Learning is Hands-On for Moorestown High School Anatomy Students

Moorestown, NJ -- Students studying anatomy and physiology at Moorestown High School have an opportunity not afforded to most students their age.

Their teacher, Erin Todd, has a lot of friends in the medical field and entered into a partnership with Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM) three years ago.

As a result of the partnership, she has been able to take her Honors Anatomy and Physiology students to PCOM for some hands-on learning.

The students spend half the day in the human cadaver lab with professors and medical students, and the other half of the day in the simulation lab where they can practice mock surgeries.

Dr. Farzaneh Daghigh, a Professor of Biochemistry and the Gastroenterological Sciences Course Director in the Department of Bio-Medical Sciences for PCOM put the program together and has helped keep it going, Todd said.

“It gives them opportunities they wouldn’t get elsewhere,” Todd said.

Additionally, Dr. James Sanfilippo, an Orthopedic Spinal Surgeon from Reconstructive Orthopedics Group, comes to the class to talk to them about the profession and the application process, and conducts a skills lab with the students, teaching them how to do suturing, a specific type of technique used to close a wound in which the sides of the wound are stitched together, and to the individual stitches.

“It’s pretty exciting to have a surgeon come in and talk to them because that’s an opportunity they would never otherwise get until med school,” Todd said.

This year, Dr. Dipak Delvadia, a surgeon who has a student in the class, did a live feed into the classroom so students could watch a live C-section, and ask questions to those performing the surgery in real time. Delavida is a surgeon at Hahnemann University Hospital.

“Talking about it theoretically and actually seeing it and being able to ask questions are completely different things,” Todd said. “Seeing the real application and getting the exposure helps.”

Delvadia’s daughter, Bela, has been fortunate enough to be in the hospital with her father before. She saw her first C-section when she was eight years old. It was the subject of her college essay.

“I liked seeing my classmates’ reaction, to see how touched they were,” Bela Delvadia said. “When you see the head come out, it’s breathtaking.”

Bela Delvadia, 18, grew up around a lot of doctors, and decided to go into the medical field because she enjoys problem solving.

Susan Orth, 17, is heading to Princeton University and hopes to enroll in med school after that. She feels fortunate to be in Todd’s class because she offers a program that most schools don’t have. She enjoyed dissecting the cat cadaver, the field trips to PCOM and a urinalysis lab the class recently participated in.

“I like learning how it all comes together,” Orth said. It’s a precursor to what they have in the college environment, and what med school is going to be like.”

Ryan Muir, 17, describes himself as a “hands-on learner” who enjoyed the opportunity to visit PCOM and watch something happening in real life, as opposed to a slideshow.

“I learned how the body truly works,” Muir said. “You’re allowed to touch the cadavers. I was able to pull on a tendon and see the effects. It was interesting."

He also enjoyed seeing all the advanced equipment the medical school uses. His father is a physical therapist and his mom was a medical illustrator for Thomas Jefferson University Hospital.  He will attend the University of Maryland.

Todd said it also helps students decide if this is really something they want to do. Thus, it’s beneficial to parents before they spend the time and the money on their child’s education.

She said everyone is supportive, including the principal and the board of education.

“I’m very fortunate,” Todd said. “I have a lot of flexibility to make this happen.”

Her students are fortunate to have experiences unlike any other.

The attached image was provided by Erin Todd: left to right: Bela Delvadia, Susan Orth, Mrs. Erin Todd, Ryan Muir.