PENCIL Foundation is a premier organization in Nashville that provides a unique opportunity for Metro Nashville Public School students to job shadow local organizations with the goal of helping students achieve academic success and prepare them for life. As a proud supporter of PENCIL, SpecialtyCare has regularly hosted students from Hillsboro High School’s Academy of Global Health & Science to learn about our Autotransfusion and Minimally Invasive Surgical Support service lines.
Starting in 2018, SpecialtyCare proudly began offering a new shadowing experience within our intraoperative neuromonitoring service line. Through a combined effort, our Nashville IONM Operational Leadership and the IONM Education Team teamed up to create an elite experience for students to actively learn about electrophysiology and participate in a virtual surgical procedure utilizing intraoperative neuromonitoring in our Simulation OR.
Classroom and Hands-on Learning
Upon the students’ arrival at SpecialtyCare, they change into scrubs to give them the immediate feeling of a day in the operating room. In order to prepare them for what they will encounter in the OR, they spend time in the classroom learning about neuroanatomy, nerve functionality, and how electrophysiology is utilized in surgery. Then the students are greeted by one of our surgical neurophysiologists who leads them through a simulated spine procedure via Cadwell simulation software with the help of an OR acting cast supported by our local Nashville surgical neurophysiologists. The students receive hands-on experience through a preop patient assessment, electrode placement on the training manikin, and continuous dialogue with the acting surgeon and OR team. To complete the experience, the students listen to a personal testimony from a SpecialtyCare associate who underwent the actual procedure that they monitored during the stimulation case. The students learn that with the help of our surgical neurophysiologist the patient felt protected going into surgery and ultimately had a positive surgical outcome.
Our Commitment
Commitment to education is a key component of SpecialtyCare’s culture. Through our partnership with PENCIL, we are able to create opportunities for students to explore different specialties within the medical field and prepare them for a future career in healthcare. Simultaneously, this partnership has created opportunities for our own local surgical neurophysiologists to get involved in the community and continue their own professional growth by equipping students with the necessary knowledge to pursue a future in intraoperative neuromonitoring. As an organization, we look forward to future opportunities to collaborate and share our dynamic field with the community!
Learn more about the Academies of Nashville and the incredible opportunities for business involvement in Metro Nashville Public Schools.
Lauren Chronowski, MBA, CNIM
Director of Operations, IONM
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