SC Connecticut News

Over 100 people attended the Simulation Academy at Yale’s (SAY) graduation and career fair on Saturday, May 11. Entire families, including parents, siblings, grandparents, and friends, showed up to support their graduating students as they received diplomas for completing an after-school hands-on simulation program focused on STEM education and exposure to careers in the healthcare profession.

The event began with SAY’s first annual career fair. Keynote speaker Yscaira Jimenez, an innovator, investor, and entrepreneur at the intersection of education and work, discussed how students can achieve their full potential in STEM careers. A panel discussion featured professionals from various healthcare fields: an ER nurse, midwife, respiratory therapist, paramedic, simulation operation specialist, Yale medical student, pediatric resident, general surgery resident, and neurosurgery fellow. Each panelist shared insights about their backgrounds and career choices. Students and family members then had the opportunity to engage individually with the panelists. Later that morning, students demonstrated the skills they acquired at the Yale Center for Healthcare Simulation (YCHS).

The objective of SAY is to help students explore STEM-related careers in healthcare through a series of 10 sessions where they practiced procedures learned in the classroom within a simulation lab environment. For instance, after learning about lung function in class, students performed endotracheal intubation and inserted chest tubes in the lab. Similarly, lessons on fetal blood flow were complemented by simulated baby deliveries.

Students were also tasked with creating scenarios based on their learnings and acting them out. “They were very excited and their creativity reached far beyond our expectations,” said Program Co-director Tatiana Moylan, MD. One scenario involved a ski slope incident requiring critical care; another depicted a car accident during childbirth en route to a hospital. “It was great to see how their imaginations work and how they made the connection to their year-long learning,” noted Leigh Evans, MD., associate professor of emergency medicine and executive director of YCHS.

Two New Haven high schools—Hill Regional Career High School and Metropolitan Business Academy—participated in this program funded through an R-25 Science Education Partnership Award in collaboration with Yale Pathways to Science. The academy plans to expand its reach to Wilbur Cross and James Hillhouse high schools. Additionally this fall, YCHS will initiate a longitudinal mentoring program involving Yale undergraduates alongside medical students residents faculty.