HHS Technology Students Participate in White Plains Hospital Robotics Program

Students from Harrison High School’s Technology classes donned scrubs and spent two days learning about the use of cutting edge robotics in the operating room. The six HHS students, with their teacher Diane Frawley, were participants of the robotics in surgery workshop at White Plains Hospital, facilitated by Dr. Philip Weber- Director of The Division of Minimally Invasive Surgery, Robotics, and Bariatrics and Nurse Kelsey. The students who attended were Cameron Berkowitz, Natalie Casique, Robert DiMarino, Vito Gonnella, Darya Khodakhah, and Elisa Pettinato.

“I found the robotics program at White Plains Hospital to be very interesting,” said HHS junior Cameron Berkowitz. “I thought it was really cool to go in the operating room and get to use a machine that simulated doing surgery with a robot. Learning about the different medical jobs made me possibly want to pursue a career in the medical field.”

The students formed two teams, one with Kelsey learning about and using the robot and the other team with Dr. Weber using the simulator. Each team had the opportunity to learn about laparoscopy surgery by using the virtual surgical simulator, sewing sutures and cauterizing blood vessels.

“I had a wonderful time attending the robotics in surgery workshop at White Plains Hospital,” said HHS junior Elisa Pettinato. “As a student interested in both engineering and medicine, this hands on experience was inspiring and fun. I had never been inside of an operating room before, so getting the chance to dress up in scrubs and talk about medical equipment made me feel like a real doctor. I am glad I attended this experience, and I am so excited to see the new types of technology that will enter the medical field in the near future.”

“This was an amazing experience! Being able to interact with such an innovate and advanced machine and even simulate a similar experience to what surgeons experience was really cool,” said HHS junior Darya Khodakhah. “Looking around the room and seeing all of the different equipment and processes people use that save lives everyday was an opportunity not many students get. The second was just as interesting and shed light on a job I never knew existed – the nurse anesthetist.”

“As of now, our school doesn’t host any job fairs where students can see these varied opportunities; based off this experience I would highly suggest it,” she said. “Being able to interact with someone whose job may be less know, but just as important, revealed an interesting pathway I might have never found.”