Photos courtesy of Mallory Arnold and Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine
As dean, Dr. William Burke walks along the campus of the Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, he greets each passing student by name. The City of Dublin was accommodating when the school was built, giving the campus extra space for future expansion. The school’s buildings are surrounded by uniform bricked pathways, wide green spaces and a fish-filled pond.
“Dublin has always been an incredibly innovative city,” Burke says. “It’s forward thinking and has a desire to have a relationship with the university. There’s always support for what we’re looking to do here.”
Just as the city and university’s relationship is unique, the technology within classrooms is equally innovative. Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, was actually one of the first medical schools to start utilizing standardized patients – actors who portray a role so medical students can learn more efficiently.
Today, the Heritage College prepares its students for real-life situations by creating lifelike environments and situations. Some classrooms are designed to look exactly like general examination rooms, so that a student truly feels as though he or she is working within a doctor’s office. The only difference? A tiny camera in each room, monitored by professors and technicians in order to see how the training is proceeding.
Another example of the advanced technology Heritage College utilizes is named Sinman36, or, “Pat,” as dubbed by professors and administration. Sinman36 is a simulation model designed to replicate a patient as realistically as possible. The $80,000 robotic man can breathe, sweat, bleed and respond to treatments. Thanks to classroom monitors, Sinman36 can even speak and respond to anything the student does or says.
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“We give the students an opportunity to practice a procedure on something they can’t hurt,” Burke explains. “We can make these mannequins laugh, cry, die and even come back to life.”
Technology is valued at Heritage College because of how quickly advances are being made within the medical world. Burke even mentioned that he had recently visited the Athens campus to try a virtual reality headset that may one day be used to train medical students.
“Essentially, you’ve got the goggles on like you might do if you’re gaming. But you’re able to learn how to draw blood, for example, just like there’s a patient right in front of you,” Burke recalls excitedly. “It’s incredibly realistic – as you start to put the needle toward the vein, you can actually feel a little resistance as you get to the skin, like you would a real human.”
Not all the school’s simulation technology is as extreme – many tools in the classroom are smaller and more specific to the task at hand. Students can learn how to properly draw blood and insert an IV on rubber arms that simulate human veins. There are also busts modeled from the chest up specifically for practicing CPR and other breathing-related emergencies.
Even the school’s lecture classrooms are pushed to be as innovative as possible. The open concept allows students to work in groups at tables, each with their own screens they can watch if a lecture is being broadcasted from a different branch or campus so every student is still able to participate. The camera even swivels automatically to focus on a student if they are speaking or asking a question.
For those of us who aren’t actively involved in medicine, medical school sounds pretty daunting and scary. But Heritage College has created an open atmosphere, constantly striving to invite the community of Dublin to participate in its campus and become part of the school.
The school offers up its facilities to Washington Township’s firefighters and EMS for training purposes. In turn, Washington Township helps medical students prepare for real-life situations by conducting disaster days, running through mock bombings, shootings and other emergencies, so students can learn how to best help victims in each emergency.
The university consistently works to encourage Dublin’s youth and strives to communicate that a career in medicine is not beyond reach. Students at the Dublin City Schools Biomedical Research Academy are often invited to see the anatomy lab and simulation area, are visited by professors for discussions and talks, and get the opportunity to interact with medical students.
A free summer camp is even organized by Heritage College for any student interested in learning more about a career in medicine. In 2018, nearly 50 students from over 20 schools attended the four-day exploration.
Attending Heritage College is an extremely immersive, community-involved experience. Burke has worked hard to make the campus as open and interactive as possible. He’s motivated by the interest Dublin high school students take in their programs.
When asked to describe what it felt like to be the dean of such a collaborative, advanced school, he pauses for a moment to find just the right word.
“Rewarding,” he says as he smiles, waving to a group of medical students in their white lab coats, bustling to their next lab. “It’s just really rewarding.”
Mallory Arnold is an assistant editor. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.