Oldham County teenagers shadow UofL Health doctors, surgeons to gain real-world experience

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Doctors at UofL Health had a typical day of surgery Friday. The only difference was the group of high school students from Oldham County who joined them in the operating room.

The students spend time outside of school learning at the Arvin Education Center in La Grange. And to get some real-world experience in addition to their studies, the teenagers joined doctors to get an up-close look at the real thing.

Two of the students, Andrew Garrett and Biz Gold, got a look at what it's like in the operating room with Dr. Emily Sieg, the director of neurotrauma at University of Louisville Hospital.

"I never got into an OR until I was a medical student, so the idea that they get to see this and see if this is a potential career path for them so early is really exciting to me," Sieg said.

The students go to various high schools in Oldham County. Students can apply to go to the Arvin Center for a third of their school day, where there are eight different programs giving them hands-on experience in the real world.

"It's just wild, the level of trust that they're giving to us to be in there, in a room that is sterile with actual surgeries going on," said Andrew Garrett, one of the students. "You can watch, but don't get too close. It's like, 'Wow this is real. This is great.'"

Up a few floors in the labor and delivery wing, doctors take the time to teach students how to suture wounds. The students get a look at several different fields of medicine so they can get an idea of how they want to spend the rest of their lives.

"I learned that surgical oncology is not for me because I got really connected to the patients, and that was really hard to say goodbye," another student, Biz Gold, said. "But going into NICU, I learned a lot about how you can make a difference."