart and lung sounds, CPR, grip
strength, electrical stimulus using the power lab setup; pictures and permanent
slides of cells, tissues, and some parasites at the Histology/parasitology and
microbiology lab. Games frolicked by tourists in those labs were the grip
strength using the hand dynamometer and identification of tissues, parasite
building puzzle by the physiology and histology,
Microbiology/Parasitology laboratories respectively.
Anyone who had won any prize, was about to receive it at the
next station. This station was hosted in the library and e-learning center of
the medical school. Participants were accordingly oriented on the uniqueness of
the place and how it served students. Prizes were redeemed by winners while souvenirs
of the medical school where given out. Tour guides guided their groups to the
SGD 4 room where they were introduced an ongoing blood group screening; a
partnership between the medical school and the school of clinical laboratory
science for interested persons.
Happening simultaneously in the medical school was the
maiden edition of the quiz bowl, poster making and essay competitions. They were
heavily patronized by invited high schools. The quiz completion which traveled
three rounds and even had a tie-breaker for a third-placed team was represented
by two students from seven schools while eight and seven students were involved
in the poster making and essay competitions respectively.
Descending the staircase from the second floor to the first
floor was not the end of the journey. There was a hidden trademark of the
medical school which was had been saved for the last. It was hidden from
tourists and revealed as the last visit place. Right in the Physician hall,
which is a hall for the medical school, was the approximately 4.6 million
pesos, highly sophisticated gadget, the first to be owned by any medical school
in the Visayan Region and the sixth in the whole country; The Anatomage.
The Anatomage resembles an operating table or hospital bed. Its
purpose is to create a cadaver lab without an actual cadaver. Its dimensions
are 82.0 inches (2082.5 mm) by 23.8 inches (604.2 mm) with a height of 32.4
inches (822.8 mm). It has a very high quality with realistic visualizations in
3D, a virtual knife, and interactive touch screen features. The table can also
be connected to a projector to use during lectures. The Digital Anatomy Library
offers a wide selection of images/dissections such as Unique, Rare Pathology
Examples, Medical and Surgical Device Demonstration, or Comparative Analysis -
Multi-Scan Viewing. The table also comes with many different software packages
to help integrate into the classroom. When utilizing its radiology workstation
features, it can be used for radiology, procedure simulation, surgery case
review, patient consultation, and research purposes in addition to anatomy.
Participants had the rare opportunity of having a couple of
mini-lectures on musculature of the back, gastrointestinal tract and
respiratory system just to mention a few using the device. There was excitement
for any group who saw it been demonstrated. Some groups consequently took turns
to have snapshots while standing by it.
At 4 pm, the notice at the door leading to the lobby read
‘We’re Sorry, We have closed’ and the last group was already on their way for
their tour, majestically led by their tour guide. By now, the medical school
was still busy as some who had finished their tour were still around either
taking the tour on their own this time around or watching the variety show
clips been showed in the lobby. What was ones hidden behind the walls of the
medical school was now bare to them. It was good to see and not hear from
others only. At this point, the registration sheet had recorded about five
hundred people who had been on tour. Should you have participated?
Bernard Osei Darfour
bernardnanaosei@gmail.com
No comments: